The greatest miracle of this age, or of any age, is not the knowledge explosion brought on by electronic technology, or the transplanting of organs from one human being to another, or the landing of men on the moon. The greatest miracle of all is the creation and birth of a new life.  When one considers the intricate and complex process involved in creating, developing, and maintaining life, how a human being is formed from a ball-shaped cell smaller in size than the period at the end of sentence, and how human development takes place in such an orderly, sequential manner, one has to be impressed by the wonder and marvel of it all.

Kaluger & Kaluger, 1978

The list of near-miracles in this quote dates me a bit!   Electronic technology then was comparable in size to a Mack truck; today the same technology calls to mind the descendent of another “Mac”: the iPhone that fits in the palm of my hand! Transplanting bodily organs was yesterday’s heroics while today’s are transplanting something the size of a stem cell.  Space exploration remains important, but our attention is unfortunately largely drawn away from new exploration toward something more basic – our survival against the threat of terrorism. Yet the one true miracle here has not changed; it has indeed remained a thing of great wonder and marvel – the miracle of creation and birth of new life will never be a thing of the past!

I also remember reading familiar scripture back then with new understanding given what I was learning about fetal development.  The scripture that drew my attention then is the same truth that amazes me still today:

Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV)

¹³ For you created my inmost being;  
       you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  
       your works are wonderful,  
       I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you  
       when I was made in the secret place.  
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.  
       All the days ordained for me  
       were written in your book  
       before one of them came to be.

Our God creates new life and His works are wonderful.  Just think, He ordains that life, every day of it, even before a new life’s first day comes to be.

Something else was also happening in the 1970s.  Our society was becoming encumbered by questions brought about by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that led to the legalization of abortion. Across these 35 years no other topic has been more passionately debated in the political, legal, and societal realms.  As a student of nursing in the late 70s, I responded to the Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice question with deep emotions about the miracle of life.  As a professor of nursing in the 80s, I found that the question fueled my interest in teaching health care ethics from a Christian perspective.  Abortion has been the spring board for studying and discussing other ethical dilemmas, such as end-of-life decisions for the neurologically impaired and the elderly. And, in fact, the question actually informed my Christian perspective, helping me develop a deeper understanding of the theology of absolute truth over and against relativism.  All of this pondering likely triggered the deep commitment to Biblical inerrancy I embrace today. 

Yet there was another influencing factor in my experience across the years.  I was invited to write for this Life 139 blog site by a young woman named Liana Saffel whose family has been a part of that influence.  Certainly my own experiences as a mother of three healthy sons and one baby lost to a miscarriage have profoundly influenced my understanding of life.  It is clear that life is not defined by trimesters or born v. unborn.  When you embody the life of an unborn baby and then hold a newborn in your arms you come to an understanding of life and love that only this experience can give.  Herein lies the most profound of all human emotions, completed by an understanding of that simple first lesson from Sunday School where we learn “God is love.”  An omnipotent God has designed all of this; it is too complex and perfect for it to be any other way. 

The experience of Liana Saffel’s family is more compelling than my own.  Liana is the granddaughter of my mentor and friend Regina Saffel.  Liana’s mother and father experienced eight miscarriages before giving birth to Liana.  After Liana, they had two more miscarriages followed by the birth and death of an infant daughter, Emily, who died from complications of a congenital heart defect.  The Saffels went on to experience two more miscarriages and then gave birth to two surviving daughters, Allison and Hannah Joy.

Across the years of my friendship with Liana’s grandmother, my own family was growing.  I watched by contrast what was taking place in another family’s life:  the excitement of learning that conception had taken place, the heart break when life ended before the age of viability, the victory of three healthy and thriving children, the tragedy of seeing one grow to term then come through a successful birth process only to die from other causes.  As a woman of faith in a family of faith, Regina allowed me the privilege of praying for Liana’s family.  It was profound for me to be praying for them in their time of loss at the same moment I was holding new life in my arms – I reflected on the Saffel’s experience most every night as I rocked my sons to sleep. 

What was happening to me, and most likely to the Saffels, was happening to thousands of other people and couples, some fertile, some infertile.  The pain and suffering of infertility was contrasted sharply with the immeasurable joy of childbearing.  But a sharper contrast of emotions came from the war about abortion being waged in the church, in elections, on the grounds of abortion clinics, and in my reading at every turn.  Picture the scene – experiencing longing for a child, for oneself or for others, while trying to comprehend the idea of taking action to end the lives of the unborn.  It all came together to embolden me to claim right from wrong.  God’s creation perfected in new life was more right than anything I had ever experienced.  True, it didn’t seem right for the Saffels to have to suffer – I was certainly no more deserving of the joy of childbirth than they were.  But I accept that there can be rightness in our human suffering; God uses suffering to bring about good.  Seeing what was right and good helped me know intellectually what I had previously known intuitively – that to take the life of an unborn child is an offense against that child and also against God who was knitting him together in his mother’s womb.  God’s ways are always right and just and good.

Here is the point I wish to make:  We glean truth in our lives from our learning and from our experience.  And sometimes what we do with truth can really matter.

