ADS-CriminalizeAbortionNow-1

First idea i had was to do some research to find out where abortion is mentioned in the bible. One go-to story is Rachel dying in childbirth. If Abortion even for medical reasons was allowed, surely an abortion could have been performed at that time?

Some other questions I will ask are, for you to introduce yourself. Then I will point out your name is “CriminalizeAbortionNow” so I will ask you what your thoughts are on abortion, both as a moral man and as a Christian – i.e. “What do you believe in and why”? You can talk for 2 to 5 minutes. In general I think your segment should be about 15 to 20 minutes long, so plan 2 minutes for each question and maybe 5-6 questions from the below? Thanks.

Here are a few talking points I will work in, please choose some of these or give me some example questions or talking points or I will write up a sort of loose script surrounding these:

• God commanded us to “be fruitful and multiply”. If we are fruitful, but we do not multiply, that is considered a major sin; In most such cases it is described as an abomination.
• Life is a gift from God. (Genesis 9:6; Psalm 36:9) He considers all life to be precious, including the life of a child in the womb. So if someone intentionally kills an unborn child, that amounts to murder.
• God’s Law to the Israelites stated: “If men should struggle with each other and they hurt a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but no fatality results, the offender must pay the damages imposed on him by the husband of the woman; and he must pay it through the judges. But if a fatality does occur, then you must give life for life.”—Exodus 21:22, 23. (Note, this might be an answer to one of the hard questions below, I haven't deeply looked into it yet).
• God views human life as beginning at conception. In his Word, the Bible, God consistently portrays an unborn child as a distinct person. Consider some examples indicating that God does not draw a distinction between the life of a baby in the womb and one that has been born:
  • Under divine inspiration, King David said to God: “Your eyes even saw me as an embryo.” (Psalm 139:16) God considered David to be a person even before he was born.
  • Additionally, God knew that he would have a special purpose for the prophet Jeremiah before Jeremiah’s birth. God said to him: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I sanctified you. I made you a prophet to the nations.”—Jeremiah 1:5.
  • The Bible writer Luke, a physician, used the same Greek word to describe an unborn baby as he did to describe a newborn baby.—Luke 1:41; 2:12, 16.

• Deuteronomy 24:16 Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.

Can we state that Deuteronomy 24:16 prohibits abortion? In this case, we can say that most abortions are actually products of a sinful relationship, such as premarital sex or people who are not emotionally ready to get married and have children. Aborting a child as a result of absolving the consequences for their sin, would be a violation of this law.

• Deuteronomy 30:19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live

This verse seems to directly address the issue; “Choose life so that as a result, your children may live…” What are your thoughts?

• Isaiah 44:24 “This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself,

If God formed man in the womb, who are we to go against God's work?

We can't cover all of this, so please choose a few from above or below

• To begin with, the Bible repeatedly condemns the killing of the innocent, i.e., the sinless (Jeremiah 7:6 and 22:17, Psalm 106:37-38, Proverbs 6:16-19, Isaiah 53:6, Luke 17:2 and Matthew 18:10,14).6 A preborn child is obviously innocent of any crime or actual sin, because he or she cannot possess the intent of doing evil. Pro-abortionists sometimes justify abortion by casting the preborn child in the role of an “aggressor.” This is illogical, because aggression requires conscious intent.
• Second, the Bible teaches that human life, created and nurtured by God, is present in the womb of the woman from the very beginning.
  • Psalm 139:13,15 praises God: “For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb….my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.”
  • Furthermore, God personally named and honored seven men before they were even born. Only persons merit names. These seven are Ishmael (Genesis 16:11); Isaac (Genesis 17:19); Josiah (1 Kings 13:2); Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:9); Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5); John the Baptist (Luke 1:13); and Jesus Himself (Matthew 1:21).7
• Third, all authentically religious people agree that God opens and shuts the womb and infuses the human body with a soul. There are more than a dozen Biblical references referring to this.8 This means that God certainly intended to create a human life, and we have no right to interfere with His will regarding its creation. God does not act randomly or without reason, despite what some abortion advocates allege.9 He creates every child for a purpose. Psalm 127 specifically refers to children as a “gift of the Lord” and as a “reward.” We do not have the right to disrupt or destroy His plans. Abortion is a supremely arrogant act because it imposes a creature’s will over God’s. Is this not the definition of all sin ― stubbornly refusing to do God’s will for our lives?
• Finally, God is not inconsistent. He has loved us all with an infinite love for all eternity ― long before we were even conceived. He has said to us, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). If He values men He named, He values all of his created preborn human beings.

