Choose Life!

Protecting the Right of the Unborn
to Live Life

Assorted Scriptures

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February 18, 2018 AM

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

www.biblebc.com

 

  1. Introduction (Deuteronomy 30:19)

 

    1. Not everything in life is simple.
    2. But sometimes, God makes things very simple
    3. God says in Deuteronomy 30:19  “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
    4. Especially in the area of the choice Ireland is facing in the next 100 days
    5. This morning, with much grief, I want to preach and teach you again about the value of the life of the unborn child

 

      1. I say AGAIN because we should not even be having this debate AGAIN. Ireland does NOT need nor want another referendum on abortion. And even if it did, it is still wrong to try and legislate the termination of any innocent life in the protective womb of its mother!
      2. I say GRIEF, because a culture of death has permeated just about every corner of society:

 

        1. In the computer games
        2. The modern book subjects
        3. The movies
        4. Music
        5. The massive number of Suicide attempts worldwide
        6. And to top it all off, we have DOCTORS who are TD’s pushing for the RIGHT to devalue the life of another human being in favour of the minority few loud-mouthed angry voices demanding that they be allowed to terminate the life of the unborn
        7. Many of the women are hurting. And I grieve with them over the complexities of their situations.
        8. But I grieve MORE, for the next generation, who will never hold to the value of an unborn life if it ever infringes on their lifestyles in any way!

 

    1. I hope you already know the value of the life of the unborn, and that you believe God is the God of LIFE, but I know that through the weight of the constant problems of life, and the constant aggressive propaganda of the media, people retreat to the notion that we all just need to let each other do our own thing.
    2. God says, choose a side. And it matters which side you choose!

 

  1. Message

 

    1. Abortion – what an awful word

 

      1. It means to purposefully terminate the life of an unborn child

 

        1. If a child dies in its mother’s womb, it is called a miscarriage
        2. But if its life is ended by a physician, then it is an abortion

 

      1. Almost 60 million unborn babies have died at the hand of abortionists in the US
      2. And over 20 million in the UK since the 1960’s
      3. Russia murders a million a year
      4. China does not even report their count of abortions!!!
      5. Someone worked through all the statistics and came to a colossal number for the total number of abortions for the last 60 years and put it at almost 1 billion tiny babies!

 

    1. Abortion is NOT Something New

 

      1. In all cultures and nations, people have always struggled with the responsibilities of being parents – it has never been easy

 

        1. Some women have sought very specific herbs to terminate their pregnancies
        2. Some have used harsh methods on themselves

 

      1. The desire to terminate an unwanted pregnancy didn’t end at birth

 

        1. 2,000 years ago, the Greeks and Romans would often take their unwanted, or sickly newborn children out to surrounding hillsides and leave them overnight to be eaten by the wolves.
        2. In Moses’ day, the government could demand the slaughter of all male children at birth (Exod 1:8-17).
        3. In Jesus’ day, governments could demand the slaughter of 2 year old children and younger if their perceived those children a threat or an inconvenience (Mt 2:13-18).

 

      1. It seems that people in power LOVE to control populations and slaughter innocent children when it suits them!

 

    1. Some Unbelievable Quotes about Abortion

 

      1. “Too many women see the child in their womb as nothing more than a blob of reproductive tissue.” Personhood: A Pragmatic Guide to Prolife Victory in the 21st Century, By Daniel C. Becker
      2. “In the end, abortion is an issue of fundamental human rights. To force women to undergo pregnancy and childbirth against their will is to deprive them of the right to make basic decisions about their lives and well-being, and to give that power to the state.” Katha Pollitt

 

        1. By the way, we gladly give the State the power to PROTECT lives, not take them!

 

      1. “We're always going to argue about abortion. It's a hard choice and it's controversial, and that's why I'm pro-choice, because I want people to make their own choices.” Hillary Clinton

 

        1. Tell me that makes sense… because it doesn’t to me!
        2. If it is a hard choice… if it is controversial, then HEY! There may be very good reasons why it shouldn’t just be pushed and promoted!

