If you have been listening to the political rumblings, you'll know something is going to change in Ireland.  The European Court has insisted that Ireland clarify its legislation on lawful abortions.

We will hear much passion and much anger as this issue is discussed in our public square. It is so important that we make the right call on this, and in the midst of all the shouting we need to give time to think through WHY we believe what we believe.

I reckon there are 3 broad views on Abortion...

1. It's Trivial

This hinges on assuming that the foetus that is to be aborted is not a proper human being. Rather it is a mass of human tissue that has the potential to be a human person but is not yet a human person.  In this case the abortion procedure is not a whole lot different from, say, removing an appendix.  The issue is thus morally trivial and we just need to let women crack on with deciding what happens to their own bodies.  This is broadly the Pro-Choice stance.

2. It's Genocide 

This view reckons that life starts at conception.  That as the child develops, nothing magical  happens as it leaves the womb.  To terminate a foetus in the womb is to kill a child in their most vulnerable state.  The fact that this is acceptable practice currently in the US, UK and most of Europe, puts this killing on the scale of Genocide.  This is broadly the Pro-Life stance.

3. It's Irrelevant

But there is a third position.  This one never gets mentioned.  This one assumes that there is no God.  People are not created special by him, we are a combination of matter, time & chance.  In this world, there is no ultimate 'right and wrong', morality and behaviour are simply the evolutionary instinct of 'survival of the fittest'. In this world we can have preferences and opinions, but we have no right to say our opinion is the best.  The Pro-Choice people have no authority to say that we should respect the rights of women, the Pro-Life people have no authority to say we should respect the rights of children.  Because there are no rights.  There is only survival of the fittest.  The discussion on the morality of Abortion is irrelevant because there is no 'right and wrong' - only preferences.

But the thing is... there is a God!  He tells us that people are special, they are made in his image with dignity and rights.  It is impossible to be consistently Pro-Choice or Pro-Life unless we are Pro-God.  And if we are Pro-God, we need to show compassion, to the mothers who are hurting and to the unborn children in their womb and then we need to ask Him the question...

When does 'Life' begin?  

 Check out the podcast below...