Not Letting Abortion Be Minimized
Reformed Free Publishing Association
In an editorial in Reformed Perspective Jon Dykstra explains his response to a Canadian Politician’s claim that he is personally pro-life but understands party loyalty to mean that whenever legislation that has to do with abortion is up for consideration he must vote in line with his party which is pro-choice[1]. The politician is Lawrence MacAulay, a member of the Canadian parliament. Dykstra quotes MacAulay as stating, “I accept and understand the party position regarding the woman’s right to choose. Despite my personal beliefs.” MacAulay made another statement that explains what his acceptance and understanding of his party’s “pro-choice position” means. He said, “I understand that I will have to vote the party position should this issue ever come up in the House of Commons.”
Why did MacAulay make these public statements? The leader of MacAulay’s political party, Justin Trudeau, has implemented a pro-abortion requirement for the members of parliament who belong to his party. The party’s leader demands that all members of the party vote pro-choice.
Dykstra explains what the appropriate Christian response to MacAulay’s statements should be. The point he makes is that Christians must not respond in a way that does not sufficiently recognize the evil of abortion. He begins by explaining there are three sides to the abortion debate. He writes,
Broadly speaking there are two sides of the abortion debate: on the one side, those who know it is a baby recognize that this is a life-and-death situation, on the other, those who don’t understand that abortion ends the life of a precious human [being].
But there is a third group. This group is made up of those who know it is a child, know it is a life-and-death situation, and knowingly advocate for death.
This is the group MacAulay has just joined.
After rightly pointing out that MacAulay’s position amounts to approving knowingly of murder Dykstra says a calm response is “inappropriate.” And he says, “If our response does not have some heat in it, we’re not doing it right.” The appropriate response is one that recognizes abortion is horrible sin against God’s law which forbids murder.
In Canada and the United States abortion has been legal for decades. Abortion is a common and frequent occurrence in our society. We have been living with abortion for so long that there is a danger that we become “used to” it. Besides that those who are in favor of abortion have successfully downplayed its reality so that their position seems civilized and reasonable—they are not supporting murder but the woman’s right to choose. By successfully downplaying the fact that abortion is murder they have even convinced an influential politician like MacAulay that even though he is personally against abortion it is ok for him to vote for pro-abortion legislation. The difference between the anti and pro-abortion stances has been downplayed so that it is akin to the difference between a plain hamburger or a cheeseburger. Supporting pro-abortion legislation as one who is personally anti-abortion is no more serious than a person who is anti-cheese eating a cheeseburger. MacAulay is probably a sign that this kind of thinking will only increase.
Dykstra’s article shows that the minimization of abortion’s seriousness is not only a danger, it is happening! So it is important for Christians to remind ourselves constantly that abortion is murder that it is and continue to give a bold, sharp, and uncompromising witness against its evil.
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[1] The editorial is in the July/August, 2014 Reformed Perspective, “What Truth sounds like: In the abortion debate, calm just isn’t clear, pp. 4-5.
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