We recently started a series asking the question, “what are the marks of a Pro-Life Bill?”
After 50 years of legalized abortion here in Alaska, and 47 years under Roe v Wade across the US, it’s a little disheartening to think that we’ve never had a significant piece of legislation signed into law that wasn’t overturned by the courts.
Now the courts certainly get the lion’s share of the blame for that, but we’ve also got to ask how many millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours have been wasted by exuberant, but perhaps not yet educated pro-life groups and legislators.
Think back to the 70’s and 80’s when pro-lifers risked it all and went to jail when they blocked abortion business doors and driveways. We have some of those heroes in our midst, some lamenting the mistakes made in their youth, some lamenting the mistakes of today’s youth.
While many have challenged the effectiveness of the Rescue operations of those days, it’s hard to question the motives and sincerity of men and women who went to jail – several times – for the sake of protecting babies waiting to be born.
This series doesn’t aim specifically at the motives or sincerity of any pro-life groups or legislators, but it may cause you to question what motivates some to take the actions they do and what prevents others from taking any action at all.
And at the heart of this series is Alaska’s Heartbeat bill, HB 302 of 2020, that certainly pulls at our heartstrings, but its effectiveness at protecting babies – the MAIN THING, remember – is still in question.
So let’s dive in. Our previous email brought us to the conclusion that Alaska’s HB 302 was INNEFECTIVELY PREPARED. You can read the analysis of the preparation HERE.
Today we’ll begin to consider the PRINCIPLES involved in Pro-Life legislation and how this bill interacts with those principles.
PRINCIPLES FOR PRO-LIFE LEGISLATION
Biblical
Humanity / Personhood
Policy
Pragmatic
Political
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT THAT?
“What does the Bible say about that” is a commonly asked question at our house as we attempt to understand an issue, opportunity, or even a problem. We ask that because we believe that the Bible is the singular authority in matters on which God speaks. While every aspect of life is not comprehensively addressed in Scripture, God has made Himself clear in at least two ways:
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
As we work to protect babies waiting to be born, we face many problems and it seems even more opportunities. But what does the Bible say about those problems and opportunities?
When we really understand what the Bible says, our problems often get much smaller and we often end up with fewer, but much better opportunities.
The first principle is Biblical, and its foundational core is God’s design for government; God’s purposes for government.
In quick flyover fashion, let’s consider a few points regarding God’s purpose for government. These are certainly not exhaustive, but only serve the purpose of helping us understand legislation offered to protect innocent human life in the greater context of God’s design for government, chiefly to:
Every single one of these points must be considered when pursuing a God glorifying Biblical approach to ending abortion.
PROTECTING INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE
We see in Genesis that God first instituted government among men with the command to protect innocent human life and to punish murderers:
God Institutes Government Among Men
““Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed,
For in the image of God He made man.”
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT PROTECTING INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE?
God is clear in Genesis 9 about a few very specific things:
God is God, and He is not a man.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:1
“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?
Exodus 15:11
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8
Man is made in God’s image.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;
Genesis 1:26
Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.”
Genesis 9:6
God gives the law
“Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.
Nehemiah 9:13
The Bible is clear: innocent human life is to be protected and cherished and murderers are to be punished.
EVERY HUMAN ON EARTH KNOWS
MURDER IS A CAPITAL CRIME
Remember, this command wasn’t handed down through the Apostle Paul or John the Baptist or any other New Testament Christian.
God didn’t give this command to Isaiah or Ezekiel, or any other Hebrew prophet.
This wasn’t passed on through King David, Moses, Jacob, Isaac, or even Abraham.
God gave this command to Noah after the flood waters receded and Noah led his family out of the Ark. The command to protect innocent human life and punish murderers wasn’t for Christians, Jews, or even Abraham’s descendants.
The command to protect innocent human life and punish murderers was given to all people before any nation, tribe, or tongue was formed. Before any religion, every human on earth knew that murder was a capital crime.
GOD NEVER LIBERALIZED THE COMMAND TO PROTECT LIFE AND PUNISH MURDER
As we move forward in the Bible we see that nowhere does God liberalize His command to protect innocent human life. If anything, Exodus, the Psalms, Prophets, Gospels, and even Revelation only strengthen the basis for protecting innocent human life – especially babies waiting to be born.
God reveals and demonstrates His intimate relationship with babies in Psalm 139, a verse many of us know well:
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
Psalm 139: 13-16
We see in Exodus that Egypt laws commanded genocidal sex-selective infanticide, requiring all male Hebrew babies to be killed at birth. But God protected and rewarded the Hebrew midwives who broke the law to protect those babies when they were born.
