“The battle over human dignity,” writes Eric Metaxas, “is waged not just at the local abortion clinic or crisis pregnancy center, nor merely in the halls of Congress or the Supreme Court. It is also carried out in our choice of words.”
Metaxas points out that “the war on the sanctity of human life relies on bullets of deception and warheads of untruth – in short, on what George Orwell called ‘political language,’ which he said ‘is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.’”
Metaxas explains that those who support the legal killing of unborn human beings in the womb “have used political language for decades, cloaking their morally indefensible position in innocuous-sounding terms such as ‘choice’ and ‘women’s health’ – hoping the rest of us will forget about the status and rights of the other person directly affected in the abortion transaction – namely the fetus.”
Planned Parenthood folks typically deny the humanity or personhood of the baby in the womb by calling it a “lump of tissue,” “product of conception,” or “potential person.” But, writes Metaxas, “it’s hard to keep up the verbal sleight of hand all the time. A case in point is the considerable elation over the news that Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, is carrying a child. That’s right, a child, not a ‘product of conception.’ We are told that her ‘baby’ will be third in line to the throne, behind only Prince William and Prince Charles.”
At this point, the pro-life Christian has opportunity to reveal “verbal sleight of hand” and also ask questions that help others think. The Duchess is in her first trimester. Is this a baby or not? Is this a child with a destiny or not? Is this child special or just like the other non-persons who have been aborted from wombs in Britain, the U.S., and all over the world? As Christians, we are compelled to answer all questions from God’s perspective, not our own.
As Metaxas (and others) point out, “the language we use matters. Is the life in the womb a ‘product of conception’ or a person, maybe even a prince in waiting?”
In a response to Metaxas’ commentary, someone named Kevin posted, “Try to imagine even the most staunch abortion advocate being present at a childbirth and, when the head is coming out, saying, ‘Look! It’s turning into a human!’” Bearing this in mind, the Christian is compelled to do what philosopher Peter Kreeft suggests. We need to see the personhood of the fetus as the defining issue for abortion, “for if the fetus is not a person, abortion is not the deliberate killing of an innocent person.” The Christian does well to know God’s Word on this matter of human dignity, life and death.
As we reflect on the first coming of Jesus, the Creator and Redeemer of all human life, let us draw near to His Word about life: Job 10:8-12; Psalm 8:4-5; 119:73; 139:13-16; Ecclesiastes 11:5; Isaiah 44:24; Luke 1:15; 1:41-44; John 16:21; Galatians 1:15-16.
Apprection to Eric Metaxas for “The Royal Fetus” www.breakpoint.org
and The Unaborted Socrates by Peter Kreeft
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