Project Description

2015/07

Abortion – Another Look

Parents will recall the joy of heart when given the news of an impending addition to the family.  As Christians, we testify that: “children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”  (Psalm 127:3). For some, that joy is shattered by the detection of a serious foetal abnormality on ultrasound scan.  Hopes, plans, future expectations are dashed. As the wise man observes “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12), but the depth of that sickness only a few can fully appreciate.
The tragedy of such a situation has been in the forefront of recent discussions regarding abortion on the grounds of fatal foetal abnormality. The option of abortion is presented as the option of compassion. A change to Northern Ireland’s abortion law, allowing termination in the case of fatal foetal abnormality, has been recommended by the Justice Department, and the process leading to a vote in the Stormont Assembly has begun. However we respond to these developments we must never do so in a cold and abstract fashion. That doesn’t do justice to the impact of the earth-shattering news a couple might receive. We believe that the unborn carries the right to life as an image-bearer of God: therefore we must tenderly treat suffering parents as those who have been bereaved of a loved one. Thus the implications of such a change in law are profound.

Presuppositions
The proposed changes in law are predicated upon old claims of the pro-choice movement: “The woman’s right over her body”. As Christians we understand that we don’t have the ultimate right over our bodies. We have no right to do as we please with our bodies, but must only do those things which please the Lord.  What is more, the unborn child within the woman’s body is not truly part of her body. The unborn child is a genetically distinct entity, with his or her own DNA profile. Thus, however painful experiences like this may be, we as a society must seek to uphold the rights of the unborn.

Furthermore, there is a false distinction between a foetus and a child. Now, we acknowledge a developmental, functional distinction, but the unborn child does not change genetically upon birth.  In similar fashion, an adult is different developmentally from a child, but the child is no less a human being.  Thus we would assert that humanity does not begin upon birth. That principle makes sense. The child in the womb attached by the umbilical cord is the same child delivered. The process of delivery is, in essence a change in location – not a change of substance. The Christian stands upon the principle of Psalm 139:15-16.  The humanity of the unborn, known of God, is asserted. The Hebrew word translated by the phrase: ‘my substance, yet being unperfect’ denotes an unformed mass and is a reference to God’s involvement with the undeveloped embryo, let alone His involvement in the later stages of foetal development.

These principles must underpin our assessment of abortion law – even in the most difficult cases.

Problems
There are a number of problems with the implementation of changes to the law. There is much ambiguity in the language that is presently used.  One recommendation states that abortion should be allowed when there is ‘substantial risk that if the child were to be born at full term it would be unlikely to survive birth or unlikely to be capable of maintaining vital functions after birth.’  The terms recognise the ambiguity. Assessing with precision the degree of disability in the womb is very difficult.  The outcome and survival times are unpredictable, even in the clearest of cases. What is more, the recommendation does not seem to exclude congenital conditions (such as heart defects) which impair vital functions, but which can be treated ex-utero.

As profoundly serious as this is, there is a deeper issue: society’s perception of humanity and disability. Anencephaly is the condition that has been in discussion in recent months (when the parts of the brain responsible for cognition do not develop). Of those babies not aborted, approximately 45% survive birth but almost all die in the first hours or days after birth.  A diagnosis of anencephaly is devastating to all concerned in the family circle. However we must strongly state that a baby with anencephaly is not an ‘anencephalic’, but is a profoundly disabled human being with a terminal illness.  Our definition of humanity must not be governed or diminished by disability, intellectual impairment, or the time left to live. If such a baby is viewed as ‘less than human’, the implications are horrendous.  Effects similar to those caused by anencephaly are seen due to trauma, tumours or strokes. Are those so affected less than human? Those with life limiting terminal illnesses must be treated with compassion and dignity in the context of palliative care. An unborn with anencephaly should be treated as anyone else with profound disability whatever their age. They and their family should be afforded dignified compassion. It is the mark of a calloused society that severe disability becomes a legalised reason to perpetrate violent killing. Our community must see the value of humanity, even in the context of severe disability; or else we perceive true humanity as the absence of imperfections.
In our focus on the unborn we must not neglect the issue of potential harm to the mother. No one would suggest that abortion is an easy option.  That is particularly the case with abortion in the case of fatal foetal abnormality. The baby is usually ‘wanted’ and the abortion is usually performed ‘late’, i.e. after 20 weeks gestation. In such circumstances strong bonds of attachment are formed and to follow devastating news with an abortion may compound, not alleviate, the physical and psychological trauma. Good palliative care can allow the parents the opportunity to hold, see and say ‘good-bye’ to their little one, hence experiencing the pain which may help in the resolution of grief.

Pastoral care
How are we to respond when the ultrasonographer becomes silent, her face turning pale as she utters the words: “I’m sorry. All doesn’t appear to be well here”? We would do well to follow the early example of Job’s friends. “So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.”  (Job 2:13) Silent support, with our physical presence, is a vital way of showing Christian compassion.  And yet in all this do we not hear creation groaning for the redemption of the body? (Romans 8:22-23) As the impact of the fall is felt in our lives we long for the glory that is to come. As believers we hold the eternal hope of fellowshipping with God in renewed, glorified humanity.  The blood of the cross is the victory over sickness and death, and the sufferings of His humanity give us hope in the midst of our sufferings.  He is the Great High Priest touched with the feeling of our infirmities, while we wait in prospect of the time when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Dr Stephen Pollock.