At a Glance
Destructive ideas have deadly consequences. Abortion has claimed over 62 million victims since it was legalized in the U.S. in 1973 with the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision. A media leak provided information that the Court may overturn this decision. A violent opposition to this pro-life decision is rising up and seeking to use public pressure to change the outcome. A set of interlocking lies around the issues of sexuality, human life, and what it means to live a fulfilled life fill the minds of many who adamantly support abortion. We will look at the worldview-level lies that fuel the abortion industry along with some of the most common pro-abortion arguments. To end abortion, we must do more than outlaw it. We must work to change minds at the level of worldview by confronting lies with truth.
What You'll Hear
Chapter 1: Sami Parker from Live Action* discusses
- the Supreme Court’s leaked document and what will happen if Roe v. Wade is overturned
- her recent experiences and conversations with pro-choice advocates at DC protests. Some advocated for abortion at any time (up to nine months) for any reason (children with disabilities and sex-selection).
- statistics regarding women who feel coerced or pressured into abortions (64%) and statistics on the ($270) millions of dollars given away in free aid by pro-life pregnancy resource centers annually
- how to pray, support, and take next steps
Chapter 2: Personal Stories (30:55)
- Darrow shares personal stories of his involvement in the pro-life movement (30:55) and Scott shares what caused him to change positions from pro-abortion to pro-life (34:18).
Chapter 3: Science? (36:44)
- The abortion movement no longer looks to science because science definitively confirms that human life begins at conception (36:44).
Chapter 4: Human Rights? (38:02)
- How is the abortion movement’s view of humanity any different than the way slaves were viewed? (38:02)
Is abortion a human right? What is the foundation for human rights? (40:43) Where does the significance for human life come from? (42:38) Human life is sacred and transcendent (43:48). Where does a Darwinian view lead? (44:36)
Chapter 5: A Woman’s Value (49:36)
- Teaching Unit: What does it mean to be a woman? (49:36 – 1:04:39)
Where does a woman find her value and how can she enjoy a fulfilling life? (51:25)
Sex and the equality of men and women from the world’s perspective (52:56).
The biblical narrative considers women to be the crescendo of creation—the pinnacle of God’s creative activity (55:10). She is like God in her ability to be a life-giver (57:46).
Reflections on women and their worth from the two contrasting worldviews (58:50).
Women find their worth not only or ultimately in mothering, but in the reality that they are made in the image of God—the imago Dei. This is the foundation for all of us (1:00:23).
Chapter 6: Views of Sex (1:04:40)
- Teaching Unit: What is sex? (1:04:40 – 1:14:09)
Two worldviews. Sex, procreation, family, and community are interconnected. Today’s worldview centers around the individual and misses the miracle of it all.
The Church must not be afraid of talking about God’s glorious plan for sex from the beginning of Genesis 1 and 2 (1:10:29).
Personal reflections on the value, joy, and beauty of family (1:14:10)
Chapter 7: Today’s Justice Issue (1:16:27)
- Don’t imagine that inaction will lead to positive outcomes (1:16:27). We have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable and must model caring for mothers and babies.
- This is the justice issue of our generation (1:18:37). It’s view of humanity is no different than that of slave-holders. Will future generations look back on the 62 million abortions of the last fifty years and say, “How could Christians not have spoken up more?”
Using the link above, you can read the transcript, listen along, and adjust the speed of the podcast while you listen.
The biblical narrative considers women to be the crescendo of creation—the pinnacle of God’s creative activity. She is like God in her ability to give life.
55:10-57:46
Learn More & Tell Others
Want an easy way to share the beauty and miracle of life from its earliest days? This video, “Baby Olivia” was released in the past year to accurately and beautifully depict human development in the womb. Watch it and share it today!
Has someone told you that abortion only accounts for 3% of Planned Parenthood’s services? The Washington Post gave this statistic three “Pinnochios.” See why others call this the most meaningless statistic ever. Planned Parenthood is an abortion clinic.
When we look at the beauty, compassion, and protection of a mother, we are looking right at God’s attributes. Learn more and enroll now in our free online study, The Grand Design.
Special Guest
Sami Parker is a Social Media Associate with Live Action, a digital leader of the global pro-life movement that seeks to influence hearts and minds to create a lasting impact on culture. When Live Action started, it worked to expose behind-the-scenes issues related to abortion with investigative work.
64% of women feel coerced or pressured into their abortions.
