We live in a throw away society


We live in a throw away society. 

When we don’t want something we toss it away, we discard on a whim and think nothing of it. 

We do the same with babies.

If a woman becomes pregnant and decides she doesn't want the baby, she does something about it. She throws it away, convincing herself that the life inside of her is not really life at all. We argue over what constitutes a life to justify why it is ok to throw away a human life. We use the word "foetus" so we are not reminded that it is really a babe, a human life created by God in the imagine of God.

Sadly this is not new. Women have been doing something about unwanted babies for many centuries. The only differences is, today it can now be done faster and more efficient than in the past and women survive an abortion these days, were as in the past many died in the process. 

What does the bible say about abortion. Abortion is not mentioned, however the importances of life is. God knew us long before we were formed in our mother's womb and He has planned our lives completely, each and everyone of us "For I know the plans I have made for you". This clearly demonstrated how important we are. To Him, every life is precious and should never be devalued or tossed away. Abortion is destroying what God has created. 

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:13-14)

Another verse of interest is the one in Exodus 21: 22-25, whilst not about abortion, it demonstrates the level of importances that God places on the unborn child and the consequences of harming that child, in this instances via a fight.

If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

In this modern age where "me" matters more than God, many women choose to have an abortion for many reasons, tragically, the most common reason is financial instability - believing they cannot afford their baby. Whilst Christians say no to abortion, it is even more important to make sure that the support and care is available to those mothers who choose to keep their babies. Whilst telling a mother she shouldn't have an abortion, we need to extend our care (and love) to looking after mother and child once born. We do not want neglected and abused children who no one wants. Sadly, many governments have poor welfare systems that allow mothers and children to slide into poverty all too quickly.  Sadly, the church does very little to help parents in the long term when it comes to raising children. Sadly many extended families are crumbling and single mothers have no-one to turn to.

Whilst abortion is abhorrent  - we need to do far more to help those mothers than just saying "you must not have an abortion".  We need to be there for the long term and that takes a lot of effort, money and dedication. 

Children are a precious gift from God. In fact my name was chosen for this very reason. My parents saw me as a "gift from God" after my sister died. We do not throw away that which is most precious to us and we need to encourage women to see their unborn baby as being so precious. The human race spends many millions of dollars fighting to save forests or whales but we don't see the importances of a human life and not willing to spend millions of dollars in supporting babies once born. 

As women, we need to reach out and help those mothers in need as it may make a difference between her choosing death or life. Whilst the baby's life is precious, so is the mothers and we need to take as much care for her as her baby. This is often forgotten in the fight to stop abortion. 


Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, 
the fruit of the womb a reward.
(Psalm 127:3)

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Comments

  1. Jo,
    I was just talking to a friend about this yesterday. If we don't provide help and a way for these girls, how can they get out of the place they have fallen into. We do need to reach out to them and encourage them verbally, spiritually, and practically. It is easy to see one thing and not the other. May we all learn to walk in love as Jesus does.
    Love and Blessings, Pam

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    1. Pam, it so often forgotten - the mother-to-be is as important as her unborn child. Sometimes just our practically help is enough to change their minds spiritually. You are so right, we need to walk as Jesus would have walked. He wouldn't have stood outside an abortion clinic with signs, He would have sat down with these women and talked with them and reaching out to them.

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  2. As a bit of trivia the fragments of the gospel of Peter do actually mention abortion ~ & as expected it's a no~no. ☺ Yeah, I know. I have a mind full of useless information. Have a blessed day.

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    1. I read your comment as I was waiting for Aldi to open this morning and I decided to do some Goggling whilst I waited (aren't smart phones great) and came across the portion you are referring to. Interesting as I was unaware of this.

      Thankyou:)) I will have a nice day even though its grey and cold. You too have a lovely day.

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  3. This is so true, Jo. While we (Christian and moralistic society) hate the fact that people abort babies, we don't offer a lot of help to women who choose to keep their baby. I don't know any women in this situation at the moment - no single mothers or mothers-to-be.
    I think another thing that would be really valuable would be to make adopting out an unwanted child a much easier option for mothers - who really presents that as an option for unwanted babies these days?? Why isn't there a well known and promoted program for this? If only there were Christian organisations that could offer this and offer the mother support, that would be a way Christians could truly show love not only to the baby, but to the birth mother. It could be such a tool for witnessing, too. And this way, there would be more children available to people who want children but have infertility problems and find adoption so difficult. It would help in SO many ways!

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    1. Often the fight is ALL about the baby, but ALL life is precious and the mother's life is as important as the child's. Many Christian's are quite happy to fight for the unborn child, but are they interested in that child when it's 10? In Australia we do have a good welfare system however in other countries its very poor and many of these women are making choices because the system is so bad.

