March 7, 1988
The Right Honourable Brian Dickson,
P.C.
Chief Justice of CanadaSupreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court Building
Wellington at Kent Streets
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A OJ1
Dear Chief Justice Dickson
Re:
Abortion and the Constitution
It
is in regard to the recent constitutional abortion ruling that I write. As a
concerned Canadian citizen, I believe that abortion is clearly the most serious
and important issue that has ever confronted this nation. It is in this spirit
that I respectfully address these remarks believing that the decision rendered
by the law courts in our land concerning this matter will profoundly affect the
destiny of our nation for generations to come.
Please
take the twelve minutes that are required to read this letter.
Lawyers,
judges, educators, scientists, theologians, politicians, doctors, parents, and
others have argued and debated the issue of abortion to enormous lengths but
even if we are non-believers, we should at least examine the Bible for its
inherent wisdom, for even the Bible does not run contrary to the scientific
evidence.
FREEDOM of CHOICE:
Advocates of abortion argue on a platform for the right to "freedom of
choice." It becomes a misplaced freedom when the choice is advocated only
as a right for the expectant mother without regard for the freedom of choice
for the helpless and voiceless unborn child. What abortion proponents never say
is that the choice they so gallantly defend is the choice to kill a child.
Freedom is not really the liberty to do exactly what we feel but instead it is
to do as God wills and directs. God clearly identifies that choice for us. "I have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing; choose life that both you and your seed may live" (Deuteronomy
30:19). The right to life should be paramount to all other rights and
the right to choose should clearly and resolutely be superseded by that very
precious right to life.
The
"choice" approach to abortion degrades us both morally and
spiritually as the acceptance of abortion as an alternative to pregnancy only
means that our concept of human worth has sunk to an unprecedented low. Even
the term "pro-choice" is a pro-abortionist misnomer. There is no
choice for the unborn. Abortion-on-demand laws give to one person (the mother)
the legal right to kill another person (the child) in order to solve the first
person's social or economic problem. These are not the laws of a moral and
righteous and just society. These are laws in a land which has rejected the
sovereignty of God. Abortion is no less than the violation of the divine ethic
in pursuit of physical, social, or economic comfort and convenience. Abortion
is not the solution to a problem; it is the elimination of a human being
perceived to be the problem. (Have you ever happened to notice that all pro-abortionists
have already been born? Aren't they grateful that their own prenatal
development occurred at a time in our history when our society and our laws
respectfully guarded their own rights as unborn human beings?)
WOMAN'S RIGHT to CONTROL HER OWN BODY:
Pro-abortionists contend that a woman should have the right to control her own
body. We should all properly realize that a woman's rights to her own body are
not absolute. Whatever liberties God has extended to us, the freedom to do with
our bodies as we wish is not among them. We are reminded by the apostle Paul
that our bodies do not belong to us exclusively but that we are to use every
part of them to give glory back to God because He owns them (I Corinthians 6:19-20).
Even
if it is wrongly conceded that a woman does have absolute rights over her own
body, it is a simple biological fact that the developing preborn baby is a very
unique and separate entity. The preborn child has a separate blood supply,
separate circulatory system, separate heartbeat, and separate brain waves. From
the instant of conception, the embryo is a living being separate and distinct
from the mother's body.
LIFE and PERSONHOOD:
There is little doubt, even among most abortionists, that the intrauterine
being is indeed fully human from the moment of conception. At that instant, all
of the genetic coding that will ever be needed to produce a fully functioning
human being is available. Not one single piece of genetic information will ever
have to be added to that one cell. Only nutrition and oxygen need to be added
for that one cell to develop into full adult maturity. At three weeks, the
developing baby already has impressive internal development. Only one tenth of
an inch in length, the tiny life has the beginnings of eyes, spinal cord,
nervous system, thyroid gland, lungs, stomach, liver, kidneys, intestines, and
heart with the heart beating regularly, sending a blood supply totally
independent from the mother's through the embryo's own tiny system. By
forty-five days, the baby's skeleton is complete in cartilage, the buds of
teeth appear, and the first movements of limbs occur. Brain waves are
discernible as early as the sixth week. The body of a preborn human being is
able to cry, hiccup, dream, swallow, taste, digest, urinate, respond to pain,
suck a thumb, kick a leg, and has hands with individual and unique
fingerprints. Regardless of the lack of value that we may wish to place on an
unborn child, we are being intellectually dishonest if we believe that the
unborn is not a human being.
