The Sanctity of Human Life
•
•
•
•
Abortion
Euthanasia
Suicide
Capital
Punishment
• Serving in
Military, Police
• Human
Engineering
Sanctity of Life
Address questions that people of the
21st century are faced with due to
the accomplishments of modern
science:
 Does abortion end the life of a
human being?
 Is suicide an acceptable way to
terminate one’s life?
 Is euthanasia a merciful way of
preventing suffering?
Sanctity of Life
Foundational principles that must be
understood :
1.Man is not the product of organic
evolution, but a creation of God
(Gen. 2:7; Acts 17:25; 1 Tim. 6:13)
Sanctity of Life
Foundational principles that must be
understood :
2.Gen. 9:6 - Here we see the
distinctive sanctity of human life.
a.Man is more than higher form of
animal - he is created in the
image of God (Gen. 1:26-27).
b.God has authorized man to use
animals for food (v. 3) – without
its blood (Lev. 17:11)
Sanctity of Life
Foundational principles that must be
understood :
2.Gen. 9:6 – (cont.)
a.Man’s blood more sacred,
neither man nor animal may
shed it (Gen. 9:3-6)
b.Distinction between animal and
human life
c. Willful destruction of human life
is sin (Ex. 20:30)
Sanctity of Life
Foundational principles that must be
understood :
3.Only the Creator has the right to
authorize the termination of the life
of a human being (Gen. 9:6; Ex.
20:13; 21:12; Lev. 24:21)
Except when God specifically
delegates that right to men (e.g.
Rom. 13:14; 1 Pet. 2:14; Acts 24:11)
The Sanctity of Human Life
•
•
•
•
Abortion
Euthanasia
Suicide
Capital
Punishment
• Serving in
Military, Police
• Human
Engineering
Sanctity of Life
Abortion Violates
the Sanctify of Life
Abortion Violates the
Sanctify of Life
 If abortion is an act of killing a
human being, then abortion is
murder and sin against God
• It would be, without doubt, the
shedding of innocent blood (Isa.
9:6)
 Facts show abortion is the killing of
a human being
Secular Arguments Against Abortion?
 Libertarians for Life (L4L.org) –
atheists
 A Secular Case Against Abortion by
Jennifer Roth – secular humanist
(www.infidels.org/library/modern/de
bates/secularisst/abortion/oth1.html)
 Feminists for Life (feministsforlife
.org) – non-sectarian
Secular Abortion Arguments
 Scientific considerations
– Human Embryology 101
– When does human life begin?
 Legal Issues
– Is the unborn a person?
– Are the laws logically consistent?
 Moral Issues
– When does a person begin to
exist?
Scientific Arguments
• When does human life begin?
•Medical textbooks
•Statements of doctors
• When does abortion occur?
• “Products of conception” – just
a “blob of tissue”
Medical Embryology Textbooks
The Developing Human: Clinically
Oriented Embryology
"Zygote: this cell results from the union of
an oocyte and a sperm. A zygote is the
beginning of a new human being (i.e., an
embryo). Human development begins at
fertilization… This highly specialized,
totipotent cell marks the beginning of
each of us as a unique individual.”
Medical Embryology Textbooks
Essentials of Human Embryology
“In this text, we begin our
description of the developing
human with the formation and
differentiation of the male and
female sex cells or gametes, which
will unite at fertilization to initiate
the embryonic development of a
new individual.”
Medical Embryology Textbooks
Human Embryology & Teratology
“Fertilization is an important
landmark because, under
ordinary circumstances, a new,
genetically distinct human
organism is thereby formed…”
What Do Medical Doctors Say?

Dr. Alfred Bongioanni (University of
Pennsylvania):
“I have learned from my earliest medical
education that human life begins at
the time of conception.”
 Dr. Jerome LeJeune (University of
Descartes):
“after fertilization has taken place a
new human being has come into
being.”
What Do Medical Doctors Say?

Dr. Hymie Gordon (Mayo Clinic):
“By all criteria of modern molecular
biology, life is present from the
moment of conception.”

Dr. Micheline Matthews-Roth (Harvard
University Medical School):
“It is scientifically correct to say that
an individual human life begins at
conception”
Human Embryology

Fetal heart begins
to form 18 days
after conception
 Measurable heart
beat 21-24 days
after conception
Human Embryology

