The Least of These: The Unborn
The Least of These: The Unborn.
“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to the very least, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:31-46).
Statistics: Every Number Counts in the Eyes of Creator God:
Abortion, Neonaticide, and Infanticide: As of 2024, there are a million murders of unborn babies a year (400,000 in abortion centers and 600,00 chemical abortions at home), and 70 million abortions since 1973; 13,000 deaths of infants in late-term abortions; untold numbers of newborns left to die soon after birth.
IVF: At least 1.8 million embryos conceived in reproductive technology this year will never be born, and will be either discarded with the trash, left frozen, or used for research. Only 7% of embryos, conceived and thus containing the full complement of human DNA, will eventually survive the process. There have been untold millions of conceived embryos that have been destroyed, with more deaths to preborn children each year through IVF than abortion.
Surrogacy: This rent-a-womb industry treats children like commodities. It cruelly deprives the newborn of his/her natural mother and in the process leaves what scientists call a “primal wound” in the child’s brain development. There are around 2,000 surrogate births each year.
The Sanctity of Human Life: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make humankind in Our image, according to Our likeness… So God created humankind in His own image; in the image of God He made him; male and female He created them… Then God formed a person from the dust of the ground, and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life, so that He became a living being.”(Gen. 1:26-27 and 2:7). Every human person carries God’s holy fingerprint. Therefore all of human life is sacred, and we all participate one way or another in the sanctity of human life. Every person we see is sacred, set apart to represent and reflect a holy God. That person we love to hate is sacred. And so is each of us. We all have a sacred center that can never be fully erased, since we all bear the image of God. Since we are all image-bearers, let us treat each other accordingly. Let’s not limit our perspective of someone to that person’s chosen identity. Instead, each of us can certainly choose to recognize the central identity in each person, the fact that each person is created to resemble God. Let us treat each human humanely, as an image-bearer worthy of respect, empathy and compassion. God is saying to each of us… Every person is sacred to me, you are not to despise, disrespect or mistreat My handiwork! Every person you don’t like, or who is doing something you don’t like; every person you don’t understand, or you don’t want to understand; every person you look down on simply because he/she is beneath you… All of them have something in common: Every person is made in the image of God, a hand-crafted original, breathing with the very breath of the Creator, possessing a dignity above the rest of creation; Each person is individually loved by a personal God, who in fact died for that person. God in the flesh would have sacrificed Himself for that person if s/he was the only living person on earth. Believe it or not, God continues to identify with each person. If we mistreat a fellow image-bearer, God takes it personally. When we disrespect someone else, God objects and is affronted. “Whoever mocks poor people insults their Creator.” (Proverbs 17:5). Likewise, when we show compassion, we affirm our Maker. Loving others is a primary way we show our love for God. When we love other people, we are respecting and honoring the handiwork of God. When we forget that a person is an image-bearer, we essentially are dehumanizing and dishonoring that person. Instead, let us humanize every person before we ignore, demean or judge them. Let us embrace the sublime humanity of each person we meet. To honor the image of God in a person doesn’t mean we endorse what they are doing or not doing. Each and every person is sacred: gay or straight; law-breaking or law-abiding; rich or poor; all races, all religions, all ethnic groups; each gender; every age, old or young; disabled or able-bodied; undereducated or well-schooled; rural or urban; mentally impaired or not; homeless or not; emotionally troubled or at peace; progressive or traditional; promiscuous or chaste; dreamer or realist; weak or strong. Everyone you see is sacred and deserves our honor and respect. Let us learn to identify each other with our common identity, made in the image of Christ, and thus of priceless value. “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” (C S. Lewis).