(14:04)
(Share These) Excerpts
Science and Abortion (36:44 – 40:40)
The abortion community used to say, “Look at the science!” They no longer say this because science is clear. At the point of conception, when the sperm enters the egg, a new human being is conceived. They are unique. They have never existed before and will never exist again. They’re alive. They’re human. Now they have shifted the conversation to say, it may be human, but it’s not a person. Do we not remember the embarrassing moments of American history when slaves were considered property, not considered people? The owner could do whatever they wanted with them. It wasn’t up to anyone else to say what an owner should do with their slaves. An official decision was made to consider them three quarters of a person. How appalling! How can you make an argument that this is any different morally than slavery?
Is Abortion a Human Right? (40:43 – 43:47)
Is abortion a human right? Where would we get the foundation for human rights? Does the government give them? If they give human rights, they can also take them away.
- The language of human rights is good, but those who are pro-abortion and don’t value human life don’t have a foundation for human rights.
- If you don’t support the right to life—just to live—there can’t be any human rights beyond that.
- Science teaches us it’s another human being, but where does the significance of human life come from? Not every philosophy or religion has an understanding of what the nature of human life is. And this is where the biblical message is so profound, because at the very beginning of Scripture, it says that God created and that God made us in His image. We are not primarily animals, which is where abortion begins. We are the very image of God. And this establishes the concept of our humanity being significant. And that becomes the foundation for human rights.
Two Worldviews in the Approach to Abortion
- Life is created by God; it’s sacred. You have God-given human rights, including the right to life.
- Life is a product of evolution, without purpose, sanctity, or inherent dignity.
Worldview Considerations: What does it mean to be a woman and to live a good life as a woman? (51:25 – 1:04:39)
Today, the US is largely built on an atheistic framework, seeing people as highly evolved animals without God. “I” become the center of the universe—my life, my feelings. The things that are important in a materialistic universe are money and power. They become the absolutes that people strive for—we want power, we want money. Where do we find these? In the political arena, and in the marketplace, this is how we define ourselves today. Your value is found in those realms. So a woman who is having children is not valued. She’s not in those realms. She is conceiving of children, nurturing children, providing a space for children with her husband. She’s not getting a paycheck for that. So she is seen as not worth very much.
The desire becomes sameness with men, which is achieved, in part, through abortion, which allows a woman to have sex whenever she wants without responsibility for a child. A man can have has sex whenever he wants and walk away, leaving his partner to carry a child for nine months and then raise a child alone. It’s absolutely tragic. So you have all these children without fathers. So the man can father children without fathering children—he can have sex, get a woman pregnant and walk away; returning to the marketplace where he is seen as valuable. So for a woman to have value, she needs to be in the marketplace. To be able to be in the marketplace, she needs to not be pregnant, and she wants to have the same sexual opportunities as men. So then you have sex without responsibility, which happens through abortion. That’s one worldview. And women want to to be valued, so they feel they have to hold on that. They feel a baby inside their womb is a huge barrier to everything they want to be. And it’s not fair! Men don’t have that barrier—that burden—why should I?
From the biblical worldview, we are made in the image of God—we’re made male and female. It’s not just men that are made in the image of God, women are made in the image of God. Women are made equal to men, in their very nature, not the same as men, but equal to men. So there’s no sexist culture here, where a man can say, “I am better than you.” No. We are both made in the image of God.
Consider creation. The first thing God created was the material reality. And then he began to shape that reality. And then he created life through plants. And then he created animal life. Now there is the breath of life. And then he created human beings made in His image. So not just animals that have the breath of life, but people that bear his transcendent nature. You go to Genesis chapter two, and you see more detail about his creation of the male and the female, and who does he create first? He creates the male first. But he’s not finished yet. And if you read through Genesis, every time he finishes something, he said, it is good, it is good, it is good. And then when he creates human beings, it’s very good. So as he works more and more to give form, each thing he creates is of a higher form, as it were. So he creates man, and then what does he create? He creates woman. And women are the crescendo of creation. They are the high watermark of creation. So if you are going to brag, the woman is the one who has the bragging rights, because she is at the pinnacle of God’s creative activity. And she was made for a purpose, to bring forth life. Adam names his wife, Eve. And this Hebrew word Eve is rooted in the Life Giver. That is the concept. Who gives life? God gives life. God is the giver of life. And he made women in his image, like men, but he made them different. He made them to be life givers. And that is absolutely profound.
