While the typical liberal who is thoroughly invested in liberal convictions will be pro-choice regarding the issue of abortion, there are a lot of people across the political spectrum who recognize this deeply offensive and appalling practice for what it is. Anybody who takes a look at an ultrasound can see an unborn child for who it is. Anybody with an inkling of a conscience who is willing to step away from the heat of the debates and the arguments and the rhetoric for a few consecutive moments and think for themselves will recognize that if the fetus is human, then to kill it is homicide. In a flash of insight, somebody may ask themselves, “What have we done? How did we get to this point?” The answer is not as simple as it may seem. Abortion did not just erupt out of a vacuum. Abortion emerges out of a culture of open and free sexuality, where sexuality is embraced and people are told that they can and should sleep with anybody that they would like. This is how our view of sex creates an abortion culture – it utterly changes the morals of the people, so that they give in a little at a time. Before long, nobody knows what happened or how it happened.
Many people do not realize how all of these issues are deeply interconnected. It is not enough to just abolish abortion. While it would be a great victory for a ban on abortion, and we count it as a victory every time a single unborn child is pulled from the clutches of abortion, every time a mother changes her heart and favors life, every time an abortion clinic shuts down, it is not enough. It is not enough to annul the practice of abortion, because it will always come back when we are in a culture like this one. We need to understand how our view of sex creates an abortion culture. We need to understand how we contribute to abortion. Culture needs to change, and it starts with principled Christians rising up, understanding the issues, understanding how our view of sex creates an abortion culture, and standing for righteousness with every opportunity that we have.
Sex Before Marriage
Sexuality is what bonds a man and a woman together (Mark 10:8). It is the consummation of a marriage. But in our culture, sex before marriage has become so thoroughly normalized that people have no idea why it is so important. Anybody who does not engage in and endorse sex before marriage is putting arbitrary and archaic restraints upon themselves. The question to consider is, what sort of culture does this create? How does it alter our perception of sexuality? How does it alter our perception of starting a family and having children?
When you have sex without a lifelong commitment, you are not trying to start a family with this person. You are not interested in having a child, and if you do have a child by accident, it will be seen as a burden. In the event that somebody does get pregnant, you are not in a position to have this child. That is why there are so many issues of father abandonment. Worthless men have sex with women to whom they are not committed. Then they leave. Sex without a lifelong commitment makes children into a burden. That is how our view of sex creates an abortion culture.
When sexuality is disconnected from marriage and disconnected to a deep and lifelong commitment, the abortionist philosophy is enhanced. Unfortunately, every day in our culture, it is enhanced further. Open sexuality is constantly vindicated in Hollywood, the media, and in public perception while character and righteousness are stomped out and portrayed as wacky, arbitrary, and constraining. But a bit of personal character in every individual across the United States has served as a safeguard against the abortionist culture.
Birth Control
The opposition to birth control is often something against which people sneer. Even many Christians do not understand why anybody would oppose birth control. Birth control is seen as a good, preventing STDs and unwanted pregnancies in marriages who are just not ready to have children yet. Perhaps a family does not want to have a dozen children, so they will use birth control. Many of our fellow Christians will assure us that the Bible is silent about it, and so it is something that we should have the freedom to decide on our own. Many faithful and devoted Christians have taken this position because they do not understand the underlying issues or the sort of culture they are supporting.
When a couple decides to use birth control, they are saying something about what a pregnancy is. They are saying something about what a baby is. I think that a baby is a gift. Jesus said that a new mother will be filled with joy when she gives birth (John 16:21). When you use birth control, you are testifying that a baby is not a gift. A baby is a burden. A baby is something that needs to be prevented. While you are not actually taking the life of an unborn child, there is just one small step from that form of birth control to abortion. Abortion is seen as a form of birth control. A potential child is not a blessing. It is not a gift. It does not fill a woman with joy. It is a dreadful curse. If you have a child while you are on birth control, you are upset and angry. You have to suffer this burden. That is the perception of potential children that birth control creates. That is how our view of sex creates an abortion culture.
Divorce
Today you are with him. Tomorrow you may be with someone else. These old commitments that people make at their wedding have been reduced down from vows that a person takes seriously and invests themselves in to just words that one recites. They are remnants of a culture that has faded into irrelevancy. But nobody seriously thinks that marriage is for life, right? Nobody really thinks that you are going to make a lifelong commitment to this person, do they? If you have a few problems, you will move onto someone else. That is normal. A marriage is not so much a marriage as much as it is a boyfriend or a girlfriend that you live with. But this means that your vows are conditional. Your marriage is conditional. Your commitment is conditional.
This marriage also comes with children that you have had together. If you are not sure if you and your spouse are going to be together a year from now, how can you be secure in the stability and future of your children? There are so many single mothers out there. How can you be sure that you are not going to be one of them? Abortion serves as a safeguard or a preventative measure. With no commitments, there is no stability for children and women feel like they need abortion to be available to them. That is how our view of sex creates an abortion culture. When people feel like they can just shift through sexual partners when they are bored, the children that they leave behind are left in compromising positions.
The LGBT Movement
What is sexuality? Throughout the last several decades, this is a question that our society has been redefining. Sexuality is constantly viewed in a different perspective. Men such as Dr. Lawrence Krauss will suggest that a brother and a sister should allowed to mate if they are consenting. Anybody who is interested in having sex with somebody else should be free to do it, so long as both parties are consenting. When you adopt this perspective, sexuality is no longer about having children. It is no longer about raising a family. It is no longer about love and commitment. It is about having a good time.
This does not only apply to people who are involved in an LGBT relationship. It applies to anybody within the cultural milieu wherein LGBT philosophy is embraced and practiced. When people just have sex with anybody that they want to because it feels good, then sex is disconnected from children. When sex is disconnected from children, a baby will be seen as a foreign invader (as many in the pro-choice movement have chosen to characterize it). Now, I anticipate that some will object, “But what about male/female couples who cannot procreate?” They are irrelevant. They do not alter the public perception of sexuality or make it into merely something that feels good. The LGBT movement does.
Of course, one might also suggest that the LGBT movement is about love rather than sex. Well, even if we grant that for charity (which I do not for a moment), it does not matter. It has still altered the public perception. Sex is not about having children and raising a family. It is about a good time. When that is the focus of sexuality, a baby is a disruption. A baby spoils the party. That supports the abortionist philosophy.
How Our View of Sex Creates An Abortion Culture
All of these issues are interconnected. If we want to do something about abortion, we need stand up for more than the pro-life movement. While the pro-life movement is important, so are all of these other issues. We need to retain Christian principles and be just as passionate about all of them as we are about abortion. When we surrender and when we are afraid to speak out, we are ignoring the silent but desperate pleas of the unborn as they are ripped out of their mother’s womb with a clamp, piece by piece, and sold on the black market. Silence about any of these issues is not an option, no matter how much criticism or backlash we may receive.
Beyond that, if we are going to stand for something, we have to do more than say a few words. It is not enough to wear the t-shirt. We need to live in personal righteousness and conduct ourselves properly. If you are having sex outside of marriage, then you are supporting the abortionist philosophy. You are creating a culture in which sex is disconnected from having babies and abortion is empowered. Our conduct is just as important as our words. If you are going to fight for the pro-life movement with your words, then represent the pro-life movement with your behavior and your conduct and your deeds.
“The day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.” Romans 2:16
If you would like to get in on the discussion about this, like my Facebook page!