California Family Minute

August 17, 2011

Not abortion; merely “reduction”

by Ron Prentice,
Chief Executive Officer

Ethics evolve with technology. This is the rationale that is prompting more women who are pregnant with twins to undergo a “reduction,” aborting one of the preborn babies in order to insure that the mother’s future will be more manageable.

As I read the story of a woman who had elected to abort one of her 14-week-old twins, I was reminded of my friends’ daughter, who last year carried her baby to full term, knowing that the child would not live for more than a few hours after birth. This young mother’s entire family had cleared their calendars around the projected date of this baby’s birth, to be available for the mix of joy and grief. 

These two stories exemplify the vast differences in worldviews. The young mother and father - upon learning of their baby’s terminal prognosis - elected to trust that there was “good” in their circumstance, because they trust in a Creator who is good.

In sharp contrast, the woman who chose to reduce her pregnancy by one made her decision because...she could. In her own words, “If I had conceived these twins naturally, I wouldn’t have reduced this pregnancy, because you feel like if there’s a natural order, then you don’t want to disturb it. But we created this child in such an artificial manner — in a test tube, choosing an egg donor, having the embryo placed in me — and somehow, making a decision about how many to carry seemed to be just another choice. The pregnancy was all so consumerish to begin with, and this became yet another thing we could control.”   

There are so many things that could be said in response to this quote. I am saddened by the mother’s apparent absence of joy and her clinical and cheap view of human life, and I am concerned for her future relationship with the remaining child. We can all pray that at her child’s birth this mother will recognize the presence of a Creator, and this will transform her understanding of all of life.

Actions have consequences, that is a universal truth. The act of abortion has physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences. Advances in technology do not change this truth. God is. God is Creator. God is Sustainer. God is Redeemer. We need redemption.

For another perspective, read the blog from Dr. Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.