Denying
the unborn personhood has no basis in Scripture either. The Bible makes many
references to the unborn child in a very real and personal sense. In his
prophecy Isaiah says, "The Lord
called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me" (Isaiah
49:1). To Jeremiah the Lord said, "Before
I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated
you" (Jeremiah 1:5). The apostle Paul said that God "set me apart before I was born"
(Galatians 1:15). We are told, too, concerning Jesus prior to His
birth that Mary "was found to be
with child" (Matthew 1:18).
Throughout
Scripture we are clearly taught that the developing child is the expression of
God's greatest creation, man. God's sovereignty and inescapable presence,
particularly with regard to the unborn, is well demonstrated throughout the
Bible. "Just as you do not know the
path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so
you do not know the activity of God who makes all things" (Ecclesiastes
11:5). It is no coincidence that this is exactly what science confirms;
that physicians, surgeons, and scientists really know nothing of how bones or
any other part of our anatomy is formed in the womb. Only God knows. David, the
psalmist, recognized that prenatal development is, in fact, a wonderful
demonstration of God's handiwork. A woman's pregnancy is testimony that God
Himself is forming a child within her and by this work His glory is revealed. "For Thou didst form my inward parts;
Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it
very well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, when I was made in secret" (Psalm
139:13-15).
A
person's worth, identity, dignity, and right to personhood is bestowed upon him
at the time of conception. Nothing needs to be added to him to make him
valuable. He has worth because of who he is, not because of what he might
become. His absolute worth is a gift, something that can neither be earned nor
forfeited. He is a unique and individual member of the human race. Although
couples have "accidents" or make "mistakes," God does not.
These accidents or mistakes are to be occasions out of which our sovereign Lord
creates both a new human being and the opportunity to truly love and live in
obedience to Him. We rebel against God and seek to frustrate His purpose when
we kill the unborn child. Scripture affirms that, "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord" (Psalm 127:3)
and we are told that it is through the bearing of children that
self-fulfillment is found, not through destructive abortion.
HANDICAPPED:
Another of the many arguments of the pro-abortionists is that abortion is
justified when there is a prospect of a child that may be born handicapped,
either mentally or physically. Sadly, this is the elitist attitude of those
among us who may be "normal" physically and intellectually but find
it so easy to overlook our own countless other deficiencies. We must learn to
see a person's worth in terms of inherent value and not in terms of whether or
not that person serves the general welfare and convenience of others. The
helpless and handicapped deserve our special attention and care, not our abuse,
neglect, and destruction.
It
is no coincidence that it is a physician, Luke, the disciple, who reveals God's
perspective to us regarding the handicapped. "...invite the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be
blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you" (Luke 14:13-14).
This command with a promise is indicative of the reverence that each of us is
to have for all life, but especially for the handicapped. It is especially
tragic, however, that, unlike Luke, many of the doctors of our day have
abandoned the fundamental respect for life as exemplified by the Hippocratic
Oath and instead have cast themselves into the paradoxical position of being
both healers and exterminators.
Further
regarding the handicapped, God asks, "Who
has made man's mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it
not I, the Lord?" (Exodus 4:11). It is God's intention to give
us sufficient grace to sustain us through our infirmities and to use them and
the infirmities of others to build maturing qualities into our lives, not the
least of which includes love, joy, peace, patience, tolerance, kindness,
gentleness among others. We who are "normal" are no greater than
those with mental or motor disabilities, but what is greater is our
responsibility to respect and protect those who are differently gifted.
RAPE or INCEST:
A further condition advocated by the pro-abortionists is for abortion when
pregnancy results from rape or incest. As tough and traumatic as this
circumstance is, if human life possesses the value that Scripture teaches, then
it is difficult to justify abortion even in this instance. Our societal laws
have determined that a rapist may not be executed for his crime but are we then
to render a judgment of capital punishment upon the innocent unborn of that
crime? Why should the innocent child suffer for the wrong of the guilty?