The Tragic Truth of Abortion: Abortion is the killing of an unborn child developing in the womb of a pregnant mother. It is morally equivalent to child sacrifice, and is the ultimate child abuse. A preborn baby in the womb is actually a human life! Let’s follow the science: At the moment of conception, the parents’ DNA is passed on to this new creation; the genetic framework that makes someone human is established; the new person’s inherited characteristics are determined, everything from sex to facial features to body type to hair color to his/her personality. At conception, everything is now mapped out, programmed, and it’s full steam ahead as the unborn person receives the nutrition and protection needed by the pregnant mom. The baby’s heart begins to beat on day 18, response to touch at 13 weeks. By the tenth week of pregnancy, the preborn baby has brain activity, a digestive system, and all the main bodily organs ate formed. Some in the medical community, based on outdated research, claim that the fetus starts to feel pain at the 24th week, while recent fetal research confirms it is actually much sooner, that the unborn baby is already forming pain receptors at 7 weeks that are fully linked to the brain by 12 weeks, and at 15 weeks the brain’s hemispheres are connected with the nerves in the spine to signal pain and a stress response to anything invasive. The humanity of the unborn from the point of conception has been well established in the scientific community. Abortion is the taking of an innocent human life at its most vulnerable. Since 1973’s Roe v. Wade, there have been almost 70 million abortions. Only a statistic? Not when you consider that each and every one of those 70 million preborn children were in the process of being handcrafted by our Creator, were created in the image of God, and thus has a God-given value and enjoys eternal worth. There has been a growing callousness in our general society toward the worth and dignity of children ever since abortion has become such an accepted part of our culture. Abortion is a barbaric violation of the sacred intimacy between mother and child, and is an abomination in the eyes of God. It is unthinkable that in a civilized society it would be acceptable to pick up a sharp scalpel, reach into the womb of a pregnant mother, slice up the fetus into small enough parts to suction out with a miniature vacuum cleaner, and dispose of the remains into a trash bag to be taken out with the afternoon trash. It is equally unthinkable that more than half of the abortions now are accomplished at home, with no medical personnel at hand, and taking two pills that have resulted in death of the mother as well as the unborn child. In the U. S. society, the innocent blood of these children is crying out to God from the ground. The voices of these victims seem to be getting louder and louder.
Knowing the Facts about the Abortion Process: The pro-abortion crowd has very little imagination. There are so many time-worn cliches and empty slogans thrown around by anti-life proponents that fact-checking them is important so that we don’t accept them without thinking. When we hear phrases that are obviously questionable and possibly untruthful, it’s time to tackle them with clear thinking and common sense. In examining their slogans, we need to follow the science with moral reasoning. So much of what is said is obvious spin, is not grounded in reality, and does not make logical sense: “My body, my choice!” In truth, the whole point of a pregnancy is that another entirely different body is growing inside the woman. The unborn baby is dependent on the pregnant woman, but the baby still maintains its own autonomy as a separate human being. The baby has its own DNA, genetic framework, and everything from conception that makes the baby develop its own body. No, it’s not the pregnant woman’s body, it’s the baby’s body. “Don’t worry about it, the fetus doesn’t feel a thing!” The latest fetal research reports that the unborn baby is already forming pain receptors at 7 weeks that are fully linked to the brain by 12 weeks. The fetus is sensitive to touch at 13 weeks, and at 15 weeks the brain’s hemispheres are connected with the nerves in the spine to signal pain and a stress response to anything invasive. So, yes, the fetus does indeed start to feel pain quite early in its development. “But we don’t even know when a human life actually begins!” Everything that makes us human began at the fixed point of conception. Science has no doubts when human life begins, but so many still wonder as if it’s a grand mystery. At conception the fertilized egg is given its DNA Blueprint, the genetic instructions that determine everything from gender to skin color to blood type to even hair/eye color, and perhaps even to height, weight, personality and future health. After conception, just provide nutrients and protection and this little human being grows from one stage to another. At conception, the human identity has officially begun. Besides, allow the unborn to develop, and what do you have… a fish? A turtle? A bird? “Reproductive Freedom!” At what cost? Do we have the freedom to harm or destroy another innocent person for our own benefit? Are we free to give someone else a death sentence who can’t speak for himself? Does “pro-choice” mean we have the freedom to choose life or death for another person who has a natural right to life? Reproductive freedom for the woman has resulted in the baby’s freedom completely and permanently taken away. “The abortion procedure is simple and natural health