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?” And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.” Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that he provided households for them.
Exodus 1:17-21
Later on in the Psalms and Proverbs we see similar exhortation from God to protect the innocent:
“Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.”
Psalm 82:3-4
Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay each man according to his work?
Proverbs 24:11-12
God continues this exhortation in Jeremiah:
Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
Jeremiah 22:3
The story of John the Baptist meeting his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ isn’t told from the banks of the Jordan or the streets of Jerusalem, but from his mother’s womb when Mary and Elizabeth, both pregnant with Lord and prophet met in the 1st chapter of Luke:
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:41
So, we see clearly throughout Scripture that God requires ALL PEOPLE to protect innocent human lives, and while governments carry out many other purposes, we see that protecting innocent lives and punishing murderers is the first, foundational purpose for government.
In the pursuit of justice, people often make things far more difficult than they need to be. We see this in 1 Kings 3, where the two harlots are fighting over a baby. In the night, a baby died, and his mother kidnapped another woman’s baby, claiming him as her own, and leaving the dead child in his place.
When their case was described to King Solomon, who was hearing disputes that day, he prayed for wisdom and called for a sword. He would cut the living child in two, so neither mother would be without a dead baby. His pursuit of justice and the wisdom that God gave him was immediately obvious as the mother of the living baby pleaded for his life, and begged that he live with the other harlot instead of being put to death.
When all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had handed down, they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. 1 Kings 3:16
We see two principles at work here:
ADMINISTER JUSTICE & PROTECT INNOCENT LIFE
Solomon’s first task was to protect the innocent baby’s life. Remember, the preservation of innocent human life was the foundation upon which God built all human governments.
RESTORE THE BABY TO HIS MOTHER Solomon also had to return the baby to his mother, which was a difficult task, as both women claimed him as their own, and both women asserted the dead baby belonged to the other.
WITH THE WISDOM OF GOD
DISCERN THE TRUTH The law required at least two witnesses to settle a matter, but in this case, the only two witnesses provided conflicting testimonies, so the case could not be decided on the basis of witness testimony.
The only other evidence the Bible offers is the dead baby belonging to one of the mothers – but we have the advantage of reading the story that Solomon had to live. So, while we know who the who the living baby belongs to, Solomon didn’t have the same insight we enjoy.
So, without witness testimony or any other evidence, Solomon was left with only his own judgement. And God’s wisdom.
And this is why the WISDOM of GOD is so critical in the PURSUIT of JUSTICE.
Without God’s wisdom, we are likely to pervert justice with even our best intentions and efforts.
Since he had neither reliable testimony nor sufficient evidence upon which to make a decision, Solomon called for a sword and ordered the child to be cut in half.
DIVIDE THE LIVING CHILD IN TWO
If the story ended there – the issue is resolved with the living baby being cut in two, would justice have been served?
Could justice have been served by killing the innocent baby?
If not, could it be the wisdom of God that would lead to the perversion of His justice?
Put another way, would the wisdom of God ever lead to a perversion of the justice of God?
Returning to HB 302, Alaska’s Heartbeat bill, if we asked the same question: can justice be served by killing innocent babies?
Of course not.
Then why would we ever consider such a strategy?
Does the Heartbeat bill preserve the “CHOICE” to kill innocent babies?
As we saw in the previous email, in two significant ways:
Just so we’re clear, for Solomon’s men to kill the baby would have been a grave injustice brought about by the wickedness and folly of men.
Likewise, to offer legislation that intentionally authorizes babies to be killed is a perversion of justice as well.
Remember, the foundational principle for government among men is to PROTECT INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE and to punish murderers.
Had Solomon’s men actually killed the baby and given half of his corpse to each of the women, they would have murdered an innocent human being and been deserving of capital punishment themselves – and Solomon would have been guilty of corrupting justice and murdering the baby as well.
In addition to Genesis 9 and the countless laws throughout Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus, this story in 1st Kings makes it clear that justice requires the preservation of innocent life.
Could justice have been served by violating God’s foundational principles for government – to protect innocent human life? I would submit that to kill an innocent human in the interest of justice is a perversion of justice, not a pursuit of it.
Moreover, had Solomon’s men actually killed the baby, would Scripture record for all eternity that “the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice?”
Can it be said that the “wisdom of God” would ever lead us to pervert the justice of God?
Solomon’s command to divide the baby was, in hindsight, the obvious, and wise thing to do as it revealed the intentions of the two women’s hearts and provided the truth to the difficulty at hand: who was the mother of the living child.