 

      1. “Abortion is inherently different from other medical procedures because no other procedure involves the purposeful termination of a potential life.” An American judge named Potter Stewart

 

    1. What About All the ‘What If’s’? 

 

      1. WHAT IF a woman got pregnant because she was raped or because of incest?
      2. WHAT IF a woman doesn’t want her unborn child?
      3. WHAT IF the pregnancy is hurtful to the mental health of the mother?
      4. WHAT IF another child would put too much stress upon the family and financial situation?
      5. WHAT IF the unborn child will have Down Syndrome?
      6. WHAT IF the unborn child won’t live for very long outside of the womb?
      7. WHAT IF the unborn child is endangering the very life of the mother?
      8. It is so strange to hear so many ‘what ifs’ and yet not think that the other life inside the womb might have a different opinion about all of those What If’s!
      9. All those ‘What If’s’ Don’t Matter

 

    1. What People are Being Falsely Told

 

      1. That an unborn baby is not human, and therefore not afforded ANY rights – NONE
      2. A woman should be allowed to do with her body what she sees fit. It is HER body and that settles it.
      3. Not having access to abortion in Ireland infringes on the human rights of women in Ireland and goes against international human rights norms
      4. Abortions are usually for very good reasons

 

        1. The right to abortion is vital for gender equality
        2. The right to abortion is vital for individual women to achieve their full potential

 

      1. Not having access to abortion in Ireland denies women needed access to basic health care, forcing mothers to travel overseas to obtain an abortion

 

        1. Banning abortion puts women at risk by forcing them to use illegal abortionists and dangerous abortion pills

 

      1. That present public opinion in Ireland in in favour of abortion.
      2. That Doctors are in favour of providing abortions – a poll of 400 unverified medical practitioners in the Feb 8 Irish Examiner is used to show Doctors WANT to provide abortions!
      3. Women will carry out abortions anyway

 

        1. In 2014, on average, 10 women travelled from Ireland to Britain every day for an abortion.
        2. Is that supposed to settle it for us?

 

    1. The Facts About Life and Abortion

 

      1. An unborn child IS human life, from the moment of conception

 

        1. In 1973 There was no sonogram. There was no way to watch our babies smile at us before they were born
        2. At conception, a baby’s gender, eye colour, hair colour, facial features, number of finger and toes, skin colour, and general height are all settled – from that very magical moment on.
        3. By day 25, (not even a month after conception) the heart is pumping, the brain has formed, the eyes have appeared, and the face is distinctly human!
        4. All the fingers and toes are fully formed and growing after just 6 weeks!
        5. At 7 weeks, not even 2 months from conception, the Not Yet Born child can HEAR!
        6. At 8 weeks, your wife is still throwing up – yet it has its own dreams and ways of thinking
        7. They are sucking their thumbs at 8 weeks
        8. They have a fully functional nervous system
        9. Their heart is pumping
        10. They have perfectly formed FINGERPRINTS
        11. They have their own DNA
        12. It has its own blood supply and blood type – totally separate from the mother
        13. At 9 weeks, the Not Yet Born Child starts moving and kicking and swimming and bouncing and jumping in the womb!
        14. At 10-12 weeks, they feel and respond to pain

 

          1. The ability to do sonograms has shown us that when doctors need to draw blood, the baby will pull back from the needle
          2. Why? because all the major organs are functioning

 

        1. By 21 weeks, a baby can live outside of the womb with just a little help (5 months). James Elgin Gill (born on 20 May 1987 in Ottawa, Canada) was the earliest premature baby in the world. He was 128 days premature (21 weeks and 5 days gestation) and weighed 1 pound 6 ounces (624 g). He survived and is quite healthy.
        2. An American writer named Mary Elizabeth Williams wrote an article called, “So what if abortion ends life?” And in it she wrote, "I believe that life starts at conception. And it’s never stopped me from being pro-choice." She went on to say, “Here's the complicated reality in which we live: All life is not equal... a fetus can be a human life without having the same rights as the woman in whose body it resides.” UNBELIEVABLE

 

      1. An unborn child is completely different that its mother. It is NOT her body!

 

        1. The baby might be IN the woman’s body but it is NOT the woman’s body!
        2. An unborn child has the God-given human right to live, just like YOU and I do – an equal right – not a lesser right
        3. An unborn child depends upon its mother for protection, and should be guaranteed that protection under the law!
        4. No woman can just do anything she wants with her body anyway

 

          1. Try and go to your local GP and demand that he/she cut off your perfectly good arm!

 

            1. But… you believe a woman should be able to do whatever she feels is right for her to do right?
            2. No you don’t! You would start to wonder if that woman should not be seeing a counsellor – she has a deeper problem than her desire to cut off her right arm!

