When does life begin?
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Psalm 139:16
I have been reading many articles on when life begins as far as science is concerned. At one point in time it was widely accepted by scientists that life began at conception, and was published in main stream sex education books as a fact stating, “human life begins when the sperm cells of the father and the egg cells of the mother unite.” I would argue that to this day the majority of the scientific community still agrees with this statement based on scientific articles on the study of the growth of a child in the womb.
The problem today is that individuals are using science to support their agenda on the morality of abortion, and altering the English language to dehumanize human babies because their location starts in the womb. Many women will argue that a “fetus” has no right to inhabit their body without their consent. I find that statement to be absolutely absurd. You consent to the possibility of pregnancy when you participate in coitus. They will also argue that it isn’t a life until it’s viable outside of the womb or is born. That line was previously drawn at 26 weeks. Science now shows that a baby can survive outside of the womb at 20 weeks. Furthermore, with all the articles that I have read, science doesn’t really provide a real answer for when life begins anymore as science is now used as a political agenda to keep abortion legal. It has been corrupted by politics when it comes to a baby in the womb. One scientist even stated that, “life begins when the mother decides it begins.” This is proving that science isn’t as reliable on this topic as one might think anymore. So where do we turn to for answers? If you are a Christian then my hope would be that you said your bible or God’s word.
So let’s take a look at God’s word:
“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:27
“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
Job 33:4
“Your hands made me and formed me.”
Psalm 119:73
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Psalm 139:13-16
“Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”
Psalm 100:3
“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: ‘I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.”
Isaiah 44:24
“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
Isaiah 64:8
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!”
Psalm 127:3-5
“How terrible it will be for anyone who argues with his Maker! He is like a broken piece of pottery lying on the ground. Does clay say to a potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does a pot say, ‘You don’t have any skill’? How terrible it will be for anyone who says to his father, ‘Why did you give me life?’ How terrible for anyone who says to his mother, ‘Why have you brought me into the world?’ The Lord is the Holy One of Israel. He made them. He says to them, ‘Are you asking me about what will happen to my children? Are you telling me what I should do with what my hands have made?”
Isaiah 45:9-11
“If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound,bruise for bruise.”
Exodus 21:22-25
Through my scriptural studies on this topic I have found that God values life very much:
- He created us in his image. (Genesis 1:27)
- He gives us life. (Job 33:4, Psalm 100:3, Isaiah 44:24)
- He formed us in the womb. (Psalm 119:73, Psalm 139:13-16, Isaiah 44:24)
- He knows what will happen in every day of our life. (Psalm 139: 13-16)
- Children are a blessing from God. (Psalm 127: 3-5)
- Who are we to question God’s creations? (Isaiah 64:8, Isaiah 45: 9-11)
- Killing an infant in the womb is seen as murder in the eyes of God. (Exodus 21:22-25)
I’ve heard all of the arguments; what if the child is abused, grows up poor, has been determined to have a health issue that would make their quality of life less than someone else’s, what if someone was raped, a victim of incest, what if the pregnancy is life threatening to the mother, so on and so forth. I would like to point out that the majority of abortions that are performed are out of the irresponsibility of adults and is a convenience for them to fix their “mistakes”. There is less than .1% of abortions that are performed due to rape, incest, or life threatening issues for the mother. As far as the economical or abuse argument, who are we to play God and say that person doesn’t even get a chance at life because their circumstances coming into life aren’t perfect. Let’s be honest, who’s circumstances are perfect when a woman becomes pregnant or a baby enters this world? The majority of the people in the world struggle to make ends meet and no one is ever really prepared to be a parent whether it be financial reasons or the responsibility required to raise a child. Does that give us a right to kill an innocent life and prevent it from even having a chance to choose for themselves? Absolutely not and I think that it is fair to conclude that God is against the murder of an infant, even in the womb as Exodus 21:23-25 says “any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”
The Bible teaches that every human life is a gift from God, an absolute value from conception until its natural end. From Scripture we also know that a person has the right to choose treatment for himself in line with God’s will. But we will not use our Christian freedom to end God’s gift of life because we judge the quality to be poor. I would also like to point out that Jesus Christ was sent to come into this world, as a man, formed in the womb and born just as the rest of us are.
Who are we to question our maker’s creations? Who are we to judge if someone gets the right to live or not simply because a life starts in the womb? Not a single one of us reading this would have ever had a chance to live if all of our mothers decided to kill us before we even had a chance. We are creations of God and we all start in the womb. If you deem your life valuable then so is the life of the unborn who have no voice–you came to be in the same way.
- Imago Dei - June 7, 2020
- The Suppression of Truth - May 3, 2020
- “A person is a person no matter how small” -Dr. Suess. - April 26, 2020