So we see here that it was the “wisdom of God” that helped Solomon “to administer justice.”
And we see that the wisdom of God would never lead Solomon or any other to pervert his justice by killing an innocent person.
If we applied this bit of wisdom and justice to HB 302, Alaska’s Heartbeat bill, how would we do?
Would the wisdom of God say that it is unlawful to kill a baby after his heartbeat has been detected? Of course.
Likewise, would the wisdom of God say that it is unlawful to limit protections to only those whose heartbeat has been detected? That seems obvious as well. The wisdom of God would never lead us to violate the justice of God.
But what does the bill say?
“A person may not knowingly perform an abortion after a health care provider detects a fetal heartbeat.”
Does the bill limit legal protections?
Yes.
Does the bill limit protections to include only those whose heartbeat has been detected?
Yes.
Does the bill violate the justice of God? Clearly, it does.
Since the bill violates the justice of God, could it have been crafted in the wisdom of God?
Clearly not.
But there is more. The bill goes on to say:
“…unless the abortion is medically necessary.”
Now, we know from the previous email that “medical necessity” is defined subjectively by the abortionist based on the mother’s age and her physical, emotional, psychological well being.
We find then, that this bill perverts the justice and wisdom of God by leaving the ultimate decision of whether a baby lives or dies up to the subjective judgement of the person who stands to benefit the most by the decision: the abortionist himself.
Even if the ends we are pursuing – the abolition of abortion – are somehow reached by means that pervert the justice and wisdom of God, is it possible to bring glory to God in that accomplishment?
If not, would we be so earthly minded that we would explain ourselves because the ends somehow justify the means? Because we need not worry about God’s glory when we’re doing earthly, human good?
If our doing good fails to lift high the name of God, but exalts our own wisdom, is it possible to bring God glory, let alone worship Him?
The warning we receive in Psalm 2 should be sufficient to remind us that it is impossible to worship a holy God, to show discernment, to worship with reverence and rejoice in trembling if we exalt our own thinking and purposes above his commandment to protect innocent human life and punish murderers.
“Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” Psalm 2:10
For the unbeliever, the outcome is terrifying as we see in Revelations 6:14-17
The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
For the believer, we should understand there are both earthly, and eternal consequences:
You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.”
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
2nd Corinthians 5:10
Finally, can a government that endorses killing innocent babies and recognizes 45% of those killings as “medically necessary” fulfill the last mandate of God’s design and purpose for government to punish evil and reward good?
Rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Romans 13:3
It’s one thing to read this verse in the context of persecuted believers living in pagan Rome when the emperor was celebrated as a God and the Christian faith was persecuted as a fake religion that refused to recognize the deity of the emperor. The Apostle Paul’s encouragement to not fear their rulers because they’re “ministers of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil” seems a bit aspirational from the historical context of his writing.
Likewise, to consider our government in the context of abortion in Alaska today to be a government that only brings wrath on those who do evil may seem a bit aspirational as well.
But perhaps we should ask: what part of creation that God placed in our stewardship have we not distorted and perverted?
And as we do our part to protect Alaskan babies waiting to be born, should we take license from the fact that we live in a fallen world, that we are corrupt, and therefore God will understand our perversion of His command to protect all innocent human life, from conception to natural end of life without exception?
The Apostle Paul brings us back to a right understanding of how law and grace should guide our conduct in our daily lives, as well as the legislation we introduce, support, and even oppose:
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
Romans 6: 1-2, 14-15
So as we finish the Biblical Principles portion of this series of emails about Heartbeat bills – and all legislative attempts to protect babies from abortion, let’s keep in mind God’s purposes for government: to protect innocent human life, administer justice by His wisdom, worship Him and bring Him glory, and to punish evil and reward good.
It seems impossible from the keyboard side of this series to consider that we can worship and glorify a holy God by violating His standards for wisdom, justice, good, and evil while exalting our own plans above His Word and His glory.
For us at Alaska Right to Life, it’s time again to focus on the MAIN THING: Protecting innocent lives from the moment of conception to natural end of life – without exception.
Remember, the foundational principle for government among men is to PROTECT INNOCENT HUMAN LIFE and to punish murderers.
Had Solomon’s men actually killed the baby and given half of his corpse to each of the women, they would have murdered an innocent human being and been deserving of capital punishment themselves – and Solomon would have been guilty of corrupting justice and murdering the baby as well.
In addition to Genesis 9 and the countless laws throughout Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus, this story in 1st Kings makes it clear that justice requires the preservation of innocent life.