Abortion will never relieve the pain of the first tragedy.
Justifying
abortion under these conditions is not really a separate category but is simply
an extension of the argument that mental anguish somehow justifies killing
another human life. Adoption, not abortion, represents an alternative to this
very difficult situation. Our efforts should not be in killing the innocent
child, but in helping to solve the stress of the expectant mother through
supportive counseling in her time of need.
EVERY CHILD a WANTED CHILD:
The concept that we can choose to kill an unborn child is to say that the value
of the unborn life depends solely upon his or her "wantedness." The
child becomes no more than property or an object to be discarded at the option
of the mother. Sadly, the child becomes a death victim, not because of his or
her own shortcomings but because of those of a society which has lost all sense
of rightness.
It
is a tragic irony that every unborn life in fact is really a very wanted child
indeed. There is a never ending stream of childless couples who would dearly
love to dedicate their lives to loving, nurturing, and raising to maturity an
adopted son or daughter.
CHILD ABUSE:
Pro-abortionists submit that abortion should be permitted for the reason that
it reduces the prospect of child abuse on unwanted children. The majority of
battered children are children who were actually wanted by their parents at the
time of birth. It is not "unwantedness" which leads to child abuse
but instead it is the unrealistic expectations for the child and the inadequate
parenting skills which account for most child battering.
We
should not, however, be surprised with an epidemic of child abuse in our
country when abortion is permitted as there is a direct correlation between how
we treat a baby in the womb and out of the womb.
Few
atrocities, if any, have ever been perpetrated upon mankind that are as
physically abusive as the physical act of abortion itself. How have we allowed
ourselves to become so desensitized to such an abhorrent act which involves
tearing off arms and legs by suction, or crushing the baby's head with an
instrument, or chopping the baby into tiny pieces, or forcing the ingestion of
a poisoning saline solution leading to a slow and agonizing death? Let us not
be deceived; abortion is truly an abomination and unquestionably the earliest
and most repulsive form of child abuse.
ABORTION'S SECOND VICTIM:
Apart from the physical risks to the abortive mother; including hemorrhaging,
infection, perforation of the uterus, cervical damage, sterility, and future
miscarriages, few pro-abortionist counselors, if any, ever advise the mother
seeking abortion of the long term devastating emotional scars that she must
bear often for the remainder of her life. Abortion is not a single act that
ends upon the baby's death.
WOMEN'S LIBERATION:
Abortionists deceitfully argue that to be anti-abortion is to be anti-feminist.
On the contrary, abortion is not only anti-child but it is anti-woman,
dehumanizing both womanhood and motherhood.
MEDICAL REASONS:
Is abortion ever justified for medical reasons pertaining to the mother's
physical health? This is indeed a very difficult question but it is instructive
to note that even the majority of pro-abortionist doctors concede that
pregnancy rarely threatens the life of the mother. Pregnancy is a normal bodily
process, not a disease or tumor.
Pro-abortionists
contend that abortion must be legalized in order to minimize the risk to life
and health associated with illegal back alley abortions. Let us never forget
that legal or not, there is always at least one death with every abortion.
CREATED in HIS IMAGE:
The God given right to life is a natural consequence of being made in His image
(Genesis 1:26-27) which
distinguishes mankind from the rest of creation. Destroying innocent human life
is to reject that truth. We have been created in order to know God and to
resemble Him in righteousness and holiness. God has given us the gift of life
on this earth that we might glorify Him. We should graciously accept and
protect and cherish that gift for all life from the moment of conception.
ULTIMATE JUSTICE ULTIMATELY:
We should not allow a social climate of moral relativism and sexual
permissiveness to dictate our response to issues. Abortion measured by any
logical, biological, or theological standard whatsoever is premeditated murder;
the planned and deliberate killing of a human life. We now desperately need a
legal standard consistent with these other standards of truth. The willful
abortion of a human life is a blatant rejection of the sovereign Lord who
created that human life. The destruction of innocent life ultimately invites
God's absolute and final judgment on ourselves, our society, and our nation.
The
law of God is the ultimate basis for establishing justice among men and only
when God's laws are embodied in our laws do we have protection for the innocent
and punishment for the guilty. "Whoever
sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He
made man" (Genesis 9:6). We have a command and a responsibility
to uphold the sanctity of life and to furnish protection for every innocent
being. "Deliver those who are being
taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter" (Proverbs
24:11).