 

          1. Try and go down the street and prostitute yourself ladies

 

            1. If you don’t get caught by the Garda, some husband’s wife is going to seriously hurt you!

 

      1. Who Gives Human Rights?

 

        1. Governments? Votes? Parliaments?
        2. “In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred, We, the people of Éire…”
        3. The American Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness….”
        4. Fact: If you were to deliberately kill a newborn child a few moments AFTER his/her birth, you’d be charged with first degree murder, but intentionally terminating the life of that same child just a few moments PRIOR to its birth is called a human right. NO!
        5. Example of woman writing her Mom in 2023 (I have read this before)

 

          1. January 22, 2023
          2. Dear Mom:
          3. Can you believe it is already the year 2023? I’m still writing ’22 on everything! It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting in my first class and celebrating the change to a new century.
          4. I know we really haven’t chatted since Christmas, Mom, and I’m sorry. Anyway, I have some difficult news to share with you and, to be honest, I really didn’t want to call or talk about this face to face.
          5. But before I get to that, let me report that Ted just got a big promotion, and I should be up for a hefty raise this year if I keep putting in all those crazy hours. You know how I work at it. (Yes, we’re still struggling to pay the bills.)
          6. Little Timmy’s been okay at kindergarten, although he complains about going. But then, he wasn’t happy about the day-care centre either. So what can we do?
          7. He’s been a real problem, Mom. He’s a good kid, but quite honestly, he’s an unfair burden on us at this time in our lives. Sean and I have talked this through, and we have finally made a choice. Plenty of other families have made the same choice and are really better off today. Our counsellor is supportive of our choice. She pointed out the family is a system, and the demands of one member shouldn’t be allowed to ruin the whole. She told us to be slow and to consider all the factors as to what is right to make our family work. She says that even though she probably wouldn’t do it herself, the choice really is ours. She was kind enough to refer us to a children’s clinic near here, so at least that part is easy. Don’t get me wrong, Mom. I’m not an uncaring mother. I do feel sorry for the little guy. I think he heard Sean and me talking about this the other night. I turned and saw him standing at the bottom of the stairs in his PJ’s with his little teddy bear that you gave him under his arm, and his eyes were sort of welled up with tears.
          8. Mom, the way he looked at me just about broke my heart, but I honestly believe this is better for Timmy, too. It’s just not fair to force him to live in a family that can’t give him the time and attention he deserves.
          9. And please, Mom, don’t give me the kind of grief that grandma gave you over your abortions. It’s the same thing, you know. There’s really no difference.
          10. We’ve told Timmy he’s just going in for a “vaccination.” Anyway, they say the termination procedure is painless. I guess it’s just as well that you haven’t seen that much of little Timmy lately.
          11. Please give my love to Dad.
          12. Signed, Your daughter
          13. (Author unknown)

 

        1. You don’t like that? Why is 5 minutes BEFORE birth different than 5 minutes AFTER birth?

 

      1. There are NO good reasons for an abortion

 

        1. Rape and Incest are NOT justifications for murdering the rapist – so neither is it justification for murdering an unborn child
        2. 90% of mothers who have discovered they are going to have a down syndrome child, abort their down syndrome child
        3. The majority of the remaining abortions are by women who just don’t want a child – not because the child is endangering their life, but their lifestyle.
        4. Most supreme courts and high courts have concluded that  the work of caring for a child can be considered harmful to the mother’s health.
        5. EVERY unwanted child IS wanted and will certainly be loved by someone else! There has NEVER been, and NEVER WILL BE a time that a child is born that someone else would not be found who could love and raise them! Abortion is just not necessary!

 

      1. Abortion is NOT healthcare – it is the unnecessary termination of a priceless life!

 

        1. Abortion is not needed to save the life of a mother.
        2. The abortion procedure is not – ever – necessary to save the life of a mother. There are, however, maternal health risks that require a treatment that cause the unfortunate, indirect, and unintentional death of an unborn child.

 

      1. Present public opinion in Ireland is NOT in favour of abortion. Loads of confusion, but no real majority demand for abortion to be allowed into Ireland – not by a longshot!
      2. Doctors are NOT in favour of providing abortions. A majority of those in the medical profession are terrified of coming out against the abortion referendum – the pressures and politics of it are unbelievable! They are NOT the monsters that the Pro-Choice side want them to be. Most of them meant it when they took the Hippocratic Oath to “DO NO HARM”
      3. And yes, women WILL carry out abortions anyway – but that does not mean that the 8th Amendment is not good, and necessary to protect as many lives as possible!

