Tag Archives: abortion

Would God Celebrate Planned Parenthood’s 100 Years?

On Sunday, October 16, Planned Parenthood celebrated “100 years of healthcare services.” The group’s celebration trended on social media, and was even joined by both President Obama and the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

For many, the work of Planned Parenthood is truly a reason to rejoice. The group provides assistance to women who exercise their “right” to end the existence of a developing baby in their womb. This service that helps women “determine their own lives” is seen as an ultimate good, and therefore a reason to celebrate.

Last year, an Advocacy Board that advises Planned Parenthood even went so as to say that nation’s largest abortion provider is “doing God’s work” and the group released a “pastoral letter” claiming that the Bible says nothing about abortion.

Here’s the direct quote from that letter, “many people wrongly assume that all religious leaders disapprove of abortion. The truth is that abortion is not even mentioned in the Scriptures — Jewish or Christian — and there are clergy and people of faith from all denominations who support women making this complex decision.”

As many celebrate the existence of Planned Parenthood, it is important for us to consider whether or not heaven would join in the jubilee. The fact that something is popular, and even endorsed by powerful people, does not make it right. What matters most is whether or not God is pleased with it.

Since abortion is an issue that is near to my heart, I thought I’d take a moment to consider whether Planned Parenthood’s 100 years of existence should be celebrated or not. As you read these Scriptures and consider what you see, ask God to show you if it is true—because in the end what He thinks is what matters most.

Abortion in the Bible

Though the Bible doesn’t mention the word “abortion,” it clearly teaches that abortion is a terrible sin against another person. These are not all the verses we could consider, but they are a few that best capture what the Bible says about this all important issue.

Exodus 21:22–25 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. ²³But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, ²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”

Does the Bible seem to clearly teach here that what comes out of a woman is a not just a fetus, but is a child? How serious does God say it is to kill an unborn child? If this is true of an accidental injury to a pregnant woman and her child, how much more serious is an intentional act of killing a child in the womb?

Ecclesiastes 11:5 “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.”

If God sends a “spirit” to come into a woman to produce a child, does that not show that what is inside her is living? If God says, I want a child in that womb, do we have the right to tell God “no, You may not do that, I will take that living thing out of me?”

Job 10:10–12 “Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? ¹¹You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. ¹²You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.”

What happens when sperm and egg unite in what we call conception? Is that not life? If you can detect a heartbeat (5-8 weeks after conception) does that not mean there is something living there? Where do skin, flesh, bone and sinews form? Are they not made in the womb? If we found all of this on another planet, would we not celebrate that we have found life there?

Psalm 139:13–16 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. ¹⁵My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (cf. Job 31:15; Isaiah 44:2)

What do you think the Bible is implying when David says God “formed” his “inward parts” in his “mother’s womb?” What does it imply when it says he was “wonderfully made” and “intricately woven”? Does this not imply that God is at work in the womb, creating a human being? If God knows “all the days” of that being, even while its substance is “unformed”, does that not imply that God has a plan for that being in the womb? Do we have the right to tell God to stop this marvelous work because we have other plans?

Isaiah 49:1 “Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.”

If God calls and names someone when they are in the womb, does that not make them a living person?

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (cf. Galatians 1:15)

If God has knowledge of someone as a person before they are even formed in the womb, does that not show that what is in the womb has great value and worth? Does not God forming someone in the womb show His intent to bring a life along to His designed end?

Amos 1:13 “I will not revoke the punishment, because they have ripped open pregnant women.”

Why does God see the ripping open of a pregnant woman’s womb as such a big deal? How is this different than His anger toward someone who would kill a woman who isn’t pregnant? Could it be that they would be killing two people?

Luke 1:39–44 “In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴²and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”

What does the Bible say was in the womb of Elizabeth? Does it not call John a “baby?” And what does that baby do when it hears the voice of the pregnant Mary? Does it not say the baby leaped for joy? And what does she say about the “fruit” of Mary’s womb (see also Psalm 127:3)? Does this not imply that what is in her is of value and has great worth? From this don’t we have to conclude that what is in her womb is a baby?

After looking a just a few verses, it is overwhelmingly clear that God views what is in the womb of a woman at conception to be a life, a baby, a human being like you and me.