Fetal brain begins
to form on day 23
 Brain waves
produced by 6
weeks
Abortion Statistics by Weeks of
Gestation
Weeks of Gestation
Abortions (% of total)
<6
7
8
>8
22
18
18
42
Therefore, 78% of abortions occur after
fetal brain waves have begun
Elam-Evans, L.D., et al. 2002. Abortion Surveillance
-- United States, 1999. Surveillance Summaries 51(SS09)
1-28. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
Fetus – Just a “Blob of Tissue”?
“I opened the sock up and I put it on the towel
and there were parts in there of a person. I’d
taken anatomy; I was a medical student. I knew
what I was looking at. There was a little scapula
and there was an arm, and I saw some ribs and
a chest, and I saw a little tiny head, and I saw a
piece of a leg, and I saw a tiny hand. ... I
checked it out and there were two arms and two
legs and one head, etc., and I turned and said, I
guess you got it all ... It was pretty awful that first
time... it was like somebody put a hot poker into
me.” (Dr. David Brewer, in training)
Fetus – Just a “Blob of Tissue”?
“I watched as the contents of the woman’s
womb came through a suctioning device and
into a stainless-steel pail sitting at his feet. I
stepped back and wiped the perspiration from
my brow. “This is kind of gruesome,” I said….
The doctor said, “At this point in a pregnancy,
the products of conception aren’t much.” I
stepped forward and peered into the pail. This
time I broke out in a cold sweat. I backed up
and leaned against the wall, my eyes closed.
Dear Jesus! I thought. I just saw someone
murdered! And I just stood and watched!
(Nurse Don Haines, in training)
Fetus – Just a “Blob of Tissue”?
“I had a quick sonogram and then received a shot
of methrotrexate. After the shot, I came home... I
went to bed that evening around 9 p.m… I
continued contracting and bleeding most of the
night. Around three in the morning, I went to the
bathroom. When I stood up, I noticed that the pain
and the pressure was not from clots, but from
passing the placenta. When I looked in the
commode, I saw laying in the center of the
placenta my baby. I saw the baby's perfectly
formed hands, the little fingers. I remember the
scream that came from my mouth... [from a 7 week
abortion] (Char, “I used to be Pro-choice...But…”)
Scientific Conclusions

Human life begins at conception

Human development proceeds
rapidly (all organs and systems
are in place by week 8)

Abortion stops a beating heart

Most abortions occur after the
fetus exhibits measurable brain
waves
Legal Arguments
Consider These Points:





Right to life
Supreme Court decision
Legal definition of murder
Definition of murder –
exceptions
Personhood issues
Right to Life
The Declaration of Independence of
the United States guarantees
“certain unalienable Rights, that
among those are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness”
Right to Life
hold these
to be self-of
The"We
Declaration
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that allguarantees
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theevident,
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equal, that
they are endowed
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“certain
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Creator
with
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among
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Life, Liberty
and
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Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”
Supreme Court Decision
 The Supreme Court held that the
“right to privacy,” assured the
freedom of a person to abort unless
the state had a “compelling interest”
in preventing the abortion.
 The Court then held that, though the
state had an interest in protecting
fetal life, this interest did not
become “compelling” until “fetal
viability” occurred in the third
trimester of pregnancy.
Legal Allowances for
Killing an Unborn Child
Texas Penal Code, Title 5.Offenses
Against the Person Chapter
19.Criminal Homicide
§ 19.01. TYPES OF CRIMINAL HOMICIDE.
(a) A person commits criminal homicide if he
intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with
criminal negligence causes the death of an
individual. (b) Criminal homicide is murder,
capital murder, manslaughter, or criminally
negligent homicide.1
Texas Penal Code, Title 5.Chapter
19.Criminal Homicide
§ 19.06. APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN
CONDUCT. This chapter does not apply to
the death of an unborn child if the conduct
charged is:
(1)conduct committed by the mother of the
unborn child;
(2)a lawful medical procedure performed by a
physician or other licensed health care
provider with the requisite consent, if the
death of the unborn child was the intended
result of the procedure; 1
Texas Penal Code, Title 5.Chapter
19.Criminal Homicide
§ 19.06. APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN
CONDUCT. This chapter does not apply
to the death of an unborn child if the
conduct charged is: (cont.)
(3) a lawful medical procedure performed
by a physician or other licensed health
care provider with the requisite consent
as part of an assisted reproduction as
defined by Section 160.102, Family Code;
Texas Penal Code, Title 5.Chapter
19.Criminal Homicide
Implications of this law:
A unborn baby is a “person”
Certain people are legally
allowed to kill that innocent
“person”
Legal Personhood Issues

The fetus is granted personhood
if wanted by the mother
 The fetus can become a nonperson at the discretion of the
mother
 However, a mother may not
choose to kill her born child
 How can the personhood of a
human being be decided by
another person?
Moral Arguments





“Benefit” to women
“Benefit to child (every child
“wanted”)
“Right” to control their own
body
Population control
Fetus is not a person –
personality argument
“Benefit” to Women
Prevention of deaths from “coat
hanger” or “back alley” abortions
 Cases of rape or incest, fetal
abnormalities or threats to
mother’s life or health
 Abortion alleviates economic
and social problems

