Civic Scholar
Abortion affects the lives of every American. But having conversations on the topic may be difficult if one doesn’t understand what it is and the impact it can have.
“Abortion is an incredibly polarizing issue with this spectrum of beliefs, feelings, struggles (and) life experiences,” Dr. John Pierce Jr., chairman of women’s health and medical specialties at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, said. “It has impacted all of us in our families, with our friends, in our churches and in our communities. We must have open, honest conversations and be communicators of the truth.”
The medical definition of abortion is “a loss (of the baby) before 20 weeks in the pregnancy,” Pierce said. This includes elective and spontaneous abortions (miscarriages). There are several methods of elective abortion: medical abortion, where the mother takes two pills, mifepristone and misoprostol; dilatation and curettage, a scraping of the uterine lining, before 13 completed weeks; dilatation and evacuation, a removal of the baby from the uterus after 14 weeks; and partial-birth abortions, removing the baby in its entirety, typically after 20 weeks.
Post-abortive women bear many side effects. First, Pierce explained, they lose their baby. This involves a significant grieving process. Additionally, women who have abortions experience a wide range of emotions. They may undergo grief, anger, isolation, loneliness, depression and anxiety. With a surgical abortion, the effects may range from “experiencing a very heavy period with severe cramps to hemorrhaging to ongoing bleeding still requiring surgical procedure,” explained Pierce. A surgical abortion involves the risks of pain, bleeding, infection, perforation of the uterus, possible need for transfusion and possibly retained fetal tissue in the uterus.
Pierce noted that women who have abortions often go through spiritual and relational struggles, wondering where God is in the picture and whether they are loved. Many practitioners do not know how to address these struggles. This leaves many women feeling isolated. The terminology used during the process often does not help with the emotional and spiritual struggles. For example, many practitioners use “fetus” instead of “baby.”
“I’ve never had a mom come up to me and tell me about their fetus,” Pierce said. “I think the terminology is used to try to create distance emotionally rather than talking openly about an abortion and working through an unanticipated pregnancy.”
A few very rare situations require the induction of a premature baby or an abortion. For example, Pierce described how eclampsia causes the mother to have seizures after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Other situations include cardiac problems, like aortic stenosis, which can cause heart failure in the mother. Ultimately, the goal is to take care of the mother and the baby, which may involve inducing labor, delivering the baby and caring for the mother. According to Pierce, science is clear that life begins at conception. The question is not when life begins, but who is in control.
“This goes to the moral worth of being human. I would say that moral worth of an individual is absolute and it’s eternal,” Pierce said. “This includes life in the womb. God created humans in his image. This is the Imago (Dei).”
Before the Supreme Court cases of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the vast majority of states had prohibitions against abortion, according to Liberty University School of Law Dean Morse Tan. These cases opened the floodgates to legalizing abortion even though it went against an overwhelming majority of state laws.
In 2022, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. This decision declared that abortion was not a constitutional right and delegated legislation to the states and Congress. According to Tan, courts are now seeing an influx of cases either trying to “replicate” Roe and Doe or do the opposite. These cases involve disputes over abortion-related legislation.
“I doubt that the Supreme Court will (stop getting appeals) on the subject,” Tan said. “Having said that, the Supreme Court can decide whether or not to take it. … What Dobbs did was send (abortion) back to legislatures, … so we’re at a stage now where this is being hashed out legislature by legislature.”
Tan explained how it is not just culture that impacts law, but law that impacts culture, calling the law both a “teacher” and “legitimizer.” He compared laws that discourage families from having children to laws that reward families for having them. The latter can help create an underlying culture that embraces families. He believes Christians must help create a culture that supports life.
“We (as Christians) have a tremendous role as salt and light (because we) know that each precious human being is made in God’s image and, therefore, is of irreducible value,” Tan said. “We should be modeling what the scriptures teach, but there’s also a tremendous grace and mercy and redemption and restoration … that we can exhibit to post-abortive women. … I think we should play a most crucial role, by God’s grace, to be able to be a voice of love and truth.”
Bear is the editor-in-chief for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X