Liana Saffel has gleaqned an understanding of how precious human life is from the unique experience of her family and she is doing something about it.  Liana’s commitment to the Pro-Life movement is a profound good that has come out of her parent’s suffering.  I support Liana and the work of Life 139.  May the efforts of this organization allow us to gain understanding and wisdom about the truth of God’s love for us and about the truth that each person, born and unborn, was created in the very image of God Himself.  May this truth guide us as we reach out to embrace the issues facing women and families in crisis pregnancies.

To the members of Life 139 at Union University, and to members of this cause everywhere, I remind you of the words of the apostle Paul:

2 Thessalonians 2:15-17 (NIV)

¹⁵…brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.  

^{16 (}And) may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Carla D. Sanderson

Provost

Though abortion was practiced during the time of the early church¹, the solution of choice for many ‘unwanted’ pregnancies was infanticide by means of a practice often referred to as ‘exposure’.  Unwanted newborns were left alone, usually outside in an inconspicuous place, so that exposure to the elements would end their lives.  Such a barbaric solution seems unthinkable to (most) modern minds, but it was a common practice in the ancient Roman empire.²

The question emerges how the early church was able to ‘speak out’ against this animalistic practice?

Lacking political, military, and financial means to effect large-scale change they instead chose to combat the problem by rescuing abandoned newborns and taking them home to raise them as their own.³ The early church developed a reputation for being those in society who would come behind others who practiced infanticide by exposure and save the unwanted babies from the elements and wild animals.⁴ Such a habit surely cost them dearly, but they were willing to be people who would pay the price.  They loved not in word only but also in deed.

Perhaps the most profound result of this practice, besides the preservation of the living image of God in each discarded human life, was the reputation the Christians achieved with those outside the church.⁵ The pro-life followers of Christ were able, in this one action, to accomplish several things.  They valued and saved human lives, but they also demonstrated the love of Christ and His willingness to suffer and sacrifice for the good of others.  This ‘win-win’ approach was followed in later centuries as the church of the middle-ages became Europe’s primary institution for the care of the sick and the raising of orphans.

The modern Christian pro-life movement can learn a great deal from the sacrifices of these early Christians.  We must be willing to participate in sacrificial living that, while perhaps being inconvenient, is also prophetic in demonstrating the love of Christ through actions that not only prevent abortions but also provide solutions for those who would be most affected.

1Michael J. Gorman, Abortion and the Early Church (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1982), 27.

2 The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford: Oxford Press, 1997), s.w. “contraception, procreation, and abortion, ethics of.”

3 Brad Kierkegaard, “Placing the Early Christian Family in Its Roman Context,” Journal of Lutheran Ethics 9(February 2009).

4 Edmund H. Oliver, The Social Achievements of the Christian Church, reprint (Vancouver, BC: Regent College Pub., 2004), 31.

5 ibid., 32.

Sadly, few recognize that this is precisely where the logic of abortion leads. In a recent news article published by the UK’s Daily Mail, several prominent scientists argue that organs should be harvested from aborted fetuses for use in organ donation.

As shocking as this may seem to some, this is precisely where the logic of abortion leads. And the scientists who advocate for such actions make the point with utmost clarity. One scientist said, “if they [the babies] are going to be terminated, it is a shame to waste their organs.”

Makes perfectly good sense, doesn’t it?

Those who favor abortion on demand really have no logical objection to such a policy. After all, by its very nature, the act of abortion – actively seeking the death of an innocent human being – treats a fetus as though it were nothing but “tissue” – something that we commonly hear in the rhetoric surrounding the abortion debate. And if a human life at its most fragile and helpless stages is really nothing more than “tissue,” then why should we have any worries at all about chopping up that tissue for spare parts?

Of course, in our hearts we know better. We know that human beings are not the sorts of creatures that ought to be chopped up for spare parts – even if it’s for a “good cause” like organ donation. Unfortunately, we don’t listen to our hearts – even when we are presented with something as shocking and gruesome as what these UK scientists are advocating. We so desperately want to cling to our “right” to terminate the lives of the innocent when their existence inconveniences us that we refuse to budge under the weight of our own moral irrationality. So, on the one hand, we recognize that there’s something terribly immoral about chopping living human beings up for spare parts. Yet, on the other hand, we refuse to see the connection between such a practice and the abortion rights that we cherish in the enlightened West.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1161085/Use-aborted-foetus-organs-transplants-urges-scientist.html

