Former Vice President Joe Biden and most of the other Democrat candidates for president claim to be personally against abortion but believe they can’t “push” their religious beliefs on others.
These left of center candidates have “progressed” to where they now are against the Hyde Amendment (forbidding public funds for abortions—with exceptions) and are in full favor of taxpayer-funded, unrestricted abortions. It seems to be a litmus test for all Democrat candidates.
Author and human-rights activist Aaron Cohen has pointed out that “only on the issue of abortion are lawmakers and candidates so careful to make sure they don’t attempt to influence the law according to their own beliefs. This isn’t the case with economic policy, immigration, health care or any other major issue.”
“That’s why,” Cohen says, “we, as voters, care what politicians personally believe—because we expect them to advocate and govern accordingly. We don’t just ask them what they plan to do if elected; we dig as deeply as possible into who they are.”
Scientists may study the stages of maturation and development of a preborn human. They may analyze certain chemical processes and changes or monitor electrical activity of the developing brain. But, with all of this knowledge, there is no clear consensus among scientists as to when this growing mass of cells with unique genes becomes a human person.
Is a human baby a person from the moment of conception, at the implantation of the fertilized egg into the uterine lining, somewhere during its prenatal development, at a point of viability outside of the womb, at the moment of birth or somewhere in between?
Those who have no biblical background are at the mercy of secular ethicists who wish to justify their personal bioethics. If the zygote (with 23 chromosomes from a human male and 23 from a human female) is human, then abortion of the preborn human is murder, no matter the number of weeks of pregnancy or the stage or status along the human continuum from the initial multiplying of the cells of a zygote to a maturing human fetus, where it could exist outside the mother’s womb.
Abortion is not just a “termination of a pregnancy” but human euthanasia, no matter what compelling rationale or altruistic agenda is used to justify it.
Scientific studies are helpful, but moral questions need to begin with the Bible. If the Bible is found to speak to the issues, it needs to be paramount to our understanding and choices—not peripheral.
Consider the implications of these biblical passages:
Psalm 139:13-16—where the use of personal pronouns in these verses indicate that there was a person present before the psalmist’s birth
Jeremiah 1:4-5—shows that there is a continuity between a child that is conceived and a child that is born.
Psalm 51:5—only “humanness” occurring at the time of conception would allow David to possess a sinful nature at that time.
John 16:21—Jesus indicates that the birthing process brings a human being from inside to outside of the womb.
Luke 1:39-44 (ESV)—Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, said that at the sound of her greeting “the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
“No place to Hyde!”
For several decades, Democrats who supported legal abortion begrudgingly accepted a policy, originally crafted by Illinois Republican Henry Hyde, that prevented taxed dollars to be used directly for abortion-related activity. This was a concession to the 58% of Americans who morally abhorred abortion and having their tax money used to pay for it.
Today’s Democratic Party is “all in” and has fully embraced abortion for all nine months of pregnancy—and beyond. They see this as a “human right” and demand that all Democrat candidates support this radical position.
Politicians need to be quizzed about the basic, ethical dilemmas surrounding human personhood. At what stage of human gestation (“egg to embryo”) is abortion murder of a preborn human child?
Does human personhood begin at fertilization, heartbeat, implantation in the uterus, before birth or at a certain number of days after birth?
When—after birth—is the taking of the life of a human baby, toddler, teen or senior citizen—murder? Why?
Are there exceptions? What about rape? Unwanted pregnancy? Wrong gender?
What about your own ethical positions on these matters? Right and wrong are not determined by what is easy or popular. Cultural opinions and practices may change, but Scriptures do not. Is your position firmly fixed by Scripture? Or could you be led to change your ethical beliefs by the opinions of others?
Do you hold the following ethical beliefs? Human life must be respected and protected from the moment of conception.
Direct abortion is gravely contrary to God’s moral law.
Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense.
These are the “pro-life” positions asserted by the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
What are the related, “sanctity-of-human-life” positions of your church? Have you asked your pastor?
Again, what about your own moral beliefs and practices?
Do you believe that abortion is the grave sin of killing an innocent, unborn child? Why?
Is your view strongly held and significant enough that you would publicly advocate for it?
Would you vote for someone who advocates for taxpayer funding of unrestricted abortions?
Would you contribute money to a political party which makes unrestricted abortion part of its party platform and will not allow a pro-life candidate to run for office under their banner?
Would you vote for candidates from that party? Why?
To believe, universally, that unborn human life should not be treated as less valuable than any human life outside the womb is challenging these days. To do so only makes logical sense if you believe it should apply to every life, young and old, all the time and not just when it is politically acceptable, or only when it comes to your own personal life or family?
Sometimes prolife beliefs are criticized with accusations of hating or attempting to control women. Other times, these positions are challenged with truly heart-wrenching anecdotes of unwanted pregnancies resulting from sexual assault.
But, if you really believe that an embryo or a fetus is an inherently valuable human life, made in God’s image, accepting the proabortion stance, though potentially politically beneficial, shouldn’t be any easier.
We should still seek out and celebrate the rare politicians who are not afraid to govern according to their moral beliefs and reject those who would compromise their own beliefs for political considerations.
We don’t have to vote for those with whom we disagree, but our democracy is healthier when principles—especially biblical principles—not politics, shape the public discourse.
Joe Biden was pro-life and pro-Hyde Amendment his whole political life—until a few weeks ago! Now he has turned his back on an overwhelming majority of fellow Catholics, let alone Americans, who oppose the extreme pro-abortion positions of Democrats.
Will voters hold the former vice president accountable for hypocritically failing to “celebrate life—all human life”?
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