      The church and charities sadly have a very bad reputation when it comes to adoption. Even in my lifetime children were being taken away from unmarried mothers and given to other families without consent. Whilst this doesn't happen any more, these organisations need to improve and rebuild their trust when it comes to adoption. Very few children are adopted in Australia, many are fostered and then returned to the mother if the situation improves and the other option is "open-adoption" where the mother plays some role in the child's life. I agree, adoption is a wonderful option and should be so much easier than it is - also not as costly.

      Fortunately - abortion numbers (which are rubbery to say the least) haven't really increased over the last 10 years taking into account to increase in the female population (Australia). I noticed in Canada it has dropped quite considerably and I heard the same for the USA. These are positive signs. Whilst abortion will never disappear, I think over time we will see a natural decline. I don't think most woman makes this decision lightly and many suffer as a result. And personally any government that says no to abortion will simply push it underground - this isn't an option for me. Through education we can make a differences.

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    2. Christians really are so shameful in many ways.
      In my mind the imaginary organisation that SHOULD exist to help would have an excellent reputation, it would be promoted at abortion clinics and medical centres/doctor's rooms so everyone would know about it. A woman could find out more information about carrying her baby to full term under the care of the organisation (including financial, emotional, physical, spiritual care, etc), and then make her own decision about keeping her baby or offering it for adoption. If she chooses to adopt, the child would be taken care of by the organisation and then would be carefully placed in a home with the option of open-adoption, and the birth mother would be given follow-up care, as well as the adoptive family receiving care. That would be true "holistic" baby and mother care, an organisation that could make a difference. Too many Christians jump up and down about abortion and that's the end of it. There is no practical caring. :(
      Now, I wonder who I could get to make this organisation real instead of imaginary?????

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    3. Some of the best ideas never happen because they are just too good. We are all mixed up world we live in.

      You need to find a wealthy patron who is willing to invest - as governments shy away from these sorts of things. All good things start from a single step!

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  4. Jo do you hold to the view Jo that if a woman becomes pregnant through rape or incest that she goes through with the pregnancy and has the baby?

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    1. This is a very difficult dilemma and not one that can be made lightly and it is difficult to comprehend the suffering these women endure. Firstly, women who have been raped or suffered via incest should receive the very best counselling available for as long as needed - for the woman's mental and physical injuries. They are the victim in this and this should never be forgotten or considered to be lesser that the unborn child. However, the baby is also innocent in all of this and should a second crime be committed in getting rid of the child? I couldn't make a blanket decision on this one, if a mother is forced to carry the child, her mental state could become threatened and result in suicide, however in other instances she may be a very strong woman who has decided to keep the child and able to cope much better. Life is never straight forward and no blanket ruling would help. Many women in the past (when abortion was illegal) committed suicide as a result of the shame and humiliation, that is something we do not want. ALL life is precious, including the mothers.

      Fortunately very few abortions are a result of rape/incest which either means, very few children are conceive or women do choose to keep their child. it is a tragedy that has no easy answer.

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    2. Thank you for taking a moderate position on this and for pointing out that all life, including the mother's, is valuable. I've become leery of blanket positions on things that are not clearly detailed in scripture. In Philippians 4:5 we're told, "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." According to my research, "moderation" means a point between two extremes. We deal with a lot of extremism these days. It behooves us to walk in moderation before the Lord and His word.

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  5. I found your comment about the amount of time, money and research spent on saving animals and trees/plants and no expense being used on saving babies a very intriguing one. It is something that I hadn't put into words, but is SO true - just another example of how mixed-up humans are without God at their centre!
    love,
    Bets

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    1. For years Australia has been fighting to save the whales from Japan, something that I think is good BUT imagine what a better world it would be if we put the same energy and fight for human life.


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  6. Jo you have written this is such a lovely way.
    It is SO true what you are saying. It seems that there are even many non-Christians who realise that abortion is wrong but ultimately the support seems to end once the child is born!
    I can say from experience that an unplanned baby is not an unloved baby! But it isn't necessarily "easy" to care for that baby, especially alone!

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    1. Thanks Sandy,

      Its been something I have pondered for a long time but just never quite got it down onto paper so to speak. I have read so many stories about pro-life and everyone of them forgets the mother - and isn't she just as important. I find it all very sad, no one wins.

      Many of the mothers who do keep their babies do love them and are happy with their decisions, but wouldn't it be good it more people gave them a helping hand.

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  7. Hello. I am a new follower and very much enjoy your blog. I am in the USA and in my community there are private organizations that provide help for the mother in the form of supplementing their housing, clothes and food, etc. What this has done is form a culture of single mothers who have babies to get the money and financial help. I see how horrible the children are being treated and it saddens me. There is no sense of responsibility on the mothers side and they don't know how to raise a child. It goes so deep that I think the education needs to begin when the mother is very young. They need to be taught the enormity of the responsibility that they are taking on and they should not be handed everything they need to make it easy. Christian organizations would do well to have women's groups that educate young girls. This is an important subject. Thank you for blogging about it.

