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There is Life in the
Womb
By Allan E. McNabb
A few years ago, while Beth was carrying one of our children, we had
an ultrasound in the seventh week of pregnancy due to complications. I
was amazed that at seven weeks we could see the heart beating. Also,
with another child, we were able to see the blood moving between my wife
and the fetus through the umbilical cord. By witnessing the life
of a child while still in the womb, I can personally testify to the accuracy
of the Scriptures teaching that an unborn baby is a living human being.
What Constitutes Life?
The question as to what constitutes life is one that has puzzled mankind
for many years. Recently, we have also been perplexed with the
question of who has the right to take another's life, whether they
are old and ill or whether they are unborn and healthy.
In regards to the unborn, let us go to God's word to determine if the
fetus is a living being or simply a mass of tissue. First of all,
notice that the Bible uses the same Greek word (brephos) for
a fetus, new born child, and young child (Lk. 1:41, 44; Lk. 2:12, 16;
Lk. 18:15; Acts 7:19.) So, we must immediately conclude that God considers
an unborn child to be as living as a child that is outside the womb.
Since it is murder to kill a child that is outside the womb, it is murder
to kill a child that is inside the womb. If murder is a sin then abortion
is a sin, since abortion terminates the life on an unborn child.
What does the Bible say?
The Bible teaches us that a fetus is a living human being, a child.
- Psalms 139:13-16 David speaks of himself as
a living being separate and apart from his mother during his mothers
pregnancy - "I" and "me". David speaks of
his personage while "unformed". The "blob of
cells" or "tissue" that pro-abortionists say are not
human is affirmed as human by God through inspiration of His servant
David.
- Exodus 21:22-25 "Woman with child" affirms
that before birth the fetus is a child separate and apart from the
mother. Verse 23 states that, according to Old Testament Law,
if a child is born prematurely and dies due to harm inflicted upon
the child's mother, then the penalty for murder is imposed upon the
individual causing harm to the woman. Do you think this would
include an abortionist if we were living under the Old Testament Law?
- Psalms 51:5 The fetus is an individual separate
from his mother at conception. The living person ("I"/"me")
existed upon conception. The woman's "choice" is whether
or not to have intercourse. Once a woman has conceived, God views
the life of the unborn as precious and valuable as those already born.
- Ecclesiastes 11:5 This passage affirms that
the fetus is a child, separate and apart from the mother. Today,
man still does not know how or when the soul enters the fetus, but
God affirms that a fetus is as much a child at conception as after
birth. Therefore, we must believe that the soul enters a fetus/child
at conception.
- Job 3:13-16 Job considered himself to be a
living human being apart from any other human while in the womb.
- Luke 1:15 John the Baptist was filled with
the Holy Spirit while in the womb; therefore, John was a living person
while in the womb. A mass of tissue could not be filled with
the Holy Spirit.
- Luke 1:41, 44 The babe leaped in her womb
for joy. A baby in the womb can leap for joy - a mass of tissue
cannot leap. If a mass of tissue could leap in the womb, it could
leap outside of the womb. Have you seen a mass of tissue leap?
- Matt. 1:23 Mary, while pregnant with Jesus,
is said to have a child before birth.
- Matt. 2:1 "Now after Jesus was born" considers
that Jesus was Jesus before birth, while still in Mary's womb.
An Unborn Fetus is a Living Child
After examining these Scriptures, believers in God's word must affirm
that an unborn fetus is a living child, and that a woman has choice
over birth prior to conception, not after.
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