Let me know if any of these can be worked into the discussion. We can go over this in VC, and edit out or include what you like.

• Will God forgive someone who has had an abortion?
  • Those who have had an abortion can receive God’s forgiveness. If they now accept God’s view of life, they do not need to be overwhelmed with guilt. “Jehovah is merciful and compassionate . . . As far off as the sunrise is from the sunset, so far off from us he has put our transgressions.” * (Psalm 103:8-12) Jehovah will forgive all who sincerely repent of their past sins, including abortion.—Psalm 86:5.
• Is abortion wrong if the life of the mother or the child is in danger?
  • In view of what the Bible says about the life of an unborn child, a person would not be justified in having an abortion because of a potential health risk to mother or child.
• What about the rare situation where at the time of childbirth an emergency forces the choice between saving the life of the mother or saving the baby?
  • In such a case, those involved would have to make a personal decision about which life to try to save.

We should include one or two hard questions. These will be verses from the bible which seem to go against your position, and you should have a defense or an answer for some of them. Please choose one or two hard verses and prepare a response so we can “ask some tough questions” and give an acceptable answer.

An example could be, that since one of the punishments is for idolatry – or in every case where God allows this is is for punishment of idolatry, that the punishment is justified. I haven't deeply thought about this so it can be an opportunity for you to explain, as I can't comment on this.

So I'd ask for example “In the bible, God warned the Israelites that if they disobeyed them they would be destroyed, including the babies in the womb. Do you think this means God would allow abortion, or what's the difference here?”

Anyways here are a few “hard question” verses I found on google:

• A pregnant woman who is injured and aborts the fetus warrants financial compensation only (to her husband), suggesting that the fetus is property, not a person (Exodus 21:22-25).
• The gruesome priestly purity test to which a wife accused of adultery must submit will cause her to abort the fetus if she is guilty, indicating that the fetus does not possess a right to life (Numbers 5:11-31).
• God enumerated his punishments for disobedience, including “cursed shall be the fruit of your womb” and “you will eat the fruit of your womb,” directly contradicting sanctity-of-life claims (Deuteronomy 28:18,53).
• Elisha's prophecy for soon-to-be King Hazael said he would attack the Israelites, burn their cities, crush the heads of their babies and rip open their pregnant women (2 Kings 8:12).
• King Menahem of Israel destroyed Tiphsah (also called Tappuah) and the surrounding towns, killing all residents and ripping open pregnant women with the sword (2 Kings 15:16).
• Isaiah prophesied doom for Babylon, including the murder of unborn children: “They will have no pity on the fruit of the womb” (Isaiah 13:18).
• For worshiping idols, God declared that not one of his people would live, not a man, woman or child (not even babies in arms), again confuting assertions about the sanctity of life (Jeremiah 44:7-8).
• God will punish the Israelites by destroying their unborn children, who will die at birth, or perish in the womb, or never even be conceived (Hosea 9:10-16).
• For rebelling against God, Samaria's people will be killed, their babies will be dashed to death against the ground, and their pregnant women will be ripped open with a sword (Hosea 13:16).
• Jesus did not express any special concern for unborn children during the anticipated end times: “Woe to pregnant women and those who are nursing” (Matthew 24:19).