Life of the Mother Lie
One of the most common justifications for abortion is the supposed “life of the mother” exception.
Pro-aborts use it to defend their position. Politicians use it to protect themselves. And sadly, even many pro-lifers fall back on it, thinking it’s a “reasonable” compromise.”.
But it’s not. It’s a lie. And that lie costs innocent lives.
Abortion is never medically necessary. Purposely ending a baby’s life isn’t healthcare. It’s murder. Even in the widely accepted “hard cases,” intentionally killing a child is not real medicine. It’s not mercy. It’s not love. It’s the deliberate taking of an innocent life, something God hates and clearly calls sin.
If we believe what God says — that every child in the womb is fearfully and wonderfully made in His image — then there’s no room to treat them like they’re disposable. We don’t kill one person to try to save another. That’s not love. It’s not medicine, and it’s definitely not what the Bible teaches.
And as mothers, we don’t sacrifice our children for ourselves. We make sacrifices for our children. That’s what true love looks like. That’s what Scripture calls us to. Christ didn’t save us by preserving His own life. He laid it down. That’s the example we’re meant to follow.
Ectopic Pregnancy Is Not an Excuse for Abortion
Let’s talk about the one everyone brings up: ectopic pregnancy.
This is when a baby implants outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube. It’s tragic, and it can be dangerous. But here’s what you’re not being told: most of the time, the baby has already passed away before the ectopic pregnancy is even discovered. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, around 92% of ectopic pregnancies show no fetal heartbeat when diagnosed (Farquhar, 2005).
So the idea that abortion is “needed” to save the mother is mostly built on misinformation. In the rare case that the child is still alive, you don’t rush to kill. You monitor both mother and child. You intervene only when the baby has passed or the fallopian tube ruptures. That’s not abortion, it’s responding to an actual medical emergency.
Here’s something else they don’t want you to know: abortion clinics can’t even treat ectopic pregnancies. They don’t have the tools or training. If a woman walks into Planned Parenthood with an ectopic pregnancy, they send her to the ER.
The medication usually used for ectopic pregnancies, like methotrexate, isn’t the same as the abortion pill (mifepristone and misoprostol). And surgical abortions don’t work for ectopic pregnancies either, because the embryo isn’t in the uterus where a surgical abortion can remove the unborn child. Instead, doctors treat ectopic pregnancies by removing the damaged fallopian tube or the affected part of it in a surgery called a salpingectomy or salpingostomy.
When pro-abortion voices and pro-life compromisers try to use ectopic pregnancy as a reason to defend abortion access, they’re being dishonest. It’s a completely different medical issue.
This is why abolitionists don’t make exceptions. Every child’s life matters, no matter where they implant or how long they live, because they bear the image of God.
Cancer Is Not a Justification to Kill
Cancer during pregnancy is terrifying. No one denies that. It brings uncertainty, fear, and a flood of painful decisions. But even in that dark valley, the solution is never to kill your child.
Many cancers can be treated while pregnant. Especially after the first trimester, doctors can often use chemotherapy, surgery, or other treatments without harming the baby. They can adjust medication timing, avoid harmful drugs during critical weeks, and protect both lives. A 2015 Lancet Oncology study found that babies exposed to cancer treatment in utero typically develop normally.
Even when treatment must be aggressive or immediate, early delivery is an option. Induce labor or perform a C-section. Give the child a fighting chance.
Abortion doesn’t treat cancer. It doesn’t shrink tumors. It doesn’t stop the spread. It doesn’t heal the mother. All it does is end the life of an innocent baby who had nothing to do with the diagnosis.
If a mother dies from her cancer, it’s a tragedy. But killing her child won’t change that outcome. It just adds a second grave.
We live in a fallen world where suffering and sickness exist. But God never gives us the right to play judge, jury, and executioner over an innocent life. The Bible doesn’t say, “You shall not murder — unless it’s really hard.” It just says, “You shall not murder.”
We don’t make decisions based on fear. We walk by faith. We trust the One who knit that child in the womb and who holds both lives in His sovereign hands.
Sepsis and Preeclampsia: Deliver, Don’t Kill
Conditions like sepsis and preeclampsia can escalate quickly. They are real emergencies. But even then, killing the baby is not the answer.
Modern medicine is well-equipped to handle high-risk pregnancies. In cases of preeclampsia (which affects 5 to 8% of pregnancies, typically in the third trimester), the standard protocol is to monitor closely and deliver the baby early if necessary. In sepsis cases, often triggered by infection, treatment focuses on fighting the infection, stabilizing the mother, and delivering the baby if needed.
