ABORTION AND SLAVERY
SOME PARALLELS
Many of the arguments used today to justify abortion were used years ago to justify slavery. Let us notice a few parallels:

1. Those who advocate abortion try to tell us that the unborn are not people, they are not really human beings. Hence, we call an unborn baby a fetus, thus de-humanizing the child. When slavery was being debated, the same things were thought about slaves, and it was Thomas Jefferson who once thought that blacks were incapable of becoming citizens of the United States.

2. Many times abortionists stress that the most “loving thing to do” is abort a baby that is not wanted, that bringing a child into an unwanted situation is worse than having the baby. Many argued, years ago, that slaves were better off being slaves, and many argued that slaves were happier in chains.

3. Those who favor abortion that a “woman has the right to choose” what she does with her body. This implies that the pregnant woman “owns” the contents of her womb. In much the same way, among the events leading up the Civil War, the Dred Scott decision became pivotal in the slavery debate. The US Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott was the “property” of his owner, and the inhumanity of slavery was legally
established.

4. In the Second Inaugural Address, President Lincoln stated that the Civil War might have been a judgment from God to recompense for the wrongs of slavery. He stated, “. . . every drop of blood drawn by the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword.” We have to ask the question — How long will God allow us to continue in this wrong before He brings about judgment for our sins? How much innocent blood will it take to cry out for justice? When will God’s cup of wrath be full?

Howard Glass