The Truth We Don’t Want to See
I’ve been mulling over this week whether to comment on this and, if so, how. Engaging with current affairs on social media is fraught with dangers and snares, and I always far prefer to talk to friends, family, colleagues and neighbours etc face-to-face over a coffee or a pint, with arms, and eyes, and words full of grace-filled love, as well as truth.
I hope if you read this, that you hear it in that tone. Whether you agree with, or strongly resist my point of view, I love you and want to grow in friendship with you, and share my life with you, and ultimately to share my saviour with you. I am a sinner as much as anyone else, and I have no cause to judge anyone else as though I were better.
The Cause of the Fatherless
To help you understand why I wanted to share this, let me introduce you to a guy called Micah. He was a prophet whose words are recorded in the Bible. Speaking about God, Micah declares at one stage:
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
In another part of the Bible, the prophet Isaiah encourages his hearers to:
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
That idea of acting with justice and loving mercy are right at the heart of our Western culture. Exemplified in Jesus, the message of Christianity has taught us that God loves all human beings. We’re made in His image and so have inherent value to God. But not only does God love us, He expects us to love one another too, and - just like Jesus - to courageously prioritise the interests of others, above ourselves. That’s one of the key ideas underpinning civil society: a commitment to protect those who are weaker and more vulnerable than ourselves, wherever they may be found.
What Just Happened?
I don’t know about you, but hearing recent events unfold in Parliament on two huge moral issues of life and death, have caused me to respond in an even more disheartened and (if I’m honest) disturbed way than I could have imagined. I found myself feeling extraordinary grief and shame that so many of our MPs (who are supposed to protect human rights, and life, and the vulnerable) have, once again, either abstained in cowardice, or even voted for an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that decriminalises all abortion in the UK.
For those who may be unaware, that amendment (which was approved by a vast majority 242 votes) removes the protection of any criminal prosecution for killing prenatal babies by abortion, including those above the legal limit of 24 weeks gestation. In effect, this removes any substantive legal protection for the life of babies, for any reason, up to the very second before they are delivered.
In many ways, this move is only a small move (at least in raw numbers) from where we are today. In 2022 there were 251,377 abortions in the UK, and around an estimated 300,000 in 2024, the vast majority of which are before 24 weeks. Each of those hundreds of thousands of souls killed is a tragedy, and has been part of the litany of human injustice for as long as we’ve existed. But this particular vote symbolises how unashamed, ignorant and morally vacuous this Parliament is, when it comes to the sanctity of all human life.
I have no idea what the practical ramifications of this vote will be, and I’m sure the abortion industry will continue to do an excellent job at hiding the truth from our eyes, and the reality of what abortion is. But I am also sure that I cannot be silent.
My yearning is that this vote might represent the low-point of complacency and complicity in such acts in the UK. That we might begin to awaken to the reality of abortion across the world, and that in years to come, the idea that we could intentionally end the life of our prenatal babies might be unthinkable.
One Piece of the Puzzle
The abortion industry worldwide survives because it has kept the truth of abortion hidden from our eyes. The reality is that our culture is blindly, and collectively, part of a cult of prenatal infanticide, and we’d all rather kid ourselves into thinking that, at the end of the day, it’s fine. Nothing to see here. Just a clump of cells. My body…my choice.
The reality - of course - is that it’s not my body, or even your body. It’s a baby’s body. A beautiful baby. We tend to call them a foetus, and that’s fine by me. But that foetus is a beautiful prenatal baby.
Now, I feel incredibly uncomfortable talking about this. I know I’m a man, and I will never experience the situation first-hand of being unwontedly pregnant. As a follower of Jesus, who himself displayed out-of-this-world love for women in difficult circumstances, I think it’s an extraordinary sadness that so many pregnant women feel like abortion is their only option, and that so many families and communities have failed to support them and their babies in such a difficult situation. I know that many women feel cornered into making this decision - not flippantly, and not because they want to end a life, but because they feel there’s no alternative. That’s a tragedy in itself, and far too often, it’s men who are to blame.