The Bible also teaches that taking the life of another person (murder) is a grievous sin. In Exodus 20:3 God says “you shall not murder” (cf. Genesis 9:5; Matthew 5:21; 19:18; Romans 13:9; 1 John 3:15).

To end a life is to kill it. We may want to phrase it differently, but an “abortion,” a “choice to not keep the baby,” to “terminate a pregnancy,” are all clearly ending a life. This is murder. The Bible forbids this because it teaches that God alone has the right to give life and take it away (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6; Job 1:21).

God also says that when his people have murdered their children, that it is a great sin in His eyes (Leviticus 20:2; Deuteronomy 12:31; 2 Kings 16:3, 21:6; Jeremiah 7:31, 32:35).

Whether or not one believes the Bible is another matter, but to suggest that the Bible allows abortion is deceptive. One of the earliest Christian documents The Didache (circa A.D. 100) says “You shall not murder a child by abortion.” Christians have always believed that God does not give us permission to take the life of our children. He gives, we may not take away.

So does God celebrate with Planned Parenthood? He does not. Rather, He weeps over it. God loves people and He loves the children in mother’s wombs. He is the One who creates life, and He is the One to whom all of us must look when we find ourselves in situations we never planned for.

If you are considering an abortion and feel like you have no other options, please know there are people who can help you. They can connect you with loving families who would be willing to discuss adoption. I know a family who is waiting by the phone right now to adopt a child, even the one in your womb.

If you feel that you have no where to turn, please know that Planned Parenthood isn’t your only option. God has other options that are worth celebrating. I plead with you to reach out to a faithful local church near you, we can help you find one (info@delraybaptist.org) or email outreach@assistcpc.org who can connect you to someone in your area.

Please know that God meets us where we are in our journey, and He does this through His Son Jesus. If you find yourself weary, hear this word of promise from the Lord Himself, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Please turn to the Lord in this season of great decision and allow Him to give you the grace we all desperately need.

My Abortion Story, An Open Letter to Emily Letts

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Dear Emily Letts,

We have never met, but my wife and I just watched your abortion story video.

You invited us, and the world, into your story, so I thought I would invite you into mine.

While we may not have a lot in common, I know we have at least a few things, and they have to do with abortion. When I was 19 I got a friend pregnant. I too “wasn’t ready for a baby.” I had hopes and dreams ahead of me, and having a child seemed like the end of all those dreams. So we aborted our child.

Now, I am a man, so in some very significant ways my abortion experience was different than yours. But in many other ways, it was the same. You see, when our procedure was over, I too felt relief. I felt free to begin life again and make smarter choices. I could get a fresh start, and in many ways I did.

But what haunted me in the months and years afterwards was a reality similar to what you expressed in your video, “I feel in awe that I can make a baby, that I can make a life.” That was what I couldn’t escape.

I had been part of creating a life.

And then I had been part of ending that life.

There was a heartbeat and I stopped it. There was life and I ended it. That reality was inescapable. I tried to ignore it, but there was nowhere to hide. My telltale heart beat louder and louder. I had loved my life so much that I had been willing to kill my own child to protect my happiness.

I never got to hear their laughter. Never got to lock eyes for the first time. Never saw their smile or cheered for their first steps or understood their first words. I never heard them read for the first time or endure their endless questions about why the world is the way it is. I missed all that, and so did they because I took my child’s life.

Emily, my child would be 17 today. We would be planning road trips to look at colleges. We would be looking forward to our last family vacation before they left home. I would be giving my final parental pep talk about working hard and looking for the right kind of spouse. But none of that is happening.

The fact is that I cannot undo what I’ve done in the past. None of us can. What’s done is done. The only hope we have is found in the sinless Son of God who came to rescue people who have lost their way.

He entered into our broken world and our broken lives to rescue us from our sins, including the sin of taking the life of the children He gave to us. That’s why He died on the cross of Calvary, to take the judgment sinners like us deserve.

Emily, someday the YouTube hits will stop. Your supporters will put away their pom-poms and your opponents will put away their pitchforks. And my prayer for you is that when you can’t escape the haunting reality of what you’ve done, you will turn to Jesus.

Emily, Jesus will heal your wounds if you cry out to Him (Matthew 11:28). There is no sin so great that He cannot forgive and no sin so small that does not need to be forgiven. If you will confess what you have done and turn to Him in faith, He will wash away all your guilt and all your shame (1 John 1:9).