Abortion Must Remain Legal to
Prevent Abortion Deaths
Year
Abortion-related Deaths
1940
1,470
1950
263
1965
201
“We spoke of 5,000-10,000 deaths a year....
I confess that I knew the figures were totally
false.” - Dr. Bernard Nathanson, (co-founder
NARAL), testimony before the Supreme
Court in 1972
Abortion Must Remain Legal to
Prevent Abortion Deaths
Deaths From Abortion
Year
1972
1973
1974
Legal Abortions
Legal
Illegal
?
615,831
763,476
24
25
26
41
21
7
Tietze, C. 1983. Induced Abortion: A World
View. The Population Council, New York.
The “Hard” Cases
Abortion must be available for:
 cases of rape or incest
– Represent only 1% of all cases

cases of fetal abnormalities
– Represent only 1% of all cases

mother’s health is at risk
– Represents only 3% of all
cases
The Alan Guttmacher Institute
(http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html)
Abortion Alleviates Economic
and Social Problems

Pregnancy subjugates women,
interferes with career and educational
choices
 For most women, pregnancy does
not interfere with the ability to work or
attend school, except after birth
 Laws prevent employers from firing
or discriminating against pregnant
women
Abortion Alleviates Economic
and Social Problems
(cont.)

Women are not forced to keep their
children -- adoption is always an
option
 The existence of social problems is
not justification for another evil
Every Child Should Be Wanted

Being wanted is not a condition
of the child, but of the adult

Is it fair to kill a child because of
the attitude of an adult?

Wanted children are less likely
to suffer abuse
Not true
Every Child Should Be Wanted
(Wanted Children Are Less Likely to Be Abused)
Year
1973
1980
1987
2000
Reported Child
Abuse Cases
167,000
785,100
2,025,200
1,726,000
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National
Center of Child Abuse & Neglect; National Analysis of
Official Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting
Women Have a “Right” to
Control Their Own Body
Is the fetus part their body?
 Separate circulatory system
 Unique DNA
Do we have rights to do anything
with our bodies?
 Assault
 Illegal drugs
 Use of drugs/alcohol during pregnancy
Population Control – Rebuttal

Those countries that outlaw abortion
have an overcrowding problem
– This does not indicated cause and
effect – these countries also have little
or no access to birth-control, poor
education, etc.
– War, disease and famine also curb
population growth. Should we condone
them?
Fetus Is Not a Person
“Persons . . . are members of a social
community that shapes and values them,
and personhood must be defined in terms
of interactions and relationships with
others.”
Susan Sherwin. 1999. Ethical Issues:
Perspectives for Canadians. Ed. Soifer,
Eldon. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview
Press, p. 267
Fetus Is Not a Person – Rebuttal

Personality definition problems
– Does a human non-person exist?
– What traits define personhood?
– Who makes the definition?
– Society has excluded certain
humans from personhood before
(e.g., African slaves, Chinese, etc.)
Should we make a new list of
human non-persons?
Fetus Is Not a Person – Rebuttal

The lack of certain personality traits
would remove from personhood:
– Those who are in a coma
– Elderly with degenerative
disorders (Alzheimer's, etc.)
– Mentally deficient
Next slide
Fetus Is Not a Person – Rebuttal
 The lack of certain personality traits
would remove from personhood:
– Mentally deficient (cont.)
• Genetic
• Neurological disease
• Mental illness
– Is is okay to consider these human
beings as non-persons?
Definition of Personhood
 One
who is consciously
performing personal acts –
eliminates those who are
sleeping
 One with a present capacity to
perform personal acts –
eliminates those who are in a
coma
Definition of Personhood

One who has a history of
performing personal acts –
eliminates one who was in a
coma from birth, but wakes up
 One with a future capacity for
performing personal acts –
makes those who are dying as
non-persons
Implications of FunctionallyDefined Personhood
 Newborns
lack the ability to perform
personal functions – in fact, newborn
humans are less capable physically
and mentally than virtually all other
mammals
 Therefore, on the basis of
functionally-defined personhood,
newborns fail the test could be killed
on the basis of “non-personhood”
When Does a Human
Become a Person?





