“I knit you together in your mother’s womb.
“I knit you together in your mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13)
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
“And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.” (Luke 1:41)
These are not obscure passages. They’re part of a consistent biblical account that God knows, forms, loves, and recognizes humans before birth.
The unborn are not future image bearers of God. They are image bearers of God.
That truth should settle the matter.
And yet today a YouTube couple can publicly announce that they aborted their child after learning he had Trisomy 21 and the response from much of the culture was not sorrow. It was applause.
Think about what that means. A little boy was deemed less worthy of life because he had an extra chromosome. Because he might have faced additional challenges? And you judged those challenges too great a burden to bear?
That is not compassion. That is discrimination at its most deadly form.
And if you’ve seen it, it’s difficult not to come away with a sense of moral outrage. Watching human life treated as disposable strikes a deep chord. If we truly believe the unborn are human beings, then those who intentionally participate in ending those lives cannot simply be viewed as neutral actors. Questions of culpability and justice inevitably follow.
And it has forced me to confront an uncomfortable reality about the modern pro-life movement.
For decades we have celebrated small victories, supported incremental legislation, and accepted language that treats abortion as a tragic choice instead of what it actually is. We say abortion is murder, but support laws that allow some abortions. We say every child has a right to life, but celebrate politicians who support exceptions. We say the unborn are fully human, but oppose equal protection under the law.
We have spent so long asking for compromise that many people no longer know what justice looks like.
Abolitionists ask a simple question, if abortion is murder, why do unborn children not deserve equal protection? It is a question that deserves an answer and yet many pro-life leaders seem more interested in attacking the people asking it than in answering it.
Imagine if abolitionists during slavery had argued that only some slaves should be protected. Imagine if civil rights advocates had asked for partial recognition of human dignity. Justice does not work that way.
Either a child in the womb is a human being deserving of protection, or he is not.
John was John before he was born. Jeremiah was known by God before he was born. David testified that God knit him together before he was born. The unborn are not potential humans. They are humans with potential.
Because of that, I can no longer support the Pro Life organization that continually compromises on the fundamental issue. I don’t want better regulations for child sacrifice. I want equal protection for every human being from the moment of conception.
That is why I find myself increasingly aligned with the abolitionist position, not because it is politically convenient or popular, but because it is consistent.
At its heart, this is not a political issue. It is a spiritual one. The question is not whether a child is wanted, healthy, or difficult to raise. The question is whether God gets to define human value or whether we do.
The culture says value is determined by ability, independence, or convenience. God says value is found in the fact that we bear His image. Those two views cannot coexist. One leads to protecting the weak. The other leads to sacrificing them.
A child with Trisomy 21 is not a mistake. He is fearfully and wonderfully made. And the answer to a culture that has forgotten that is not another compromise, another exception, or another political calculation.
The answer is to return to God’s view of human life, to say what Scripture says, to value who God values, and to protect who God protects.
Every child bears the image of God.
Love you dearly.
Jacob.