The Lord gives these words to people like us, “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

There is a place to go to be made new. I hope you will come and ask Jesus to turn your story into one where life is given. That’s what happened in my abortion story. Thanks for taking the time to listen.

Sincerely,

Garrett Kell

“Daddy, What’s Abortion?”

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As a parent, we get all kinds of questions from our children. “Why” seems to be the most frequent question in our house. There’s also plenty about unicorns, the Philistines (my daughter is amazed by them right now?), and what’s so bad about having chocolate for breakfast. But yesterday my daughter asked me one of the toughest questions to date.

“Daddy, what’s abortion?”

The news was on at our house and when she heard the unfamiliar word and her inquisitive 4 year old mind went to work. Now, I’m a believer in age-appropriate answers…but I felt my inadequacy on this one. I stood there as my daughter’s innocent eyes looked to me awaiting an answer to a seemingly normal question about a word she hadn’t noticed before.

It was one of those moments in time that I don’t think I’ll soon forget. There’s an innocence that a parent wants to preserve in their child, but when they ask questions, we need to try to answer. God gave us minds to think with and we want our children to learn to engage with the world in which they live. So I said to her, “it’s when someone makes a baby stop being in their mommy’s belly.” I thought that answer was a safe and adequate response to a topic I hoped we could press into at a later age. But it wasn’t.

“Where does the baby go?” she replied. “They go to heaven” I said. “Is the baby dead?” she asked. “Yes, honey, in an abortion the baby dies when the person takes it out of their mommy’s belly.” A moment of silence followed as she took it all in. “Do they kill the baby?”

We’ve tried to be wise in shielding our daughter from the horrors of the world she lives in, but during the Newton tragedy, she asked many difficult questions as well and she learned a lot about death and murder and the fact that some people kill other people. Since that day, she has been tuned into the fact that people kill each other sometimes.

“Why would someone do that? “Why would someone kill their baby? ” she asked. “There are lots of reasons people do it sweetheart, everyone has different reasons, people just do.” Now, if you don’t know me, I need to tell you that when I was 21 a girlfriend and I chose to have an abortion. You can read about that here. So this post is written by an imperfect man who has done many things he regrets. But when she asked me this question, I couldn’t find a way to explain it.

“How does someone kill their baby?” she asked. I explained to her that normally, doctors helped mommies do this and that all doctors didn’t do this. At this point, I felt like we had gone far enough and I changed the subject.

As I’ve reflected on all of this, two things have weighed heavily on my heart.

The first is the sadness a parent feels as they watch their children begin to process what it means to live in a sinful, fallen world. It was heartbreaking to watch my daughter, who already loves the idea of marriage and having children, process the idea that someone would kill their child. I saw a bit of her child-like innocence die on that Monday morning. It was gut wrenching. I know these types of conversations will happen. She will have her heart broken. She will fail a test. She will get rejected from something. She’ll miss an easy lay-up. Those things will come. But yesterday’s question seemed to come too early and too sincerely. She drank it in and it stung her.

Today she and I have a daddy daughter date and I plan to follow up with her about our conversation. We’ll talk about 1 Peter 2:11 and what it means to live in a fallen world. I pray God will use the terror she feels about sin to open her heart to believe in Christ. May God give us wisdom to shepherd our children’s hearts through the sad realities of this fallen world.

The second thing I left the conversation with was a fresh burden to see abortion ended. I know that ending abortion raises other issues. I’m not saying those issues are light. Unplanned pregnancies can be a terrifying thing. But, please, something has to happen. We are killing babies. We are killing babies. We are killing babies. Every day, thousands of them. Something has to happen.

What is the answer? There is no easy answer. There are many things that have to be considered, but the bottom line is that we need God to intervene. We need Him to use His people to cry with those who find out they are pregnant when they didn’t intend to be. We need His church to rise up and walk along side mothers and be willing to adopt these children. We need God to move in the hearts of abortion doctors like a dear friend of mine who came to me one day after a sermon and confessed that he had been doing abortions for years and that he was repenting and asking Christ to forgive him. We need the Holy Spirit of God to show us how to be compassionate and bold at the same time. We need the Lord Jesus to change many hearts…including our own. Is this impossible? “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Let us pray and act in faith in a great God who can change any heart and any civilization.

