The following FIRST PERSON articles present two different perspectives on the recent debate about a resolution (“The Abolition of Self-Managed Abortion in Louisiana”) that was rejected by the Resolutions Committee and failed to garner enough messenger support to bring it to the floor for consideration during the 2024 Louisiana Baptist Convention Annual Meeting (click HERE for the original news report).
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WOMEN ARE CULPABLE FOR ABORTIONS
Letter to the Editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message
Dear Editor,
I read with interest The Baptist Message article on the proposed LBC resolution entitled
“The Abolition of Self-Managed Abortion in Louisiana.” As I observed the debate, it seemed to me that there are primarily two “sides” on this issue. One wonders what side was represented by the Resolutions Committee in that they elected not to bring forth the resolution for debate. It also seems that the Editor doesn’t treat these two sides with equanimity as is indicated by his “Editor’s Note” in the middle of the article. Said “Editor’s Note” declared “The abortion abolitionist movement advocates for the prosecution of women who have abortions. In some high-profile instances, pro-life leaders and groups who have disagreed on this point have been attacked as ‘pro-abortion,’ ‘murderers,’ etc.” I find this an unfortunate note in that I didn’t see anyone engaging in such behavior that day in Shreveport.
Just like it seems there are two sides in this issue, it seems to me there are just two salient questions on this issue. The first question is one all Louisiana Baptists appear to agree on. Whom or what is in the womb? As a 2023 LBC resolution stated, “The Bible affirms that the preborn child is a person, bearing the image of God, from the moment of conception.” Therefore, a God-created person is in the womb.
The second question is one where the two sides seem to diverge. Should a preborn child have the same rights under the law as a post-born child? In short, should the preborn child have equal protection? There really are only two legitimate answers to that question; yes and no. Some would push back and say their answer would be “Yes, except when . . .” I contend that any exceptions to “yes” make it “no.”
If someone declares that a woman should not be held legally culpable for killing her baby before birth but should be held legally culpable for killing her child after birth, that person is taking a position that the preborn child does not have equal protection under the law. Before birth, the law protects him from all people but his mother while after birth he is protected from all people including his mother. Simply put, that is not equal protection under the law. It’s disingenuous to declare otherwise.
I am of the firm belief that, as Biblical followers of Christ, if we are going to answer the first question in the affirmative, we must answer the second question also in the affirmative. We should not punish the preborn child because we fear some possible implications of granting that most vulnerable among us equal protection under the law. To say that we may not be able to minister to women who have had abortions is preposterous. Must we also advocate for not punishing rapists because we will then be unable to minister to rapists? Must we call for lenience for pedophiles out of fear that we will sacrifice the opportunity to minister to the pedophile community? The list goes on and on. This view would make it impossible to stand against any sin. “We can’t preach about tithing because all non-tithers will stop coming to church.” Seriously?
Now to the question over which so many seem to obsess. Whom should be held legally culpable for the death of the pre-born child? The one who is responsible should be held legally culpable.
If father drags his pregnant teen daughter to the abortion clinic and forces her to have an abortion, he, not she, is responsible. Alternately, what about the woman I saw who held up a sign that read, “I’ve had 20 abortions, and I am proud of every one?” Should she be treated the same as the teen girl whose father forced her to have an abortion? As in all murders, each case should be considered carefully to determine the true culprit(s), whomever that is.
If we aren’t willing to take that stand, we need just to answer an honest “no” to that second question. At least we will then be consistent.
As for me, the answer to both questions is a resounding and unapologetic “YES!” Brothers and sisters, it’s not complicated. We must stand for the preborn the same way we stand for the post-born. It’s that simple. And it’s that crucial.
Respectfully,
Chuck Pourciau
Broadmoor Baptist
Shreveport
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WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE JAILED
By Will Hall, director, LBC Office of Public Policy and editor, Baptist Message
The foremost question that needs to drive every pro-life effort must be “How do we save more unborn babies?”
This is no small matter because not all means lead to the same results of more saved unborn lives.
Specifically, putting women in jail would not reduce abortions, and there are legal, social, and spiritual considerations that must be factored in as well.
LEGAL
Louisiana law already declares an unborn child “a natural person … from the moment of conception” (C.C. 26) and “a legal person” (R.S. 40:1061.1).
Moreover, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, returning the issue to the states, all abortions (with exceptions for the physical life of the mother) were banned in Louisiana.
Then in 2024 the legislature categorized the abortion pill as a Schedule IV drug (equal to narcotics), requiring doctors to be specifically certified to handle it for special cases (induce labor, or treat conditions such as endometriosis, fibroids and ulcers as well as hyperglycemia associated with Cushing syndrome).
Importantly, it is illegal to mail abortion pills into the state, and recently a Louisiana grand jury indicted a New York doctor who, online (with a girl’s relative), prescribed abortion pills for a Louisiana teen (who did not want them) and shipped them to her home (where she was coerced by the relative into taking them). Sadly, if she had not experienced complications requiring emergency medical care, her plight would still be unknown today.
Legal experts say that it has been historical precedent to treat women as a second victim of abortion because of the extremely high prevalence of coercion, the difficulty in determining “state of mind,” and the need to enlist the cooperation of the woman to put the abortionist out of business (which saves multiple babies’ lives).
SOCIAL
Coercion is the rule, not the exception, when it comes to abortions.
One key study found that two-thirds of women who had an abortion said it was “inconsistent with their values and preferences” (43 percent) or “unwanted or coerced” (24 percent). Sixty percent reported “they would have preferred to give birth.”
There are other considerations, too.
Prior to the overturn of Roe v. Wade, data showed that 25 percent of women have an abortion. If the Abortionists Rising approach were in effect at that time, one in every four women of childbearing age in the nation would be in jail now – which would have collapsed our population.
Additionally, abortion was not proportional across ethnic groups: Black women, only 14 percent of females, had 40 percent of abortions (White women, 58 percent of females, had 32 percent of abortions). As it is, single Black mothers are raising almost half of Black children, and incarcerating a sizable number of these women would further complicate an already difficult situation in Black communities.
SPIRITUAL
It is no small matter that God instructed man to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Certainly, the New Testament allows for celibacy (Matthew 19:12; 1 Corinthians 7:32-38). However, God constructed His notion of a spiritual family (Matthew 12:46-50) of adopted sons and daughters (John 1:12-13; 2 Corinthians 6:18) upon the biological concept of the family that He created for us (Exodus 20:17; Ephesians 6:1-4).
Furthermore, Christians who have engaged in the pro-life fight have had to prayerfully consider the tensions between God’s commandment against murder (Exodus 20:13) and His forgiveness of even those who deserve death (John 8:3-11).
Consequently, the mainstream pro-life movement has carefully charted a course to end abortion in America without also destroying the fabric of the family, which was already in distress. Despite criticism from Abolitionists Rising leaders, this has not been a purposely “incremental” approach. Instead, it has been hand-to-hand combat for every inch of ground gained since 1973.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Ultimately, we need to end abortions, but we also need women to be mothers, raising families – something that cannot take place if they are in jail.
Finally, there were secret illegal abortions in Louisiana last year (nearly all via outlawed online visits with out-of-state abortionists who illegally shipped abortion pills into the state). But the Louisiana attorney general is suing to force liberal states to recognize our sovereignty and, hopefully, will close the door on this latest scheme by the abortion industry to get around our pro-life laws. These statutes can’t undo the 20 abortions a woman bragged about having prior to Louisiana’s abortion ban, but they are saving thousands of unborn lives now.
