By Pastor Stephen Hess –
Earlier this summer the United States Supreme Court handed down one of its most historic decisions in decades. In the case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization the Court decided that the constitution of the United States does not confer the right to abortion, thus overruling the 1973 ruling known as Roe v. Wade which previously made abortion legal for the past several decades. In recent days a number of people have asked me what my reaction was to this landmark decision. Here are a few things I have shared in those recent conversations.
First of all, I am proud to be part of a denomination that affirms the dignity, sanctity, and value of every human life. The EPC position paper on abortion states, “The Evangelical Presbyterian Church affirms that the Bible does not distinguish between prenatal and postnatal life. It attributes human personhood to the unborn child.” Since we believe that unborn children are human beings who are made in the image of God, we also believe that abortion is a violation of the sixth commandment and a serious violation of God’s moral law.
There are certain times when the laws of our land are so unjust and out of sync with God’s design for human flourishing that Christians are called upon to step forward and seek to change those laws. During the civil rights movement many Christians recognized that the laws of our land were unjust and discriminatory toward African Americans, and therefore many Christians worked to change those laws. Likewise, in recent decades, many Christians have sought to implement legislation that would bring an end to abortion. This is appropriate and encouraged by our denomination’s position paper, which states: “Because we hold these convictions concerning the unborn child, we urge the promotion of legislation that brings our judicial and legal systems into line with the scriptural view on protecting the poor, the weak, and the defenseless.”
In light of these convictions, I believe that the end of Roe v. Wade is something for which all Christians should be thankful. Abortion dishonors our Creator, desecrates the sanctity of life, and destroys the most vulnerable among us, and therefore it is good news that this practice is no longer legalized nationally.
At the same time, Christians must recognize that the end of Roe v. Wade will not mean the end of abortion. Even though abortion is no longer legal as a federal right, individual states can still offer abortion legally. This means that our country will now be a patchwork of states when it comes to this issue—some states offering abortion and others prohibiting it. Additionally, even in states that prohibit abortion, changes in modern medicine have made eliminating abortion increasingly difficult if not impossible. Over half of abortions in the United States now take place using an abortion pill. It is uncertain how these pills will be regulated in light of changing laws, but it is almost certain that it will be difficult to prevent those who are determined to terminate a pregnancy from doing so.
What this means is that if Christians want to promote the sanctity of life in our communities and our nation, we cannot make legislation our sole or primary focus. As I have often said, “Changed laws do not create changed hearts.” If we want to see more and more people choosing life, then we need to share the gospel with them so that their hearts will be changed by the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. It is only when people are born again that they will desire to honor God and follow his commandments. Christians living in the United States are increasingly living in a culture that is unchurched and unfamiliar with the gospel. If we want to change our communities, we need to make evangelism and discipleship a top priority.
Additionally, if the church of Jesus Christ is going to be a light to our world, then we must be known not only for what we are against but what we are for. This means we must never be content to merely speak out against abortion, but we must also model a way of living that supports and promotes life at every stage. As our EPC position paper states, this means we should support women facing unplanned pregnancies, come alongside parents who are struggling to provide for their children, and provide alternatives to abortion such as adoption.
The issues we are facing are nothing new. Christians in the early church lived within a culture that regularly practiced infanticide and child abandonment. Christians became known as those who cared for these vulnerable children that had been abandoned by the rest of society. The church has an opportunity today to continue living counter-culturally by protecting and providing for the most vulnerable among us. As we do so we must not only share the gospel through our words but also model the gospel through our deeds, praying that God will use our lives to bring more and more men and women into a relationship with Jesus.