Tonight we are going to be asking the question: is abortion right or
wrong?
What ever you believe, it's important to realise that this is a
complicated subject that is wrapped up with relationships, emotions and
difficult situations…
To give us a bit of an introduction to all of this, we're going to watch
about 20 minutes from a film called The Cider House Rules.
6 min Dr Wilbur Larch
13 min Little girl is adopted
15 min "Nobody wants me"
23 min Woman dies from botched abortion
25 min Homer Wells says "Happy to be alive"
Middle bit
How common is abortion?
Over 185,000 abortions take place each year in England, Scotland and Wales
In the year 2000 there were 3748 abortions for those aged 15 and under
1 nine year old
2 eleven year old
15 twelve year old
1030 were 13 - 14 years
Why do you think people decide to have an abortion?
Convenience - 92%
Unwanted / unplanned
Multiple pregnancy
It would be hard for the Mother / Family to cope
For example, a 9 year old girl
Rape / incest
Something wrong with the baby - 1%
Down's syndrome
Risk to the mothers life - 157 in the period 1968 - 1995
Cancer of the womb
Let's look at some of the medical facts…
Pin up "the medical facts" from Is God Pro-Life page 13
Taking all of this into consideration…
What age do you think a baby can be aborted?
In this country an abortion can be performed up to 24 weeks (6
months)…though abortions have taken place later, but there has to be good
reason…i.e., the baby is severely disabled, or the life of the mother is at
risk
Some babies that are born premature are born alive and with a little help,
do survive…
There have been cases where babies have been born at 23 weeks and lived,
even if it's for a few hours
The Bible bit
The Bible does not specifically mention abortion, but it does say
Exodus 20:13 "You must not murder anyone"
Acts 17:25 "This God is the One who gives life, breath and everything else to people. He
does not need any help from them; he has everything he needs"
Do you think that abortion is just another word for murder?
In the "Christmas story", the Bible says
Luke 1:41-44 "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She cried out in a load voice, 'God
has blessed the baby to whom you will give birth. Why has this good thing
happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? When I heard your voice,
the baby inside me jumped with joy"
What do you think this tells us about the unborn child?
Do you think an unborn child is alive?
The Bible tells us
Psalm 139:15-16 "You saw my bones being formed as I took shape in my mother's body. When I was
put together there, you saw my body as it was formed. All the days planned for
me were written in your book before I was one day old"
Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I made you in your mother's womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I
set you apart for a special work. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
The Bible talks about the unborn as real people
So what do you think the Bible is saying about abortion?
What would you do if you became pregnant?
Would you ever have an abortion?
What would you do if a friend decided to have an abortion?
Conclusion
This is a difficult subject and what ever other people do the Bible tells us
that we should help those is need
That includes those who choose to have an abortion for whatever reason
I suspect that none of us really know what we would do until it happened to us