 

        1. Muggers will still steal; liars will still lie; Killers will still murder; men will still step out on their families and commit adultery! But none of that means the laws that restrict and punish those offenses are bad!
        2. By the way, SINCE 2014, the numbers of women travelling to the UK and elsewhere for abortions has greatly declined!!!

 

      1. Oh there are so many more false beliefs out there!

 

        1. Abortion only affects the woman getting it? Wrong! It affects the father of the child, the society that encourages abortion, and most importantly, it affects the unborn child by depriving him/her of their life and potential and love!
        2. Abortion is NOT a Choice – or else you would be allowing the unborn child THEIR choice!

 

    1. What follows are actual quotes from The Abortion Rights Campaign

 

      1. "The Abortion Rights Campaign opposes gestational limits because we do not believe there should ever be a time limit on accessing healthcare."

 

        1. No 12 week limit like they are suggesting right now
        2. Ought to be right up to the moment of birth – no restrictions
        3. So, aborting a newborn AFTER birth should ALSO be legal because there should NEVER be a time limit on accessing healthcare! Unbelievable!

 

      1. "Women should not be forced into carrying pregnancies they don’t want..." Mothers should not be forced to feed children they do not want either huh?

 

        1. Well, Fathers should not be forced to pay for bills they didn't ask for either.
        2. I shouldn’t be forced to pay YOUR unemployment
        3. And yet we are! And the list goes on.

 

      1. “Women are forced under the [current] law to use their bodies as incubators and maintain the ‘life’ of another.”
      2. "It would be unacceptable if a teenager is forced into carrying a pregnancy she doesn’t want because of the wishes of her parents." Wow! So don't force a teenager to do anything? Especially if the life of another person is violated?
      3. "Abortion should be available where a woman asks for one. [Especially] If a woman feels unable to raise a child..."

 

        1. Huh? Wow! Glad MY mother didn't choose to abort simply because she felt UNABLE some of the time to raise me!
        2. Huh? So, it is okay to terminate the life of an unborn child you don't feel you can raise, but not okay to terminate it after birth if you feel you are unable to raise the same child?

 

      1. “Under the 8th Amendment, a living, breathing, grown woman with thoughts, emotions, feelings, and memories is considered equal in rights to a foetus which up until 10 weeks is no bigger than a grape. Women’s lives are worth more than the value placed on them under the Irish Constitution.” PURE PROPAGANDA. Who cares if you step on a GRAPE?

 

    1. God’s Final Word on Life in the Womb

 

      1. God is Pro-Life

 

        1. He IS Life! John 1:1,4  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
        2. He GIVES life

 

          1. David wrote in Psalm 139:13-16  For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and CURIOUSLY WROUGHT in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. 
          2. Job 31:15  Did not he that made me in the womb make him [my servant]? and did not one fashion us in the womb? EVIDENTLY HUMAN LIFE IS NOT ACCIDENTAL BUT MADE, FASHIONED, KNITTED BY GOD!

 

        1. Most importantly, He sacrificed His OWN life on the cross to make sure sinful people like YOU and ME could live forever. John 10:10,11  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill (GET THAT?), and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 

 

      1. The Christian World View is HARMLESS towards other human life

 

        1. Php 2:14,15  Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 
        2. Luke 9:51-56  And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. 

 

      1. We believe in self-denial, and self sacrifice for the weak, the infirm, that small

 

        1. We Christians let women and children go first; We honour the weaker vessels; we carry one another’s burdens! All are revolutionary ideals compared to the self-centred, selfish, narcissistic, evolutionary “survival of the fittest” thinking of modern men and women and teenagers!
        2. Luke 18:15,16  And they brought unto him also INFANTS, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 
        3. Act 20:34,35  Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. 
        4. Rom 15:1  We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 

 

      1. So, When does GOD say life begins?

 

        1. In medical language, the fusion of a sperm and egg results in a single cell called a zygote, which, as it goes through subsequent growth, becomes a blastocyst, morula, embryo and then a foetus. Only after birth is it scientifically correct to use the word ‘baby.’
        2. Let’s hear what GOD says:

 

          1. Isaiah says in his book, 49:1  Listen, O isles (IRELAND), unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. GOD NAMED ME BEFORE I WAS BREATHING!
          2. Jeremiah in HIS book says (1:4,5) Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. BEFORE JEREMIAH WAS EVER BORN!
          3. David knew he was a human life from conception. Psalm 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
          4. Gen 25:20-24  And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. NOT BLOBS OF REPRODUCTIVE FLESH! 

