The Case For Life

Carl Pollard

Every society is ultimately judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. History bears this out. Civilizations are not remembered for their technology or wealth alone, but for whether they defended human dignity or sacrificed it for convenience. Few issues reveal this moral fault line more clearly than abortion.

At its core, abortion isnt a political or medical issue. It is a moral question, a scientific reality, and a spiritual matter that forces us to ask a simple but uncomfortable question: What is the value of human life?

Scripture is crystal clear about the source and worth of human life. Life is not accidental, disposable, or owned by society. It is given by God and bears His image.

Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image.” This is not a status earned by size, ability, or independence. It is a condition of being human. From conception forward, human life carries divine worth.

Psalm 139:13–16 describes God’s involvement in the womb: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” The psalmist does not speak of a future person, but of a present one known by God before birth.

Jeremiah 1:5 reinforces this truth: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” God’s relationship with human beings begins prior to birth, not after.

Throughout Scripture, God consistently condemns the shedding of innocent blood (Proverbs 6:16–17). No category of people is more innocent or defenseless than the unborn.

Science doesn’t argue against life in the womb. In fact, modern embryology overwhelmingly affirms it.

At conception, a distinct, living human organism comes into existence. This new being has its own DNA, separate from the mother and father, determining sex, eye color, and genetic identity.

By three weeks, the heart is beating. By six weeks, measurable brain activity is present. By eight weeks, all major organs have begun to form. By ten weeks, the unborn child can respond to stimuli. These are not philosophical claims. They are biological facts taught in medical textbooks.

The question, then, isn’t when life begins. Science has answered that. The real question is whether we believe some lives are more worthy of protection than others.

Since the legalization of abortion in the United States, tens of millions of unborn children have lost their lives. Globally, abortion accounts for tens of millions of deaths every year, making it one of the leading causes of death worldwide.

Statistics also reveal another uncomfortable truth. Abortion does not solve social problems. It masks them. Poverty, lack of support, abusive relationships, and fear are not cured by ending a life. They are exploited to justify it.

Women are often told abortion is empowerment, yet many report long-term emotional and psychological distress afterward. Depression, guilt, and regret are not uncommon, even if rarely discussed publicly. Ending a life doesn’t heal anything. It compounds it.

If human rights mean anything, they must apply to all humans. If worth depends on size, location, dependency, or wantedness, then no one’s rights are secure. A newborn is smaller than a toddler. A disabled person may be dependent on others. An elderly person may be unwanted. Yet we recognize their right to live.

To argue that the unborn do not deserve protection because they cannot speak or survive independently is to adopt a standard that would justify horrific injustice elsewhere.

The womb should be the safest place on earth. Instead, it has become the most dangerous.

Human life has value not because of what it can do, but because of what it is. A child is not valuable because they are planned, healthy, or convenient. They are valuable because they are human.

This is the foundation of every just society. When life becomes conditional, morality becomes negotiable.

God’s design has always been clear. Life is sacred. Children are a blessing, not a burden. And justice demands protection for those who cannot protect themselves.

Abolishing abortion isn’t about controlling women. It is about refusing to dehumanize children. It is about building a culture that responds to crisis with compassion, not death, and support, not silence.

The answer to abortion is not apathy or anger, but truth and courage. Truth that life begins at conception. Courage to defend it even when it is inconvenient.

The measure of our humanity is not found in our slogans, but in our willingness to stand for life when it costs us something.

If life is truly sacred, then it must be protected. All of it. Especially the smallest among us.

Common Arguments Used To Defend Abortion: 

1. “My body, my choice.”

Pregnancy involves two bodies. The unborn child has a separate DNA, blood type, and biological identity. Bodily autonomy does not include the right to intentionally kill another innocent human being. Society already limits “choice” when it harms others.

2. “The fetus isn’t a person.”

Science confirms the unborn is a living human organism from conception. Personhood based on development, location, or ability is arbitrary and dangerous. If personhood is granted by others, human rights are no longer inherent.

3. “Life begins at birth.”

Birth changes location, not nature. A baby minutes before birth is biologically identical to a baby minutes after birth. No scientific event at birth creates humanity.

4. “What about rape and incest?”

Rape is a horrific crime, but abortion punishes an innocent child for the sin of another. Justice does not permit killing one innocent person to ease the suffering caused by another’s crime.

5. “The baby won’t survive or has severe disabilities.”

Human value does not depend on health, lifespan, or ability. To argue otherwise revives the logic used to justify eugenics and discrimination against the disabled. Compassion does not require killing.

6. “Women will die if abortion is illegal.”

Modern medicine can treat life-threatening complications without intentionally killing the child. Direct abortion is never medically necessary to save a mother’s life. Treating pathology is not the same as ending a life.

7. “Abortion is healthcare.”

Healthcare aims to heal, not intentionally kill a patient. Abortion ends the life of a distinct human being and therefore contradicts the fundamental definition of medical care.

8. “The child is just a clump of cells.”

Every human is a clump of cells. The question is not cellular composition but organism identity. From conception, the unborn is a complete, developing human organism.

9. “The child isn’t viable yet.”

Viability depends on technology, geography, and age. Human rights cannot depend on hospital access or medical advancement. Dependency does not negate humanity.

10. “Abortion reduces poverty and suffering.”

Killing the poor does not solve poverty. Ending life is not a moral solution to social failure. True justice addresses suffering without destroying the sufferer.

11. “Women will still get abortions anyway.”

The same argument could be used to legalize any crime. Laws exist to restrain evil, protect the innocent, and shape moral understanding. Justice does not yield to lawlessness.

12. “The Bible doesn’t explicitly mention abortion.”

The Bible condemns the shedding of innocent blood, affirms God’s work in the womb, and recognizes unborn children as known by God. Moral truths are often established by principle, not explicit wording.

13. “Abortion should be rare, but legal.”

If abortion is wrong, it should not be legal. If it is legal, society teaches it is morally acceptable. There is no moral category for “justified injustice.”

14. “Criminalizing abortion punishes women.”

Abolition seeks equal justice, not cruelty. Law recognizes moral agency while also addressing coercion and exploitation. Exempting one group from accountability denies the humanity of the victim.

15. “This is a religious belief, not law.”

Opposition to killing innocent humans is a moral principle shared across cultures and legal systems. Laws already reflect moral judgments about life, harm, and justice. Neutrality is a myth.