House Sponsors of H.R.1964
Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] – 4/19/2007
Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5] – 4/19/2007
Rep Allen, Thomas H. [ME-1] – 4/19/2007
Rep Arcuri, Michael A. [NY-24] – 4/19/2007
Rep Baird, Brian [WA-3] – 7/11/2007
Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] – 4/19/2007
Rep Berkley, Shelley [NV-1] – 4/19/2007
Rep Berman, Howard L. [CA-28] – 4/19/2007
Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] – 4/19/2007
Rep Boucher, Rick [VA-9] – 4/19/2007
Rep Capps, Lois [CA-23] – 4/19/2007
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8] – 4/30/2007
Rep Carnahan, Russ [MO-3] – 7/16/2007
Rep Carson, Julia [IN-7] – 10/22/2007
Rep Castor, Kathy [FL-11] – 4/23/2007
Rep Clarke, Yvette D. [NY-11] – 4/23/2007
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] – 4/20/2007
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] – 4/19/2007
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] – 4/19/2007
Rep Crowley, Joseph [NY-7] – 12/5/2007
Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7] – 4/19/2007
Rep Davis, Susan A. [CA-53] – 4/19/2007
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. [OR-4] – 4/19/2007
Rep DeGette, Diana [CO-1] – 5/2/2007
Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] – 7/11/2007
Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5] – 4/19/2007
Rep Emanuel, Rahm [IL-5] – 4/19/2007
Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17] – 3/31/2008
Rep Eshoo, Anna G. [CA-14] – 5/10/2007
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] – 4/19/2007
Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] – 4/19/2007
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] – 4/19/2007
Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] – 4/19/2007
Rep Giffords, Gabrielle [AZ-8] – 6/21/2007
Rep Green, Al [TX-9] – 1/28/2008
Rep Green, Gene [TX-29] – 4/23/2007
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] – 4/19/2007
Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] – 1/22/2008
Rep Harman, Jane [CA-36] – 4/19/2007
Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23] – 5/2/2007
Rep Hirono, Mazie K. [HI-2] – 4/19/2007
Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] – 4/19/2007
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] – 4/19/2007
Rep Inslee, Jay [WA-1] – 4/19/2007
Rep Israel, Steve [NY-2] – 4/23/2007
Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2] – 4/19/2007
Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18] – 4/19/2007
Rep Johnson, Henry C. “Hank,” Jr. [GA-4] – 6/12/2007
Rep Jones, Stephanie Tubbs [OH-11] – 9/4/2007
Rep Kennedy, Patrick J. [RI-1] – 1/28/2008
Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10] – 4/19/2007
Rep Lantos, Tom [CA-12] – 4/19/2007
Rep Larsen, Rick [WA-2] – 4/19/2007
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] – 4/19/2007
Rep Lewis, John [GA-5] – 5/3/2007
Rep Loebsack, David [IA-2] – 4/19/2007
Rep Lofgren, Zoe [CA-16] – 5/3/2007
Rep Lowey, Nita M. [NY-18] – 4/19/2007
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] – 4/19/2007
Rep Matsui, Doris O. [CA-5] – 4/19/2007
Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4] – 4/23/2007
Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4] – 4/19/2007
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] – 4/19/2007
Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] – 4/23/2007
Rep McNerney, Jerry [CA-11] – 6/6/2007
Rep Meehan, Martin T. [MA-5] – 6/14/2007
Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13] – 4/19/2007
Rep Miller, George [CA-7] – 5/2/2007
Rep Mitchell, Harry E. [AZ-5] – 5/23/2007
Rep Moore, Gwen [WI-4] – 4/23/2007
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] – 4/19/2007
Rep Murphy, Christopher S. [CT-5] – 4/30/2007
Rep Napolitano, Grace F. [CA-38] – 6/21/2007
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] – 4/20/2007
Rep Olver, John W. [MA-1] – 4/19/2007
Rep Pallone, Frank, Jr. [NJ-6] – 1/22/2008
Rep Payne, Donald M. [NJ-10] – 4/24/2007
Rep Price, David E. [NC-4] – 6/6/2007
Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15] – 4/23/2007
Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9] – 4/30/2007
Rep Ruppersberger, C. A. Dutch [MD-2] – 1/29/2008
Rep Sanchez, Linda T. [CA-39] – 4/19/2007
Rep Sanchez, Loretta [CA-47] – 5/21/2007
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] – 4/19/2007
Rep Schwartz, Allyson Y. [PA-13] – 10/15/2007
Rep Shays, Christopher [CT-4] – 4/19/2007
Rep Shea-Porter, Carol [NH-1] – 4/23/2007
Rep Sherman, Brad [CA-27] – 5/3/2007
Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28] – 4/19/2007
Rep Solis, Hilda L. [CA-32] – 4/19/2007
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] – 4/19/2007
Rep Sutton, Betty [OH-13] – 4/19/2007
Rep Tauscher, Ellen O. [CA-10] – 6/18/2007
Rep Thompson, Mike [CA-1] – 4/19/2007
Rep Tierney, John F. [MA-6] – 5/3/2007
Rep Towns, Edolphus [NY-10] – 4/19/2007
Rep Tsongas, Niki [MA-5] – 2/12/2008
Rep Van Hollen, Chris [MD-8] – 5/2/2007
Rep Velazquez, Nydia M. [NY-12] – 6/6/2007
Rep Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [FL-20] – 4/23/2007
Rep Watson, Diane E. [CA-33] – 4/19/2007
Rep Waxman, Henry A. [CA-30] – 4/19/2007
Rep Weiner, Anthony D. [NY-9] – 4/19/2007
Rep Welch, Peter [VT] – 5/21/2007
Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19] – 4/19/2007
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] – 4/19/2007
Rep Wu, David [OR-1] – 4/23/2007
Rep Wynn, Albert Russell [MD-4] – 4/23/2007