At conception?
After 20 weeks’ gestation?
After 24 weeks (fetal viability
outside the womb)?
At birth?
At the point that the individual
expresses self-consciousness
and an interest in their continued
existence?
At Conception, It Is
Only a Single Cell
Claim:
 Fertilized eggs are single cells,
like blood cells or other parts of
the body
Rebuttal:
 The single cell is unique from both
the father’s and mother’s cells
and is the beginning of every new
human being
Claim: Prior to 20 Weeks, a
Fetus Is Not a Person



A person possess an individual
human personality
Prior to 20 weeks’ gestation, the
cerebral cortex has not yet
developed to the point that the
fetus can possess an individual
human personality
Thus, the fetus prior to 20 weeks’
gestation is not a person.
Prior to 20 Weeks, a Fetus Is Not
a Person – Rebuttal
Person = Personality Problem
– All persons were once fetuses.
When did we go from non-person
status to person status?
– To say that personality defines
personhood is to deny the role of
the body
– Mind/Body dualism?
Prior to 20 Weeks, a Fetus Is Not
a Person – Rebuttal
Brain Development Problem
The development of the brain
is programmed by the DNA – it
is an inherent function of the
fertilized ovum and continues
even after birth
Prior to 20 Weeks, a Fetus Is Not
a Person – Rebuttal
 Depends upon current technology
– Age of viability used to be 28 weeks
– Changed to 24 weeks in 1990
 Artificial womb (Nature, 2002)
– Developed for premature infants
– Uses oxygenated perfluorinated
hydrocarbons
– Could cut point of fetal viability in half?
Abortion Vs. Slavery
Abortion (2003) Slavery (1850’s)*
“They’re not
persons”
“They’re not
persons, but
property”
It’s a personal
It’s a personal
choice
choice
It’s a religious issue It’s a religious issue
*Stephen Douglas used all of these arguments in
favor of retaining slavery
Biblical Arguments Against Abortion
 All life is from God (Acts 17:25;
Eccl. 12:7)
• Human life sacred - created in
God’s image (Gen. 1:27; 9:6)
• Like marriage – what God has
joined together [flesh and spirit –
Eccl. 12:7; Jas. 2:26] let not man
separate (Mt. 19:6)
 Human life begins prior to birth,
not at birth
• Unborn child as intrinsically
valuable as that of the mother
(Ex. 21:22-23)
 “Fruit: [Heb. yeled] = “child” (cf.
Gen. 21:8 - Isaac)
• David - a “person” in his mother’s
womb (Psalm 139:13)
 Human life begins prior to birth,
not at birth (cont.)
• Eccl. 11:5 – “bones grow in the
womb of her who is with child”
• Mob formed in the womb (10:11;
31:15)
• Jeremiah formed in the womb
(1:5)
 Human life begins prior to birth,
not at birth (cont.)
• Greek “brephos – babe, young
child, infant
• Luke 1:41 - John in the womb
• Luke 2:14, 16 - Jesus laid in
the manger
• Acts 7:19 – babies
 Human life begins prior to birth,
not at birth (cont.)
• James 2:26 – death = separation
of spirit from body
• Thus, living being = body + spirit
• If life begins at conception, then
the spirit is present at conception
Abortion - sinful deliberate
destruction of an innocent
human life (Prov. 6:16-19)
What about a Child Conceived
from Incest or Rape?
 Rape and incest are wicked acts,
but “two wrongs do not make a
right”
 Willful abortion is still the murder of
an innocent child
What if a Continued
Pregnancy Would Result in
the Death of the Mother?
 This is not comparable to arbitrarily
taking the life of a healthy child from
a healthy mother for convenience
sake.
 If a choice has to be made, it is not
murder to make a choice
Legalization of Abortion
Is Based on Two Lies:
• Abortion destroys a bunch of
tissue, not a human life.
• Abortion is safe and helpful to
women.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Abortion Hurts Women
60% higher risk of dying from natural
causes
7x higher risk of suicide
Nearly 50% begin or increase
drug/alcohol use
Reproductive problems, i.e. infertility
or complications in later pregnancies
10% risk of immediate complications
Increase risk of breast, lung, and
cervical cancers
Abortion Hurts Women
Possible physical consequences of
abortion:
Pain
Infection
Excessive bleeding
Ripping or perforation of the uterus
Hemorrhage
Cervical tearing or lacerations
Endotoxic shock
Abortion Hurts Women
Possible physical consequences of
abortion:
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
Endometritis
Placenta Previa
Infertility
Cancer
Ectopic (tubal) pregnancy
Death
Abortion Hurts Women
Possible emotional consequences of
abortion:
Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS)
PAS has many associated
symptoms:
• Guilt
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Loss
Abortion Hurts Women
Possible emotional consequences of
abortion:
 Associated Symptoms (cont.)
• Anger
• Suicide
• Drug or alcohol abuse
• Eating disorders
• Sexual dysfunction
• Nightmares
• Preoccupation with death
Then why so many abortions?
• 30-60% of all abortions are a result
of coercion.
• 52% of women suffering from
abortion report they were “forced by
others” to abort.
• Coerced abortion is a form of
domestic violence.
Impact of Abortion
• A child is destroyed.
• A grieving mother may incur
irreparable harm.
• The mother’s circle of support
is permanently affected.
• Both church & society must
pick up the pieces.