Could justice have been served by violating God’s foundational principles for government – to protect innocent human life? I would submit that to kill an innocent human in the interest of justice is a perversion of justice, not a pursuit of it.
Moreover, had Solomon’s men actually killed the baby, would Scripture record for all eternity that “the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice?”
Can it be said that the “wisdom of God” would ever lead us to pervert the justice of God?
Solomon’s command to divide the baby was, in hindsight, the obvious, and wise thing to do as it revealed the intentions of the two women’s hearts and provided the truth to the difficulty at hand: who was the mother of the living child.
So we see here that it was the “wisdom of God” that helped Solomon “to administer justice.”
And we see that the wisdom of God would never lead Solomon or any other to pervert his justice by killing an innocent person.
If we applied this bit of wisdom and justice to HB 302, Alaska’s Heartbeat bill, how would we do?
Would the wisdom of God say that it is unlawful to kill a baby after his heartbeat has been detected? Of course.
Likewise, would the wisdom of God say that it is unlawful to limit protections to only those whose heartbeat has been detected? That seems obvious as well. The wisdom of God would never lead us to violate the justice of God.
But what does the bill say?
“A person may not knowingly perform an abortion after a health care provider detects a fetal heartbeat.”
Does the bill limit legal protections?
Yes.
Does the bill limit protections to include only those whose heartbeat has been detected?
Yes.
Does the bill violate the justice of God? Clearly, it does.
Since the bill violates the justice of God, could it have been crafted in the wisdom of God?
Clearly not.
But there is more. The bill goes on to say:
“…unless the abortion is medically necessary.”
Now, we know from the previous email that “medical necessity” is defined subjectively by the abortionist based on the mother’s age and her physical, emotional, psychological well being.
We find then, that this bill perverts the justice and wisdom of God by leaving the ultimate decision of whether a baby lives or dies up to the subjective judgement of the person who stands to benefit the most by the decision: the abortionist himself.
Even if the ends we are pursuing – the abolition of abortion – are somehow reached by means that pervert the justice and wisdom of God, is it possible to bring glory to God in that accomplishment?
If not, would we be so earthly minded that we would explain ourselves because the ends somehow justify the means? Because we need not worry about God’s glory when we’re doing earthly, human good?
If our doing good fails to lift high the name of God, but exalts our own wisdom, is it possible to bring God glory, let alone worship Him?
The warning we receive in Psalm 2 should be sufficient to remind us that it is impossible to worship a holy God, to show discernment, to worship with reverence and rejoice in trembling if we exalt our own thinking and purposes above his commandment to protect innocent human life and punish murderers.
“Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” Psalm 2:10
For the unbeliever, the outcome is terrifying as we see in Revelations 6:14-17
The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
For the believer, we should understand there are both earthly, and eternal consequences:
You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.”
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
2nd Corinthians 5:10
Finally, can a government that endorses killing innocent babies and recognizes 45% of those killings as “medically necessary” fulfill the last mandate of God’s design and purpose for government to punish evil and reward good?
Rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Romans 13:3
It’s one thing to read this verse in the context of persecuted believers living in pagan Rome when the emperor was celebrated as a God and the Christian faith was persecuted as a fake religion that refused to recognize the deity of the emperor. The Apostle Paul’s encouragement to not fear their rulers because they’re “ministers of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil” seems a bit aspirational from the historical context of his writing.
Likewise, to consider our government in the context of abortion in Alaska today to be a government that only brings wrath on those who do evil may seem a bit aspirational as well.
But perhaps we should ask: what part of creation that God placed in our stewardship have we not distorted and perverted?
And as we do our part to protect Alaskan babies waiting to be born, should we take license from the fact that we live in a fallen world, that we are corrupt, and therefore God will understand our perversion of His command to protect all innocent human life, from conception to natural end of life without exception?
The Apostle Paul brings us back to a right understanding of how law and grace should guide our conduct in our daily lives, as well as the legislation we introduce, support, and even oppose:
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
Romans 6: 1-2, 14-15
So as we finish the Biblical Principles portion of this series of emails about Heartbeat bills – and all legislative attempts to protect babies from abortion, let’s keep in mind God’s purposes for government: to protect innocent human life, administer justice by His wisdom, worship Him and bring Him glory, and to punish evil and reward good.
It seems impossible from the keyboard side of this series to consider that we can worship and glorify a holy God by violating His standards for wisdom, justice, good, and evil while exalting our own plans above His Word and His glory.
For us at Alaska Right to Life, it’s time again to focus on the MAIN THING: Protecting innocent lives from the moment of conception to natural end of life – without exception.