Summary of the two narratives about women and their value: You have on the one hand, the narrative that begins with God and with creation, where women are highly esteemed, because they are the life givers. The biblical worldview calls the ability to carry children and give birth a superpower. And you have another narrative that denies God, that reduces us to animals, survival of the fittest. And where is worth found? It’s found not intrinsically, but in the marketplace. And how do you stay in the marketplace? It’s by denying your very nature.
Let us be clear, women have intrinsic value even if they don’t have children – they still have places to serve and lead in the world; but for each of us, our transcendent value comes from God – not from how much money one makes or from being the same as men in terms of the marketplace or sexuality. It’s about being made in His image – imago Dei. This is the foundation for existence—for human rights, for going into the marketplace and creating things. All of that is rooted in this fundamental principle.
Quotes
“64% of women have felt that they were coerced or pressured into their abortions.” Sami (14:10)
“In just one year alone, $270 million was given away in free aid by pregnancy resource centers in America” Sami (17:47)
“This is about humans in America saying, ‘Hey, let’s look at the last time, a more powerful group of humans decided to look at a less powerful group of humans and determine their value’.” Sami (21:55)
“We’re just saying, hey, no human being is better than the other. No human being is less valuable than the other and we all deserve equal protection under the law.” Sami (22:13)
“Many who support abortion say that abortion is a human right. And I would argue that if there is no right to life, then there are no human rights. It’s that basic.” Darrow (40:47)
“If government gives human rights, they can take them away.” Scott (41:27)
“To say we are made in the image of the transcendent being, gives us then, transcendence.” Dwight (44:19)
“We have this idea, from somewhere, every human has throughout history, that life is important. That killing is wrong, and life is important.” Luke (47:04)
“The reason this is such an emotional and heated argument is because it is at the foundation of one of the four worldview questions that every worldview is established upon. And that question is, what does it mean to be human? And the way you answer that is kind of the framework through which you’ll see the rest of your life.” Luke (50:23)
“So God creates man, and then what does he create? He creates woman. And women are the crescendo of creation. They are the high watermark of creation. So if you are going to brag, the woman is the one with the bragging rights, because she is at the pinnacle of God’s creative activity.” Darrow (57:23)
“God gives life. And if those of you who are listening to this can hear me at this point, God is the giver of life. And he made women in his image, like men, but he made them different. He made them to be life givers.” Darrow (58:18)
“And the things that are important in a materialistic universe are money and power. They become the absolutes that people strive for, we want power, we want money. Where do we find these? In the political arena, and in the marketplace, this is how we define ourselves today. Your value is found in those realms. So a woman who is having children is not valued.” Darrow (51:45)
“The big lie when you think for a man or a woman that your virtue, your status, is found in the marketplace.” Dwight (1:01:14)
“Abortion has grown out of a Darwinian view of sex, if you will. That really seeks to decouple sex and procreation. Just make them separate things all together.” Scott (1:04:51)
“And sex has been reduced from a sacred activity. Not a religious activity, but a sacred activity, in all of its beauty, and all of its wholeness. spiritually, emotionally, physically, it is whole. It has been reduced from that to entertainment, just a pastime–to sports, to entertainment.” Darrow (1:07:33)
“The church very often is afraid of talking about sex, because it’s dirty. And the church should be promoting the story.” Darrow (1:10:31)
“This isn’t our opinion that we’re talking about here. This isn’t just another say, religion that we’re talking about here. This is, this is truth. This is based in reality. And no matter what people say, how mad they get, how angry they get, this is a fact that we’re made in the image of God, that children are a blessing.” Luke (1:12:55)
“We need to go the next step and go, and God [created family]. And God created this. God set this up for us.” Dwight (1:14:50)
“And we are a divided nation [on abortion], almost 50/50. And if we listen to Lincoln, this “House Divided” will not stand, it will become all of one or all of the other.” Darrow (1:17:30′
It’s not just “it’s inconvenient,” it’s that we’ve been taught that pregnancy is a disease, complete with its own horrifying list of symptoms. So it baffles me when I hear stories of horrible childbirth experiences and I’m left wondering why anyone gets pregnant these days. It’s presented as so bad it can’t be worth it.
I wish more people would talk about this, but it’s never the focus.
Nova, thanks for your comment! We want to be part of the solution — helping more people understand the beauty and wonder of God’s transcendent design — as He created male and female in His image and gave us the ability to be like Him, bringing new life into the world. It is something of true wonder, but you are right that much of our secular world looks at it in a distorted way that misunderstands the goodness of God’s purposes for the family.