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  8. We need to love women who have had abortions as well. Though I am totally against abortion, I am not callous enough to believe that every woman who has one just threw away her baby. Nothing is ever that simple. I work with 2 woman who had abortions years ago before they came to Christ. They agonize over it every day and would give their lives to take back the decision. Using vitriol only further condemns and shames these women. Women who had abortions need the love of Christ and support, just as much(if not more) than those who choose to have their babies.

    My heart grieves for those who feel they have to even contemplate abortion.

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    1. A dear friend of my mother's and mine had an abortion long before it was legalized. It was one of the great sorrows of her life and she looked forward to the day she got to heaven and could apologize to her baby in person. And, yet I don't know if her other children even knew about that abortion.

      One facet of the abortion problem that bothers me is the lack of help and compassion toward women who have had abortions and need to know the relief of forgiveness and peace with God only Jesus Christ can bring them. It is strange to me that for the prevalence of it in our society, it is a taboo subject to mention in some church situations from the *mother's* perspective - as if none of the women (or men) there had ever been involved in such a thing. How many people in the Lord's church are struggling with this dark secret and have no one to talk with about it because no one wants to deal with it compassionately, I wonder? James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

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    2. Mary - it has always been a taboo subject which is why so many women have suffered over the years, and in the Victorian era in particular, lead to some tragic suicides by mothers who found themselves pregnant.

      I can understand why some women have been driven to making the heart wrenching decision and we need to show compassion and love to these women and not see them as bad women. I really do get tired of the whole pro-life movement as it is so focused on the baby with little concern about the mother and all the issues that has led to this decision. Sadly Christians can be the worst when it comes to being judgemental and lack of caring. Jesus sat with the unsaved and showed compassion, we could learn a thing or two from this.

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  9. Years ago a man came to my dad soliciting his help in the fight against abortion. He had a lot to say about the fight against it and my dad heard him up to a point, but then he asked him something like this; "So, tell me, what is your plan for getting the mamas and children into Sunday School later? Are you going to go around and make sure they have a way to get to church?" The man was speechless. He had no answer. My dad told him, "When you have a plan to get those kids into church, come back and see me. I might help you." I think he had a few other choice comments to make as well that were appropriate to the situation. Sadly, that man didn't take it to heart as my dad never heard from him again.

    I'm inclined to think that with too many of those who "fight abortion", saving the lives of "unwanted babies" is a "means of grace". In other words, they feel like they are becoming more holy by helping in this "fight". In fact, my dad once had a man say to him, "I never felt as holy as I have since I started this [fighting abortion]." Personally, I see too many of them as the Pharisee who smote himself on the chest and said, "I thank God that I'm not like this publican." That sounds harsh, but it looks an awfully lot like self-righteousness and not mercy and compassion. Granted, there are people out there who do things for the mothers (at least here in the U.S. there are), and I respect them when they put their money and compassion where their mouths and activism are. But, I expect there's also a lot of long-arm help that's done too - "Let's not get our hands 'dirty' actually getting too close to these mothers who considered abortion." :-( I've only known of a very few who really became a part of the lives of the mothers who wanted help and were available to them for advice, council, and physical needs of life; and who were willing to take an "unwanted" child in and raise them among their own.

    Thanks for tackling this one, Jo. It's something that needs to be said! If my comments seem too harsh to you please feel free to delete them. It is a subject that rather riles me - the hypocrisy of "saving babies" only to leave them and their mothers to poverty and sorrow and ultimately to "go to hell", for all the rescuers seem to care stinks to me. Isaiah 53:4 says of Jesus, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows..." It is important to remember that the women involved are hurting and grieving and that the God of all comfort both love their babies and them and would not have them left comfortless!

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    1. Mary,

      I completely agree with you - you have said just what I have been thinking for many years “hypocrisy of "saving babies" only to leave them and their mothers to poverty and sorrow and ultimately to "go to hell”.

      Why are people only interested in saving the baby but no interest in making sure it grows up in a loving home. No one cares about what happens next because the next step is in fact much harder and far more expensive and much more long term. How many children are born into horrible abusive environments and no-one seems to really care. Lets fight for these children too. Only the other day a 11 month old died and the “boyfriend” is in custody. These children as as important as those that are aborted and we still do nothing.

      PS certainly won't be deleting your comments Mary - they echo my thoughts :))

      Thankyou.

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    2. Thanks, Jo. I've appreciated this discussion.

      I was listening to this song this afternoon and it made me think of this. "How Can We Reach a World We Never Touch?" by the John Marshall Family:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAobjbYFZEY

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