 

    1. The 8th Amendment of the Irish Constitution

 

      1. The 1983 Amendment inserted a new sub-section in Article 40. The resulting Article 40.3.3° reads:

 

        1. The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.

 

      1. In other words, the Eighth Amendment solidly equates the value of the life of a pregnant mother with that of her unborn child, even if it is only an embryo or foetus in the eyes of the mother.
      2. That may not seem like much to you, but it is very powerful
      3. It PROTECTS the God-given human right of the unborn child to be allowed to live, when the will of the mother, and when the will of the government is against it.
      4. Because, in the same way, slavery was broken, when governments started valuing the life of a black man or woman as EQUAL to the that of a white person.
      5. Without that protection, only the strongest rule and survive

 

    1. Let’s help keep it that way

 

      1. By Marching as a group of 100,000 people in Dublin March 10th, the day before MOTHER’S Day
      2. By personally talking to your TD’s (go right into their offices) and giving them what for
      3. By writing your opinion to the newspapers
      4. By making this referendum a point of determined PRAYER for Ireland to fear going down this direction, and for godly men and women to start to influence and impact our government leaders, and even become part of minority government parties that stand for Biblical and moral truths.
      5. By making the effort to win souls to faith in Jesus Christ. He can change hearts like no argument ever will!
      6. Find you a Pro-Life group that goes out canvassing and get Pro-Life, Choose Life leaflets into the doors and hands of people living near you!
      7. By loving the angry, hurt and demanding women who want abortion in Ireland!
      8. By not keeping your mouths shut

 

        1. I encourage all people to encourage our doctors to CHOOSE life! To do no harm!
        2. I encourage all physicians to man-up and NOT make themselves available to perform abortions - ever! To quit fearing politics and keep to helping save lives, not help women end them!
        3. Talk openly about the costs of abortion to the unborn, to the down syndrome children who will be slaughtered, and to this nation, who will join with so many other nations and have blood on its hands!

 

      1. Ireland needs young people who will stand up for the weak, the inconvenient, the frail, the tiny unborn lives that will die by the tens of thousands every year, if they do nothing!

                                                                                                                                          

III.   Do People Change Their Minds About Abortion?

 

    1. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it.
    2. But people DO change their minds about it

 

      1. Especially when they hear about the actual torturous procedures used to terminate the life of the unborn!
      2. When they learn that most abortions are for convenience and not for any health reasons
      3. When they learn that 9 out of 10 unborn down syndrome babies are aborted
      4. When they discover that adoption is a far better alternative

 

    1. And especially when God’s people see their world, and their culture as their responsibility to influence and make better with the life-giving Gospel of the Son of God
    2. Will you change YOUR attitude about it?

 

      1. That it is not inevitable
      2. That it is NOT a woman’s right to decide about herself since it is about TWO lives and not just one
      3. That there are deeper and more fundamental issues than just an unwanted pregnancy

 

  1. Conclusion (Romans 5:6,8)

 

    1. It has never been easy to carry a baby, give birth, and raise that child to adulthood
    2. But I have decided to be very old fashioned

 

      1. I believe that not everything old is wrong
      2. I have discovered that the Bible predated the Catholic Church, and the Irish State, and all the world wars, and all the sicknesses, diseases and problems of our world
      3. I have found that it alone has all the answers
      4. And it tells me that we were all made in the image of God. And are of infinite value TO God, and all have the inalienable right to life!

 

    1. I stand for the fundamental God-given human right of the unborn to be allowed to live!
    2. I hope and pray you all do too!
    3. Because your view of the unborn is really how you view YOUR life, yourself, and ultimately how you view God!
    4. “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” (Deut 30:29)
    5. Remember, God could have aborted US when WE became a problem, and a burden, and ruined everything!
    6. Yet He self-sacrificed Himself, so that by simple, child-like faith we could live forever, forgiven, and accepted! (Romans 5:6,8) For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.