By Francesca DiPalomo
As we reflect on today’s 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, our nation is faced with a gnawing question: If this controversial decision was in fact just, then why has it only led to the growing division of our nation, and the destruction of so many lives?
When the Supreme Court legalized abortion, it gave men and women an apparent justification for what is actually a grave injustice, and our society equated the new law with the validation of abortion as a morally acceptable action. As we have witnessed many times in our nation’s history, man’s law can either create order and harmony, or division and destruction.
Whether our legislation causes order or disorder depends on whether it is aligned with God’s law. The Prince of Lies uses the discrepancy between unjust/immoral positive law and the law of God to his advantage. According to Scripture, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Many innocent souls are aborted every day, and we are all devastated by the loss of those who were never given a chance to live. The lives of unborn children are destroyed and their families are torn apart. This was never a part of God’s original plan.
Having worked with thousands of women in crisis pregnancies in one of the largest cities in the United States, I have found that most of our clients who were considering abortion were Christians of different denominations: Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, Methodist, and non-denominational. I’ve met with only about ten atheists and about the same number of self-proclaimed Wiccans (these populations do not seem to thrive in the low income neighborhoods we serve at our agency). Many of the Christians were practicing their faith and were in church every week. Others would be occasional attendees, or they were brought to church at some point by a family member.
Bad law and bad theology have contributed to the deceitful rationale for why abortion would be considered an acceptable choice for a Christian. It is painful that they know God on some level, but their faith is poorly formed, leading them to reject His law when it is convenient to do so. My clients consider abortion because they choose to believe things about God and His law that simply are not true in order to justify their decision.
The women I work with are often swayed with misinformation about our Christian faith. This is an old tactic for the Father of Deceit: When Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness, the devil tempted Him by twisting Scripture, telling Him to throw Himself off the pinnacle of the temple (cf. Mark 4:9-11). While this was never going to work on the Son of God, it is unfortunately quite effective with vulnerable Christian women.
Many women and men faced with a decision to abort are confused about their relationship with God. For example, we have been rightly taught that “there is nothing that you can do to make God stop loving you.” Women healing from abortion especially need to hear this truth. However, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking that our actions are inconsequential. We can separate ourselves from God by the choices we make.
By freely choosing evil, we are making a decision to separate ourselves from God. Sometimes that distance becomes so great, it seems nearly impossible to find one’s way back towards God. Many of my clients have had multiple abortions, so it is imperative to talk with them about God’s healing and forgiveness. We must also, however, discuss repentance, which means turning away from sin. “By His wounds, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). God wants to give these women, and all of us, a new beginning and eternal life.
Those who are contemplating abortion are often deceived by the idea that “no sin is greater than another.” These clients say to themselves: “What’s one more sin? I’m already a sinner anyway.” When I ask her “Would you rather I steal your car or that I shoot your brother?” Quickly, the client chooses the car of course. It is obvious that although both actions are sinful, according to the laws of both God and man, it is clearly more offensive when innocent blood is shed (cf. Proverbs 6:16-19).
Often, clients tell me that “God will forgive me…I’ve already prayed about it.” The half-truth in this is particularly insidious in that it appears that they can do no wrong. It is very difficult to convince a client not to have an abortion when they believe that God has already forgiven them for a sin they have not yet committed. In such cases, personal experience is sometimes the best teacher. “If your boyfriend decided to go to a club tonight and ‘make love’ to another woman, would you forgive him in advance so that he could go on with his plans?” Their shocked response quickly gives way to an understanding of the sin of presumption. God’s love and mercy is indeed complete, but we must also love those we serve enough to tell them the truth: redemption includes both admitting the seriousness of sin and turning away from it.
Satan has been very successful in convincing generation after generation that children are a burden to be avoided at all costs, and this lie is only strengthened with unjust decisions such as Roe v. Wade. We should not be surprised that the stories we hear in helping women choose life reflect the conflicts we hear at the national level, since both are based on the same lies. In truth, children are a joy and a blessing, and to accept responsibility for raising them is a great gift and opportunity to grow in love.
Our laws are both a symptom and a shaper of our culture, which is increasingly malformed and disordered. It is our duty as Christians to stand up for a culture of life because it is then that we represent the light of Our Lord and Savior. The truth will pierce through the darkness of the lies that surround us, and help us recover laws that affirm life rather than destroy it.
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