There is a moral and medical difference between early delivery and abortion. Delivery aims to save both lives. Abortion intentionally ends one. That distinction matters to God, and it must matter to us.
Abortion is not a treatment for sepsis or preeclampsia. If a mother is crashing from an infection or rising blood pressure, the doctors don’t start prepping for a multi-day abortion procedure. They act fast, usually within hours, to stabilize the mother and, if needed, deliver the baby. They don’t wait 48 hours for cervical dilation like in a late-term abortion. That delay proves abortion isn't about saving lives, it’s about ending one.
Babies as early as 22 to 24 weeks are surviving today with proper NICU care. If a baby is viable, why kill them when you can deliver and let them fight? Even if they’re not viable yet, you monitor, support, and wait as long as safely possible. But you never choose death on purpose.
We fight for both lives.
As Scripture says:
“Rescue those being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.” — Proverbs 24:11
That command doesn’t change when it’s inconvenient. It doesn’t shift when the situation is dangerous. God doesn’t say, “Protect the innocent — unless it’s a hard case.” He says, protect the innocent. Period.
Real Emergencies Are Fast. Late-Term Abortions Are Not.
If a woman is in a real medical emergency, one where her life is truly in immediate, critical danger, doctors don’t sit around. They act fast.
They perform an emergency C-section.
They induce labor.
They rush to save both lives, because that’s what real healthcare does.
Now compare that to late-term abortion:
First, dilators are inserted to slowly open the cervix. That takes 24 to 48 hours.
Next, the baby is either lethally injected in the heart with digoxin or dismembered and removed in pieces.
Then the mother goes into labor to deliver the dead child.
If someone’s life is hanging by a thread, you don’t wait two or three days. You move now. You do everything possible to save them.
So let’s stop pretending this is about “saving the mother.”
If the mother’s life were truly on the line, no competent doctor would delay care for a multi-day abortion. They would deliver. Immediately.
Hospitals deal with real emergencies every single day — high-risk pregnancies, seizures, hemorrhages, heart failure. They don’t need abortionists. They need skilled OBs, trauma teams, and neonatal doctors who work to save both patients, not kill one of them.
Let’s be people who stand on truth, believe in God’s sovereignty, and do what Scripture says: rescue the innocent and trust the Lord with the outcome.
“You shall not pervert justice… Do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.” — Exodus 23:6–7
What Scripture Actually Says
God’s clear about this:
“You shall not murder.” — Exodus 20:13
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” — Isaiah 5:20
“The Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood.” — Proverbs 6:16–17
“Do not shed innocent blood.” — Jeremiah 7:6
There are no exceptions. No “what ifs.” No excuses to kill the innocent when life gets tough. God’s commands don’t bend because of circumstances, feelings, or societal pressures. The value of human life is absolute and non-negotiable.
We all know it’s wrong to kill a toddler, a teenager, or a spouse to save another life. So why do we act like it’s okay to kill a baby in the womb? The same humanity that exists in every person outside the womb is fully present from the moment of fertilization. A baby in the womb is not less human, less valuable, or less deserving of protection.
If that baby is human — and they are — then they deserve protection just like anyone else. The innocent cannot be sacrificed for convenience or fear. To do so is to betray the very foundation of justice and mercy that God commands us to uphold.
Abolition Demands No More Exemptions
The so-called “life of the mother” excuse has become the emotional backbone keeping abortion legal and accepted. It’s the argument people use to justify murder, the excuse they cling to when they want to keep abortion available, no matter the cost. Tragically, even many Christians fall for it, convinced that hard cases require compromise or that God’s standards can bend when things get difficult.
Medicine exists to preserve life, not to take it. Fear doesn’t erase sin, and no circumstance gives us the right to shed innocent blood. There is no situation where we are allowed to take the life of a child and call it compassion.
Abolition means standing firmly on God’s unchanging truth, no matter how hard or costly it may be. We do not justify the killing of some children to help others. We do not water down God’s commands just because obedience is costly. If a child in the womb is human — and they are — then abortion is always wrong in every case.
This isn’t about finding middle ground or softening the message to make it more acceptable to the culture or the church. It’s about holding fast to what is right and upholding God’s holy standard of justice. Abolition leaves no room for loopholes, compromises, or exemptions. It calls us to reject every lie, defend every innocent life, and stand boldly for the truth — no matter the cost.
