Whose Body Is It?
by Jarrod M. Jacobs
Those who favor abortions often argue something like this: “It is the woman’s body and she can choose to do with it what she pleases.” This is not a logical argument nor is it Biblically sound. Why do I say this?
First, let us remember that when a woman is pregnant, what she is carrying is a separate body from hers. It is not a growth or a tumor. It is not an “unviable tissue mass.” In addition to the Bible saying she is carrying a baby, ultrasounds, sonograms, and the like show that the unborn baby has a separate heartbeat from its mother. We know the baby has a separate respiratory system, as well as a separate digestive system, endocrine system, nervous system, and other body systems. The baby often has a separate blood type from his mother. How is it then that one can say confidently that the baby inside a mother is merely an extension of the mother’s body?
When Rebekah was pregnant with twins, God said she had “children” in her. Prophetically, God called them “two nations” (Genesis 25:21-24). David proclaimed, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalms 139:14).
“Doctor” Luke (Colossians 4:14) spoke of John inside his mother and used the term “brephos” in Luke 1:44 which means an unborn child or unborn infant. The verse states that this “brephos” was in Elizabeth’s womb! Luke knew the difference between a tumor and a baby and used the term (by inspiration, II Timothy 3:16) which meant baby to describe unborn or preborn John. When Mary was carrying Christ, Luke noted a time when she was “great with child” (Luke 2:5). Notice, she did not have a cyst or some growth to be excised. She was carrying a child. Furthermore, when Luke writes, we see him using the same terminology for unborn children as he did for the children who were born! They were human children!
When women say, “This is my body and I can do with it what I please,” they are wrong. First, they are wrong because men’s and women’s bodies belong to God, not to self (I Corinthians 6:19-20). Our bodies are to be considered special. Secondly, they are wrong because while we recognize that yes, the baby is inside the mother’s body, a baby in the womb is not a female body part! Thus, she cannot simply “do with it as she pleases”!
Let us understand that any argument offered in favor of abortion is an argument to justify murder, specifically infanticide. When someone says, “It’s my body,” or says, “Protect my reproductive rights,” she is saying that an unborn child has no rights and only deserves to live if the mother decides the child should live. Some have gone so far as to say that having an abortion (killing) is a decision between a woman and her doctor. To this, I ask, what if the baby she is carrying is a girl? Does the girl not get a “woman’s right to choose” also? I wonder what the baby’s choice would be? Have you noticed that all those in favor of abortion are already born?
We need to listen to God. When God told us not to murder others, He meant all humans (Exodus 20:13; Romans 13:9)! We still cringe and wince when thinking of the “death of the innocents” that took place in Exodus 1-2 and Matthew 2, as well as other times in history when babies were ripped from their mother’s arms and killed. Do we not see a cruel irony that many women today are arguing for the “right” to voluntarily kill their babies?
The unborn are made in God’s image and loved by Him (Genesis 1:26-27; John 3:16). Human life needs to be respected and not destroyed! We cheapen human life by destroying it! God made humans in His image, and this means humans in all stages of life. A pregnant woman is carrying a human (like begets like -- Genesis 1) and thus she needs to respect this life. Don’t fall for the lie that says, “It’s my body and I can do with it what I please.” Remember, that baby has a body, too. Does it not get a choice?