There is great injustice in how men so often get let off the hook when it comes to their responsibilities. Unexpected pregnancies should be the burden and responsibility of both parents, of their wider families, their friends and wider culture, and our legal system should underpin that. There are a whole host of legal, political, social and moral issues connected to the issue of abortion:
sufficient welfare and employment opportunities for parents
childcare, maternity and paternity that supports and incentivises parenting
marriage as the foundation for security in parenthood
generous obligations re. spousal maintenance and an equivalent for non-married fathers
the quality, capacity and cultural acceptance of adoption and fostering services
availability of, and support given, at pregnancy support centres, and
a realistic cultural conversation about the proper place for sexual intimacy in society
These issues all need to be addressed in lockstep with the issue of abortion.
In many ways, abortion serves the father as much as the mother, by getting him off the hook for caring for the baby. “You’re the one who decided to keep it…”, he might protest. That responsibility-shirking reaction simply cannot be an option. Would-be fathers must be liable for comprehensive financial and relational commitments to their children, whether or not they were conceived within the context of marriage.
That being so, a huge part of the puzzle here is simply being honest with ourselves - both individually, and as a society - about what abortion actually is. With the greatest sensitivity, I would humbly suggest that the answer cannot be simply hiding the truth from our eyes.
The Uncomfortable Truth
I fully understand why many may not want to confront this, and I honestly would not think less of you for wanting to skip what I share at the end of this post.
But if you’re willing to go with me a little further, let me introduce you to another part of the Bible called John’s gospel. It’s a kind of biography of the life of Jesus. In that book, Jesus is recorded to have said to a small group of his followers these famous words:
‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:32).
Jesus is primarily talking here about the truth that is ultimately to be found in Himself: knowing Him, trusting Him, experiencing His forgiveness and spiritual life through Him. When I became a Christian, I acknowledged that so many of my actions, words and thoughts were (and still are!) pretty horrible, and I asked God to forgive me for that. I saw Jesus for who He is, and He became the ultimate place for me to find truth, life and freedom.
But the idea expressed in that verse from John 8 is far broader and more holistic than that. It’s about allowing God to shine a light on the darkness in our hearts and in our lives, and experiencing freedom from sin and deception and blindness and the lies of the world. It’s about seeing the world the way God sees it.
Freedom is found by seeing, and embracing, the truth.
That’s the reality that those who fought against injustice have always found, throughout history. Injustice needs to be seen to be understood. And it needs to be understood, to be overcome.
I will give you a heads-up: what I’m about to share is hugely uncomfortable to watch. I know many of you may have had abortions yourselves, or have close friends or family who have, or who have experienced the heartache of miscarriage. I don’t want to pressure you if you’re not comfortable with watching this for whatever reason. With that in mind, if you are willing to, please see what abortion actually is, by watching this video.
What now?
If this is the first time you’ve thought about this issue, thank you for taking the time. I don’t expect one image or one social media post to change your mind, but I hope you find it thought provoking.
However if, like me, you find the video linked to above heart-wrenching, then may I encourage you to translate that feeling into action, rather than simply putting it to the back of your mind. Here are some suggestions:
Learn more about the reality of abortion, why we protect human life, and how to raise awareness on this key issue. This is a great place to begin.
Talk openly with others about it, and do so lovingly, winsomely and unapologetically. As a side-note, this is a great resource from a talk at Google for helping us do that well.
Support those facing crisis (and non-crisis) pregnancies. Whether it’s colleagues, family members, church friends, neighbours, or members of a club or a stranger you meet on the bus, set an example of sacrificial love. Don’t only encourage parents to choose life, help them to feel excited about it!
Give and volunteer with charities and campaign groups working hard to champion the protection of the life of the unborn.
Write to your MP about it and make it clear that you will never vote for a Parliamentary candidate who supports a policy to make abortion more available, more hidden or more incentivised.
Stand against the tide, and ensure that the testimony of history is that you stood up for what’s right, even when it’s hard, even when it’s unpopular, even when there’s a personal cost, and even in a culture that hides it and denies it.
In the way that we speak, and vote, and act, and love, and suffer, and pray, and donate, and campaign, let us strive - for as long as it takes - to make abortion unthinkable.
