This past December 1st the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case involving a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy that challenges Roe v. Wade. The issue in Roe v. Wade was when does human life become a person and subsequently invokes the constitutional protections afforded personhood.
In Roe the court ruled ex utero viability which was held to be any point in the pregnancy after 24 weeks, or what has become known as the second trimester, and if it was determined to be medically necessary for the health of the mother.
What has changed since Roe? Two things have changed; the mother’s health does not have to be in medical jeopardy, and late term abortions are allowed right up to just before birth. The old adage ‘give an inch and they will take a mile,’ has proven true in Roe v. Wade. Legal abortion has devolved from medically necessary to a convenient form of birth control at the expense of the baby’s life.
The implications of the court’s decision, either way, cannot be overestimated. The ramifications of the court’s decision will impact the law, medical treatment, political issues, and the spirituality of our nation to name just a few. And no matter what the decision is, our nation will most likely remain sharply divided over the issue of abortion.
We know from medical science that within thirty seconds of conception half of the mother’s chromosomes will unite with half of the father’s chromosomes which, if left alone, will grow to become a unique human being.
For this reason, nascent human life should be afforded the constitutional protections of personhood from conception. As much as I hate that we have become a divided culture over how we should treat innocent human life, I still believe we owe legal protection to the most vulnerable among us, the unborn.
But our nation’s spirituality, and by that I mean our desire to know and obey the God of the Bible, has declined along with our morals and respect for human life. I readily agree with the late Billy Graham who said, “The central issues of our time aren’t economic or political or social, important as these are. The central issues of our time are moral and spiritual in nature.”
Sadly, the fact that innocent human life has become a political and legal issue is an alarming commentary on the backslidden condition of our nation. If we had respect for human life there would be no need for laws to protect it, but we do not believe what the Scriptures teach.
I pray America repents of its sin and turns to Christ for forgiveness. I pray for national revival and that we as a nation would embrace the words of the psalmist, “ Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward,” Psalm 127:3.
I need to remind us that the real Supreme Court does not convene down here.
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