My prayer is that my daughter will see a dramatic change in the posture of our country toward abortion. My prayer is that one day, if she has children of her own, that she will be able to talk with them about abortion as something that was ended during her generation and that my granddaughter will grow up in a day much different than the one we are in today. May God give us grace, we are in need.

The Great Tragedy of the 2012 Election

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The Great Tragedy of the 2012 Election

There was a great tragedy that occurred on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

The tragedy was not found in the celebrations of elected officials or the concessions of defeat. It was not colored red or blue, and it wasn’t wrapped up in useless campaign promises.

The tragedy of the 2012 election is that in this land of the free and home of the brave, many people were not allowed to vote. Their voices were silenced. Their votes were not cast. Their opinions not expressed. Why?

Because they were dead.

The great tragedy of the 2012 election is that roughly 33 million would-be voters were not with us, because they had been murdered. From 1973-1994 roughly 35 million babies were aborted. That’s roughly 35 million 18-39 year-olds who did not vote because they were dead.

That is an unspeakable tragedy.

They did not have the chance to explain to their children about what makes our nation so great. They did not have the chance to watch the results come in with their friends and family.

They did not have the chance to rest their heads on a pillow in the land of the free. That is a great tragedy.

But this story of tragedy is not over.

In 2016, roughly 5 million more voices will be unheard. Why? Because over 3,500 babies will be killed today. And each day leading up to Tuesday November 8^th, 2016. In the 3 minutes it takes you to read this post, 7 babies will have been aborted in the United States of America. Their voices are silenced. Their freedom not experienced. Their opportunity to be brave not known. Their lives taken from them.

This is a tragedy that hits close to home for me. When I was 19 years old, I chose to end the life of my first child through an abortion. My friend and I were in a scary place, we didn’t plan to get married, and we had nowhere else to go. So we chose to end the life of our child.

That child would be 16 today. They’d be excited about driving a car and in just a couple years, they’d be excited about voting. But, they won’t be doing any of that. I won’t be sitting down with them and explaining how to think about policies and the candidates that represent them. I won’t be able to tell them about freedom and justice for all. I took that freedom away with my injustice.

I cannot undo what I’ve done in the past. None of us can. Only Jesus, who shed His blood for sinners like me can heal those wounds. Jesus gives us great hope in the midst of this tragedy, and all the other tragedies we face in this life.

If you have committed an abortion, I want you to know that there is a refuge in Jesus. He will heal your wounds. There is no sin so great that He cannot forgive and no sin so small that does not need to be forgiven. If you will confess your sins and turn to Him in faith, He will wash away all your guilt and all your shame. Come to Christ.

If you support abortion, I encourage you to spend time in prayer and ask God to show you if abortion is something that pleases Him or not. Ask a Christian to help you see what God’s Word says about this. I’m under no assumption that you don’t already have deeply rooted ideas, I did too. I encourage you to take the time to read what God says about life and who has the right to give and take it away. I encourage you to start with Psalm 139.

If you are a Christian, be patient with those who view things differently than you. But don’t just be patient, speak truth in love to those who are in need. Find ways to help those who are struggling through unplanned pregnancies. Investigate options for adoption and invest in the lives of those who are facing difficult choices.

I have on my wall a picture of a 3 year old boy in cowboy boots. He’s a 3 year old boy who nearly wasn’t with us today because of the difficult place his mother found herself in. She was not married and pregnant and scared. But my wife met with her and prayed with her and took her to a Christian doctor who showed her the baby in her womb through a sonogram. That young mother had the courage to keep her child.

That young boy’s smile reminds me that God can save children, one at a time. But God does this by using His people to come alongside those who are struggling and lovingly showing them the Christ who can walk them through any terrifying situation, even an unplanned pregnancy.

I believe that the only hope to turn the trend of this tragedy around is for people to turn their hearts toward the God who made them through the way paved by His Son Jesus. Jesus changes hearts, and changed hearts changes a nation. May God give grace to us as a country, and may God give us courage to stand up in the midst of this tragedy so that, if the Lord tarries, there will be many more people casting votes in 2030. Lord Jesus, we need your help.