CONSTITUTION and CHARTER of RIGHTS:
Our society can pass laws which make abortion legal but to do so is to deny
truth and fact for by whatever name, it is still murder. Our national
Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms is truly a farce when the life
of the unborn child is precluded from the protection to life that every other
human being in our country is afforded. When the most vulnerable in our nation
are denied protection to life, all other liberties become a sham. (It is truly
a disgrace that we can use the Charter to protect something as trivial as
Sunday store openings but we can't see fit as a nation to preserve the sanctity
of human life!)
LEGISLATION and MAJORITY MORALITY:
Pro-abortionists believe that the abortion laws should be changed because many
people favour change. We are not talking about liquor laws, drug laws, traffic
laws, or tax laws. We are dealing with the laws which deal with the sanctity of
human life. The issue of abortion is not one which should be decided on the
basis of a majority consensus. A majority does not make it right. We have a
responsibility to uphold what is morally right, not what is personally
convenient. Even a democratic system such as ours has the responsibility to
recognize that majority morality must be checked by the rights of the minority
and the minority in this instance is the unborn child. The pro-life struggle is
not to impose one's conscience on another but to preserve the precious right to
life that is violated in every abortion.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY:
Legislating against abortion is only the beginning of our responsibility. No
position against abortion is proper or adequate without a practical,
compassionate, sensitive, and supportive program to assist those with problem
pregnancies. This is the true Biblical alternative. The woman who is confronted
with a crisis for which abortion seems the only solution is deserving of the
emotional, financial, and spiritual support of the community in which she
lives. We would be remiss if we provided anything less for both mother and
child.
NEW ETHIC: Abortion is only
the leading edge of a new and perverse ethic in our society. The issue is even
bigger than the sacrifice of the unborn child, it is a way of life, an entire
ethic and philosophy.
It
is the same forces who are involved in the legislation of abortion, while
claiming to alleviate the suffering of a pregnant woman, who are involved in
the promotion of other programs under the "new ethic;" infanticide
and euthanasia, claiming to want to eliminate the suffering of the handicapped.
In the acceptance of abortion-on-demand, there occurs a subtle and subversive
shift in the attitude of society against all people who may be deemed to be
unwanted; the unloved, the imperfect, the infirm, the senile, the elderly, the
dependent. Who knows what other lives will eventually become dispensable under
the new ethic? Life and death are not man's prerogative; they belong in the
realm of God's providence.
HONOUR LIFE with PRO-LIFE DECISIONS:
You, Chief Justice Dickson, and your court, were in the foremost position in
all of Canada to bring an end to these abhorrent atrocities. You, in your high
office, have been entrusted to protect the rights and lives of all people but
instead chose to betray that obligation to restore our nation's unborn children
to their rightful position in our society. Now, we as a nation, have instead
chosen to sanction the killing of unborn lives and to stain our hands and our
lives with the blood of aborted children. Tragically, there is no other court
of appeal for these precious, voiceless, unborn lives.
It
is incomprehensible why your court could not see fit to render a pro-life
decision which honours all human life from the moment of conception.
Thank
you for your consideration of these remarks. Your acknowledgment would be most
welcome.
Yours truly
Randall F. More, P. Eng.
The Honourable Mr. Justice Estey
The Honourable Mr. Justice La Forest
The Honourable Mr. Justice Lamer
The Honourable Mr. Justice LeDain
The Honourable Madam Justice L'Heureux-Dube
The Honourable Mr. Justice McIntyre
The Honourable Madam Justice Wilson
REFERENCES
A Pastor's Heart to Heart Talk on Abortion
Abortion: A Twofold ResponseAbortion and Psalm 139
Abortion, the Bible, and the Christian
Abortion: The Silent Holocaust
Abortion's Second Victim
Did You Know
Forbid Abortions?
Open Your Mouth for the Dumb
Pro-Life News
Pro-Life Work and Social Justice
The German Euthanasia Program
The Silent Scream
What Every Christian Should Know
Who Broke the Baby?
Yes, I'm a Radical