care.” Not to the baby it’s not. (Warning: The following is true but is not for the faint of heart). The major abortion procedures are: (1.) Aspiration Abortion: During the first 12 weeks; a high-power suction tube is inserted into the uterus and proceeds to tear apart the baby’s body parts and suck them through a hose into a waste container; (2.) D. and C. Abortion: Up through the 12th week; a razor-sharp knife is inserted into the uterus and cuts the baby’s body apart into small enough pieces to be sucked out of the womb and placed in a waste container; (3.) D. and E. Abortion: Up through 18 weeks; a forceps is inserted into uterus, and the doctor dismembers the baby’s body parts by twisting and pulling out the dismembered parts, at which time the head is crushed in order to remove it; (4.) Saline Abortion: Between 4-7 months; a strong saline solution is injected into the uterus through the woman’s abdomen, which burns the baby’s skin off, dehydrates the baby, and eventually the baby dies from salt poisoning; (5.) Late-Term Abortion: The doctor injects Digoxin into the unborn baby’s heart, causing immediate heart attack and death. The next day the woman takes Misoprostol to stimulate contractions. The 3rd day, the woman delivers her dead baby; (6.) Partial-Birth Abortion: Performed by the doctor up to the time of delivery and sometimes during delivery; the unborn baby is placed feet-first in the breech position, at which time the doctor delivers the baby intact outside of the womb, leaving just the head in utero. The doctor then sucks out the brain matter from the baby’s cranium, crushes the cranium, and then delivers the dead baby’s body. There is no getting around the fact that abortion is grotesque, inhumane, and a personal affront to the God who created that baby. But of course abortion’s effects on the mother is equally important. Research on post-abortion women conclude that there is a greater risk of breast cancer, of future child-bearing, and the psychological impact that includes depression/anxiety, PTSD, guilt and regret, shame, and even suicidal thoughts as the woman has to endure many fluctuations of hormones in her body. The latest report on medical abortion-related deaths claims that there are at least 12 deaths yearly, though that figure is inaccurate because deaths go wildly unreported. There is still one more abortion procedure, chemical abortion, explained below:
Mifepristone and Misoprostol: The at-home abortion pill, also known as RU-486, was legalized in 2000, and now makes up at least 54% of all abortions in the U.S. This procedure is known as chemical abortion, as opposed to medical abortions or surgical abortions performed in clinics or hospitals. This abortion conveniently done in the privacy of the home, generally during the first trimester of the pregnancy, involves two chemicals: Mifepristone and Misoprostol. The first chemical is a synthetic steroid that blocks the hormone progesterone, which cuts off the fetus’ blood and nutrient supply, and eventually kills the unborn baby through starvation. Misoprostol is also synthetic, and is ingested 2-3 days after Mifepristone, inducing contractions and forcefully expelling the dead fetus in an early delivery. Pro-abortion proponents claim this chemical abortion to be completely safe but that is simply untrue. There have been at least 24 deaths reported, literally thousands of injuries to the pregnant women, and its complication rates are 4 times higher than a surgical abortion. These harmful effects of chemical abortions are now being documented: 10% of women reported a continuing pregnancy; 29% reported an extreme bleeding event with fever; 43% needed to quickly seek subsequent medical help from a qualified medical professional; 18% of women required a subsequent surgical abortion. In all cases, there are common abdominal pains for several days, and the heavy bleeding usually lasts between 9-16 days afterwards. 8% of the women reported the severe bleeding to last at least 30 days. There are many, many women who require hospitalization because of the acute hemorrhaging and the risk of infections. The truth is, chemical abortions at home kills the unborn baby and is a danger to the mother as well.
The Reversal Pill: APR (Abortion Pill Reversal) is the protocol of giving the hormone progesterone to pregnant women up to the 7th week of pregnancy in order to counteract and outcompete with the mifepristone taken in the midst of a chemical abortion at home. (see “M” above). The APR must be administered within 72 hours of that first chemical taken, and before the second chemical misoprostol is taken. Progesterone has been regularly accepted in the medical establishment since the 1950’s for those women susceptible to a miscarriage. According to Heartbeat International, this protocol has already saved at least 5,000 babies from being aborted. As one would expect, the abortion proponents have deemed APR as being “dangerous,” “unsafe,” “ineffective,” “experimental,” a product of misinformation, and “based on unethical research.” Colorado has submitted to this propaganda by making the APR illegal and declaring its use as “medical misconduct.” APR is being promoted, though, by a network of over 7,000 medical professionals who staunchly believe APR as safe and should be available to all pregnant women. “APR rescue is an evidence-based therapy that has saved the lives of thousands of children whose mothers began a chemical abortion but then changed their minds” (Dr. Christine Francis, MD, the CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNs).
