When “Abolition” Isn’t Abolition
Some bills are being presented under the banner of abolition—promising equal protection for all human beings from fertilization onward. Yet within them is troubling language, “This part does not apply to the unintentional death of an unborn child when resulting from: The undertaking of life-saving procedures to save the life of a mother when accompanied by reasonable steps, if available, to save the life of the unborn child.”
On the surface, this may look like harmless legal clarification. But this is not abolition. If a law claims to protect all human beings equally, then it cannot also contain wording that leaves one life less protected than another. God’s law makes no such distinctions, His command is, “Thou shalt not kill.” Both mother and child are image bearers, created in His likeness, and both deserve equal justice. To favor one life above another is to show partiality, and Scripture warns that such partiality is sin.
The real danger lies in the phrase “reasonable steps, if available.” What counts as reasonable? Who decides? A doctor, a hospital board, or an insurance company? Such uncertain standards give men the authority to decide whether or not the child’s life is worth saving. History shows that nearly any complication can be framed as a “life of the mother” case, turning what should be equal protection into a loophole that allows abortion to continue under another name.
God Himself declares, “I kill, and I make alive.” Life and death are in His hands, not ours. Laws that allow for the intentional taking of a child’s life in order to save the mother are placing human judgment above God’s sovereignty. Scripture also warns against doing evil that good may come, yet that is exactly what this reasoning permits. The intentional murder of an innocent child, no matter how desperate or heartbreaking the situation, is still the shedding of innocent blood which God hates.
Both mother and child belong to Him, “All souls are mine.” In medical emergencies, doctors are called to seek to preserve both lives without intentionally ending either. The results must be entrusted to God alone. When a bill claims to abolish abortion but includes this kind of language, it falls short of its own purpose. Whether intended or not, the effect is compromise, not abolition.
True abolition is grounded in the authority of God’s Word. It does not compromise, it does not confuse, and it does not show favoritism. It requires clarity, consistency, and courage. It establishes equal justice and equal protection for every image bearer of God with no vague wording, no exceptions, and no partiality. Anything less is a counterfeit and cannot rightly be called abolition.
