By Tim Counts / June 25, 2022

The overturning of Roe v Wade after 63 million pre-born babies have been killed in our nation is birthing new dialogue. We are not only discussing it with our children, we are explaining to them why we are pro-life. It is simply a matter of time before a relative or neighbor or co-worker brings up the topic of abortion with you or you see an opportunity to talk about why you are pro-life. While much more could be said, these four reasons I am pro-life are reasons that I want to be on the tip of my tongue and that I hope will be on yours, also.

1. Because the Bible tells me so.

A few years ago, I made a list of fifteen sections of Scripture especially relevant to the pro-life cause to help me be better attuned with God’s heart on this subject before I would speak out against it: Genesis 1:27; Exodus 1:16–22; 4:11; 21:22–25; Job 10:11–12; 31:15; Psalm 14:4; 22:9–10; 127:3–5; 139:13–16; Isaiah 45:9–11; 49:15; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:41–44; Galatians 1:15. I found myself in tears as the weight and impact of Scripture built conviction, holy anger at Satan who deceives so strongly, love for the unborn and mothers who are in difficult situations, and grace in my heart towards those who have had or been involved in an abortion.

God could not be more clear: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalms 139:13-14) Let’s go deep in the Scriptures before we go wide in sharing our beliefs. Let’s have God’s Word feed our minds and hearts, move our hands and feet, and open our mouths to speak for the unborn (Proverbs 31:8).

2. Because science tells me so.

The Mississippi law that challenged Roe at the Supreme Court banned abortion at 15 weeks gestation. What is a pre-born baby doing at 15 weeks? Taste buds are being formed and nerves are connecting them to the brain. The baby’s legs are growing longer than her arms now. She can move all of her joints and limbs, and in fact she moves constantly. At 15 weeks, eyelids, eyebrows, eyelashes, nails, hair, and well-defined fingers and toes have already been formed.1 As I write this, people are rioting around our country because an unlegislated “right” to kill a baby was ruled unconstitutional–a baby who has been sucking his thumb for 3 weeks, and who can yawn, stretch, and make faces.

All pro-life people need to have these realities handy, and all pro-choice people need to read these undisputed facts of science and ask themselves honestly why they believe it is ok to purposefully kill a human being at any stage of gestation. Some may wave off prenatal science with the idea that pro-life people use it the same way some use creation science and don’t believe in the “Big Bang.” But all truth-seekers must admit that these facts are in a different category, out of the realm of scientific theory and into the realm of thumb-sucking actuality. I am pro-life because even if the Bible did not indisputably tell me so, the plain undisputed facts of science also tell me so.

3. Because logic tells me so.

It is not only the Bible and science that make me pro-life, it is also logic. What happens in most situations when a baby is not aborted? A baby is born! Why should pro-choice people call a party for a wanted baby a “baby shower” in one breath and yet call another baby of the same gestation a “fetus” in a conversation about an unwanted baby? This is not logical, nor honest.

Logic tells me that if there are laws making it illegal to kill pre-born bald eagles, there should be laws making it illegal to kill pre-born humans (destroying or even disturbing a bald eagle’s egg is currently punishable by a $5,000-$250,000 fine and up to 1-2 years in prison2). Why does a human “fetus” have fewer federal legal protections than certain animal eggs?

Logic tells me that if over 100 babies a day are saved from abortion in one state under a Heartbeat Act3, that there are 36,500 citizens in that one state who will be alive one year from now who would not have been alive if that law had not been in effect. Logic reminds me that wiping out that many fellow humans is like wiping out a small city, and saving that many is like saving the entire population of a small city from death.

4. Because human flourishing and love tell me so.

Pro-choice arguments are based on fear and convenience, not truth and hope. For over fifty years, young women in our country have often been shamelessly counseled that their only viable option is to abort their child rather than consider adoption or raising their child. Young fathers have been told they don’t have any responsibility. There has been no accounting for the fact that this has caused the well-documented association between abortion and higher rates of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, traumatic symptoms, sleep disorders, and other negative outcomes.4

It is true that having a baby changes everything, but it is also true that aborting a baby changes everything. Being pro-life means that I am pro-human flourishing.

In Vermont, where I live, the people will vote on a state constitutional amendment this fall that would make us the first state to have abortion as a right that “shall not be denied or infringed.” Yet we are one of the states in the U.S. that is most struggling with an aging population and not enough young tax payers.5 Nationally, the shortage in the Social Security system would have been more than replaced by the children who were aborted over the past five decades.6 From economics to the joy of being a mother or father, I am pro-life because I know it is best for human flourishing.

Yet, there is one more reason I am pro-life: love. It is out of love for the unborn that I continue to speak up, and research, and support foster parents, and encourage pregnancy resource centers, and love women and men who are going through difficult situations.

There are multiple compelling reasons to be pro-life. With life on the line, don’t be afraid to speak up about your reasons.

Footnotes
1. https://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/15-weeks-pregnant#baby-development
2. https://www.eagles.org/what-we-do/educate/learn-about-eagles/bald-eagle-laws-that-protect/
3.https://texasrighttolife.com/100-babies-saved-per-day-by-texas-heartbeat-act-new-data-confirms/
4. https://wng.org/roundups/the-reality-of-abortion-regret-1617224395
5. https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/money/2016/07/21/vermont-aging-faster-than-rest-united-states/87263398/
6. https://eppc.org/publication/how-abortion-has-weakened-social-security/ A significant quote: “If the other factors projected by the Social Security actuaries remained constant, the choosing of life over abortion by the boomers would have kept the Social Security system in balance indefinitely–with a large cumulative surplus–without either raising payroll tax rates from current levels or cutting promised benefits.”