IVF and Surrogacy: Technologies of Reproduction: Many have claimed that the more mechanical an era, the less humane it becomes. Our contemporary age tends to support that theory. Take the IVF phenomenon, for instance. Little does the world know that literally millions of frozen embryos have been discarded or given to science in the IVF process. This is a profound tragedy to those who believe that human life begins at conception. Research reveals that only 7% of embryos produced in the lab via IVF will eventually survive the process. Evidently, most of the fertilized eggs, which are conceived human beings, remember, die from either the unsuccessful thawing of the frozen embryo, or being forgotten in a freezer after a few years, or a failure to successfully implant in the surrogate’s womb, or are discarded after being rejected because of being at-risk or the wrong gender. The huge increase of surrogacy is another unfortunate case of when an advanced technology went ahead of any moral considerations. In this case, we are referring to the process in which sperm provided by the intended father is used to fertilize an egg from the egg donor which has no intention of remaining that baby’s mother. It has been termed the “rent-a-womb” process, in which a pregnancy is produced in order for the “new parent” to enjoy “his/her” child. The fertilized embryo is implanted into the surrogate mother, and when the pregnancy reaches full term and the baby is delivered, the purchaser will assume parenthood. There is no maternal bonding immediately after birth, and there is no natural mother raising the child as it grows older. Surrogacy denies each child’s right to have a natural mother. Surrogacy is an industry that mistreats children, for many reasons: The baby is deprived of a mother-baby bonding at birth, because of the intentional separation of baby from the surrogate as soon as the baby is delivered. This has, naturally, been known to produce a “primal wound” in the child that results in major physiological stressors. This traumatic separation at birth has dire consequences, including the recently researched fact that natural mother separation at birth actually alters the structures of the infant brain. Infant separation from mother is very traumatic on the infant who is created to bond with the mother’s smell, touch and breast milk, possibly producing permanent consequences such as mental illness later in life. As the child grows older, children raised in a home without the natural mother, without that vital maternal love, will experience a gaping hole in the child psyche, because children are designed by God to depend on maternal love as they mature, as well as father love. It is logical too that a child born from a surrogate will have all kinds of identity problems, wondering who provided the other half of one’s DNA and genetic background… I seem to have my father’s nose, but where did I get my hair color? The billion-dollar surrogacy business treats infants as a commodity, something bought and sold, and not a successfully conceived sacred human being. In a worst-case scenario that tragically has repeated itself around the world at a shocking level, there are times when the child is intentionally produced to be trafficked and thus become a money maker. This is nightmare material, and a horror story that has been documented around the world. Believe it or not, surrogate babies are shipped worldwide, with no vetting of interested parents or screening of pedophile backgrounds. The welfare of the children being acquired isn’t even considered by those conducting the business. There are cases of pedophile rings being established this way. This whole business is so easily taken advantage of by those who are warped and evil, that perhaps the whole surrogacy industry should be shut down.
On the Womb as a Sacred Place: “You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord. You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place… carefully, skillfully, shaping me from nothing to something. Your eyes have seen my unformed substance. You saw who you created me to be before I became an embryo! (Psalm 139:13-16, a psalm of David; TPT). The mother’s womb isn’t that difficult to define. The womb is the physical organ of the woman that is constructed of muscles and ligaments and blood vessels that encircle the fetus, making a safe place for the unborn baby to grow and develop within the pregnant mother; a protected shelter that completely surrounds the growing child in the womb; a quiet and peaceful refuge, a nourishing sanctuary, and a life-giving haven for the developing unborn baby; the protective barrier that guards the growing fetus from outside danger. Creator God designed a safe place within each woman’s body to offer safe harbor to a growing baby when the woman is pregnant. This womb is of course necessary for a fetus to bond with its mother, to develop in peace, to be enveloped in loving nourishment, to grow in the security and trust needed to develop in a healthy way. This secure shelter within the pregnant woman prepares the baby to grow to the point where it will survive outside the womb. In the womb, the unborn baby is literally surrounded by a divinely designed system to protect and feed and cherish the child within her. The woman’s womb is the sanctuary in which the strongest human bond of love is established, the bond between mother and child. Womb is one of the root words for mercy in the Hebrew Bible. The word “rachem” is translated in Scripture as mercy, compassion, and womb. In the Hebrew mind, the womb is much more than the sacred place in a woman that enables the unborn baby to safely develop till birth. Womb also became a metaphor for mercy because of its linguistic roots. The Hebrew word rachem is intended to mean mercy-womb. God formed each of us with rachem when we were mere unborns, and we were conceived and nourished within His rachem, the mother’s mercy-womb. The woman’s pregnancy is the ideal time for the woman to extend God’s compassion to that human being inside of her. The developing baby utterly depends on a mercy-womb. And God wants Himself to be experienced as our womb-sanctuary, our safe place in Him, our refuge and shelter. God Himself yearns to be experienced as a womb of mercy for each of us, a refuge and shelter and safe haven. The purpose of our lives is to live in God’s rachem, God’s womb of love.