Does Rape Justify Abortion?

It's quite interesting how human nature gravitates toward extreme or rare cases and allows them to become the lens through which God's Word is judged.

Rape as a justification for abortion is one example, even though according to the National Library of Medicine, only 1.5-1.9% of all women seeking abortions cite rape as the reason.

Some other examples include, "What if I wait until marriage and the sex is bad?" used by the pro-"test drive" brigade to justify premarital sex, or "What if they're abusive?" used to justify divorce.

This is what I would call exceptional-case reasoning, and it's as old as Scripture itself.

At its core, this kind of reasoning subtly insinuates that God didn't fully think things through before giving His Word. It treats exceptional cases as though they expose flaws in God's wisdom or reveal circumstances or scenarios He somehow failed to anticipate.

Now, this is not to say that we should trivialize or dismiss extreme or rare cases. But difficult and delicate as they may be, we must be careful not to slip into the ditch of assuming that God's commands are somehow poorly thought out.

The God who foresaw every extreme or rare case is the same God who gave His Word. There are no oversights with God, and no scenarios have escaped His notice and wisdom.

So, does rape justify abortion?

Absolutely not.

Horrific as the child's conception may be, it does not alter the nature or value of the child conceived. It's still a human life, and it still has tremendous value in God's sight, regardless of how it came about.

But extreme or rare cases aside, I believe that, at the heart of every pro-choice argument for abortion, is a selfish and self-centered appeal. In essence, it's saying, "This child is an inconvenience to me. They must die so that I may live."

The gospel's pattern, however, is the exact opposite. It's a selfless self-sacrifice of One, Jesus, for the good of others, not the sacrifice of another for our own good.

Jesus died that we may live (John 10:10;1 Thessalonians 5:10).

I believe this also helps explain why child sacrifice was so abominable to God in Scripture (Leviticus 18:21; Leviticus 20:2–5;Deuteronomy 18:10). Apart from the fact that it was murder and destruction of human life, it represented the offering up of a child for the prospect of a better future.

The worshipers of Molech sacrificed their children for the prospect of a better future, whether that meant prosperity, security, fertility, divine favor, etc.

Abortion, which I would argue is the modern-day equivalent, is no different. It's sacrificing children for the prospect of a better future, regardless of how it's phrased: "Having a child will derail my studies", "I can't risk my career or financial goals", "I'm not ready to be a parent", "I can't afford a baby right now", "What will people think?", "My parents will kill me", "I was raped", "I'm still a baby myself", "The man is married", etc.

The reasons used to justify child sacrifice may vary from one generation to another, but the rationale is strikingly similar: the child must die because his or her continued existence is perceived as an inconvenience or hindrance to a more desirable future.

Christians should exercise spiritual discernment and recognize Satan's hand in abortion. Apart from the fact that it strikes at the very heart of God's creation, it's an all out attack on the gospel itself.

I think it's no coincidence that one of the pro-choice slogans today is, "This is my body..." – the same sacred words used by Jesus and echoed in Communion.

Christ said, "This is My body, which is given for you" (Luke 22:19). The pro-choice argument, in contrast, essentially says, "This is my body. I give up this baby for me. Their death for my good."

The former is self-sacrifice for the sake of another. The latter is the sacrifice of another for the sake of oneself. The former says, "I will die that you may live." The latter says, "You must die that I may live."

Bottom line, whatever the circumstances surrounding conception, the child in the womb, who is not a clump of cells, is not a problem or inconvenience to be eliminated, but a human life to be valued and protected.

Compassion for difficult cases notwithstanding, it must never come at the expense of human life. The answer to a rare and difficult conception case should never be the deliberate murder of the child. God bless you.