106: Abortion is Not a Choice, Abstinence Is

 Growing Sexually Mature - 6

 

They “did it”.  Yes, just that one “first” time, and then another and another.  It felt so good to feel “loved” and it felt so good to . . . . Well, sex is not a sin.  It is a natural act—that’s why girls have girl reproductive parts and boys have boy reproductive parts.  Those parts fit perfectly together, male and female, for the purpose of procreation, or reproduction. 

But here’s the deal: From our last “real talk”, it was revealed that there is a perfect time for everything; and, with that time, the perfect “purpose” attached to a level of maturity to cope with the consequences of using your reproductive organs for copulation (having sexual intercourse).

At 14 years of age, she’s pregnant.  At 16, he’s impregnated.  She feels the impending burden and pressure about to pour down on her the moment her parents get wind of her condition, then all of the school community, from the Head Teacher to her classmates, and the neighborhood, everybody!  She stopped going to church, but now she wishes she could run to her pastor and get . . . . HELP!

 

Embryo at 7 weeks:
A newly developing human (1st Trimester)

Every year, millions of embryos get mutilated and flushed down toilets, thrown into land refuse dumps, tossed out into large and small water bodies, or burned in fires flamed especially for their cremation.  Millions of “unborn” are murdered for the sake of “holding on to a good reputation.”

 

Fetus at 14 weeks (2nd Trimester)

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo (human life up to nine weeks) or fetus (human life after week nine).  An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or “spontaneous abortion”.  When deliberate steps are taken to end a pregnancy, it is called an induced abortion, or “induced miscarriage.  Today, we shall address the topic of induced abortion.  About 56 million deliberate, or induced, abortions are performed each year in the world through surgical means (suctioning or cutting), or by ingesting traditional medicines or herbal concoctions (1).

Why destroy life after creating life?  Was she raped? Was the pregnancy begotten by her father, brother, uncle in a nasty nest of incest?  Must she bear the reminder of an unspeakable pain and give birth to its memory?  These questions have rattled the moral and religious conscience of the concerned for centuries and have not disappeared.

Our discussion centers on the motive of teenagers having abortions in order to cover up their sin—the blatant disobedience of having sex outside of the maturity to care for a newborn if the sexual act leads to pregnancy.  If a Christian adolescent understands the concept of sin, why do even non-Christian adolescents also find themselves inducing abortions?  It is because we are one people with the same Creator who breathed life into every one of us.  We are made in His image, and we all know when we have disobeyed the will of our Progenitor—our moral thermometer registers the degree to which our actions rise beyond “normal”.

 

Abortion is termination of life. Some would argue that after having an abortion, there is little or no physical or psychological (emotional) effects.  Trauma is a severe emotional shock and pain caused my an extremely (often unexpected) upsetting experience.  Trauma for young people can be anything which shatters their confidence in themselves and their hope for a better life (2). 

There are effects to every action we commit.  Abortion’s physical trauma to the body is that it alters the body’s natural functioning.  If repeated, induced abortions can lead to “spontaneous” miscarriages later on because the body is a living being and registers every impact it experiences.  Once the body recognizes that when it’s pregnant, its embryo or fetus must be aborted, it can begin to do it without your help.  Addictions become addictions because the body was introduced to an alternative way of functioning and so expects to keep on being in that altered function registering it as “normal”.

Abortion’s psychological trauma is evidenced in how a young girl behaves after going through the ordeal of terminating a pregnancy.  Outwardly, she may appear relieved that she no longer has to face all the “pain” of being caught pregnant. 

Inwardly, however, she is rattled with the guilt of destroying life: “Will I be forgiven?”  “Will I be cut off from God?”  She is beset with fear that, one day, she may not be able to have children because of what she did to her body.  She may find herself lost, confused, and depressed with nowhere to let out her feelings because she “feels” there is no one to talk to who would keep her secret.  She may find herself wanting to commit suicide because she knows deep down she has committed murder in her own body, so why not kill herself, too?

 

Being caught pregnant?  Pregnancy is not a sin.  Pregnancy is the beautiful expression of the union of a man and his wife.  Since there was no godly permission for her to willingly unite with a young boy under the guise of ‘love’, she feels her shame must be removed by having an abortion. 

The young boy, also, wants nothing to do with the pregnancy either.  He is thinking about his future, his friends, his family.  Pregnancy would be a “trap” for him at this time in his life because he is neither mature enough, nor prepared enough to take on the emotional, social, and financial weight of responsibly raising a child and caring for the mother of his son or daughter. What happened to the ‘love’?

 

Literature upon literature is written about the “how” of abortion.  Very little is written about the “why”, and nearly none addresses the “spiritual” repercussions of abortion.  So let us get clarity right now: Life begins when the sperm fertilizes the egg, day one.  That life grows inside the reproductive organs designed to carry and nurture that embryo then fetus (a son or daughter) while its being develops from day one.  Any deliberate action done to stop this natural process bears consequences in the spiritual realm of our being.  To terminate life is murder.  Young girls later on grow up to become women who have given up on aspiring to live their dreams because they feel they do not deserve to be “happy”.  Others push through their pain and live their dreams, yet, when they are alone, their smiles turn to tears.  

Young boys, who knew she was pregnant and denied that pregnancy or insisted she get an abortion, experience that same ordeal. Regret is a spiritual consequence, as are guilt and self-shaming and blaming, that often leads to death of inner joy, peace, and attainment of the highest quality of life.

 

However, as any father on earth actually picks up his child who has fallen, so, too, does our Heavenly Father want to lift you up, dear son or daughter, if you have fallen into the sins of premarital sex and inducing abortion.  Our Creator is a forgiving Father to those who come repentant and humble asking for forgiveness: The Lord is not being slow in doing what He promised—the way some people understand slowness.  But God is being patient with you.  He doesn’t want anyone to be lost.  He wants everyone to change their ways and stop sinning (2 Peter 3:9).

 

Zygote (Blastocyst): Human life from Day 1

Make a commitment of renewal by promising to value human life—from day one.

 

© 2021 by Patience Osei-Anyamesem. All rights reserved.  Published by The Light In Me Enterprise.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—without the prior written permission of the publisher.  The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews or other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.  Used by permission. All rights reserved.

(1)    History and Statistics on abortion: http://en.m.wikipedia.org; and www.who.int.

(2)    Osei-Anyamesem, P. (2020). Multiplying Our Children’s Church with “Real Talk”: Application of Wholistic Christ-Centered Education for the Practical Mentor-Teacher. Kumasi, Ghana: p.83-84.

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