Why Is Abortion Such a Battleground?

The abortion controversy has become a VERY big deal over the last few months because the United States Supreme Court overturned the Roe vs. Wade decision. This new decision has absolutely infuriated those who are pro abortion, and has energized them in a way that has put their activism on steroids.

It is not, of course, that they were not already fighting hard for their cause. It is just that in the past they tried to cover up the worst implications of their policy ideas to make it seem a bit more palatable.  Of course, this has now all gone by the wayside.

They started out by doing some wordsmithing and calling it “pro choice” rather than “pro abortion.” Then they tried to portray it as something that should be “safe, legal, and rare.” All the while, they have been passing legislation and developing infrastructure to make abortion omnipresent.

While this effort has been most visible in the secular arena, the attempts to support abortion are not limited to that sphere. There is an all out attempt to make it palatable to the religious community, as well. For instance, early on, Roman Catholic politicians, like President Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, got in on the act and tried to argue that they were against abortion, but that they should not allow their religious beliefs to influence public policy. More recently, both have become full throated advocates for abortion, with Pelosi even denouncing a Roman Catholic archbishop for his anti-abortion stance. In doing that, she even took to referencing the Bible.

Of course, liberal churches have also gotten in on the act and have come up with full blown theological systems using out of context Bible verses in an effort to give their position credibility. Along with that, pro abortion advocates have increasingly infiltrated liberal churches and literally changed the rules and procedures of a number of formerly Christian denominations to allow for abortion in their doctrinal statements. And now, even the current Pope of the Catholic church is putting bishops in place who support policies that actually go against Roman Catholic doctrine as it relates to abortion.

But all of this begs the question, “Why are all of these folks, “religious and non-religious,” so determined to go to the mat on this issue?” The reason is, abortion is a sacrament in their naturalistic religion. Yes, I said religion. 

On the supposedly secular side, these people will fight you tooth and nail to reject the notion that their beliefs have anything to do with religion! They pretty much reject biblical morality because they believe God does not even exist, so there is no one out there to provide them with any kind of objective moral beliefs. They assert that the natural universe operating by natural laws is all that exists. So, when it comes to moral beliefs, they feel quite free to make up their own morality.

For them, the fight for abortion relates purely to their desire to not have any restraints on or consequences to their uninhibited sexual activity. They refuse to believe that there exists any kind of objectively true sexual immorality, and that they should be able to participate in sex in any way and with anyone (or anything) they desire. And if while doing that a pregnancy occurs that gets in the way of their sexual freedom, there is nothing wrong with terminating the pregnancy.

Another element that goes along with this is their view of man. For them, since God does not exist, there is no possible way for humanity to have come into existence except by naturalistic evolution. Thus, man is merely one natural animal among many. Humanity has no more value than any other animal. So, if a child is killed by abortion, there is nothing particularly immoral about it.

While these naturalistic Atheists claim they are not religious, and that the entirety of reality can be explained naturally, they have absolutely no empirical way of verifying their belief – which is necessary if they are going to take that position. If they can’t empirically demonstrate that the natural universe operating by natural laws is all that exists (which is their bottom-line belief), then all they have as a means of justifying their belief about abortion is the belief itself – which makes it a religious point of view.

On the religious side, abortion advocates, for whatever reason, want to maintain the illusion that they are Christian. At the same time, they have pretty much bought into naturalistic beliefs. They can’t seem to completely abandon their ties to the church, but they also can’t tolerate the restrictions that biblical morality places on them. Thus, they keep the name Christian, but redefine their beliefs in a way that accommodates their personal moral preferences.

Abortion is a moral battleground because it puts into conflict two opposing views of God and the nature of man. If God doesn’t exist and man is nothing more than a natural animal, then abortion frees people up to express their sexual preferences any way they want without having to be concerned with moral consequences. On the other hand, if God does exist and has revealed objective truth about the value of mankind, and if He did, indeed, create man in His own image, then abortion is the murder of an innocent baby. Abortion is such a battleground because it represents a fight in a religious war – a fight that is defined by opposing religious views.

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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