The culture battle over abortion may be the most explosive and divisive topic in America’s 21^st century civil war. The true believers on both sides have dug in their heels on this one, and are not willing to give an inch. Why is that so?

The anti-abortion point of view is pretty easy to understand, and its advocates make no bones about it. They point to the teachings of the Bible concerning the value of human life taught there. Since this high view of human life is understood to be a direct revelation from God, and they are committed to Him, there is no wiggle room to allow for innocent human lives to be murdered in the womb.

The pro-abortion side, on the other hand, is completely as committed to their belief as the anti-abortionists, but the real reason for it is rarely ever said out loud. The talking point is that “a woman should not be told by others what she can or cannot do with her body.” They advocate for it as a matter of personal autonomy. And this point of individual freedom would be a good argument if that was all there is to it.

But it is not. A child growing within a woman’s body is not her body. So while a woman should be able to do what she will with her own body, she should not be free to extinguish the life of another. But you never hear the pro-abortionists even acknowledge the innocent life of the child. To the contrary, they make up every excuse in the book to dehumanize their preborn baby. You hear everything from “it is only a blob of tissue, not a real child,” to “it is not a real human until after it is born,” to “it is not a real human until it is viable (then they go on to define ‘viable’ as some time after birth).”

But there is an actual reason that underlies the pro-abortion stance beyond the desire for personal autonomy, and it is based on two foundation stones – one personal and the other theological.

The personal reason is that they don’t want any restrictions on sexual activity. They don’t want anyone telling them that they should not pursue sexual activity any way they want.

The second reason is theological. While most pro-abortion advocates tend to dismiss this point, it is absolutely true nonetheless. Every moral belief in existence is based on some worldview belief foundation. This is true for pro-abortion beliefs, as well. In the case of those who are anti-abortion, the belief foundation is typically Christian Theism. Pro-abortionists, on the other hand, generally deny either belief in God altogether, or, at the very least, belief in His authority over their lives. That is a theological position that has its roots in a naturalistic worldview (the belief that the natural universe, operating by natural laws, is all that exists).

If a person believes that God does not exist, or that He has no authority over their life, they do not recognize any objective source for morality. In that case, people have to make up their own moral beliefs. And, obviously, the beliefs that they deem “true” for themselves is that it is acceptable to terminate a baby in the womb when it does not suit their personal desires.

It is at this point that the theological belief ties back into the personal reason for pro-abortionists wanting abortion to be okay. While there is some overlap, the reasons are slightly different for men and for women.

For men, the reason they want abortion to be legal is that they don’t want to be accountable for the results of their sexual activity. If they happen to get a woman pregnant and it is going to be inconvenient for them moving forward, they want the woman to be able to get an abortion so they won’t have to face the consequences of the pregnancy from their side.

For women, there are two reasons. The first is that they don’t want to be restricted regarding their own sexual activity. Becoming pregnant would drastically hinder their ability to participate in sexual activity. The second reason is similar to that of men – they don’t want to have to be accountable for dealing with the consequences of their promiscuity.

And on the theological side, neither men nor women want to be stigmatized as sinners. So if freely participating in sexual activity, or having an abortion if they become pregnant, is not a sin, then they are free to do what they want.

When the issue of abortion is debated, the primary talking point almost always centers around the nature of the baby. Anti-abortionists insist that the preborn child is an actual human being, and that killing it constitutes murder. The pro-abortionists insist that the child is not yet an actual human being, and it is not a problem to kill it.

But there is a second factor that also comes into play, and that has to do with participation in sex itself. This focuses specifically on the theological side of the discussion.

Those who believe the Bible, believe that God has instituted the family as the core institution of human society, and that He has designated sexual activity to be the exclusive domain of the marriage between one man and one woman. This point of view sees any sexual activity outside of marriage as sin. This would include fornication, adultery, homosexual sex, polygamy, polyandry, and all others.

Those who don’t recognize the authority of the Bible, and are pro-abortion, are completely open to alternative definitions of family, and reject the exclusive claims of biblical Christianity. As such, other expressions of sexual activity such as fornication, adultery, homosexual sex, polygamy, polyandry, and others are deemed to not be a problem. 

So how is a person to make a decision about which is right? The answer lies in the actual nature of reality. Does God exist, or not? If He does, then following His guidance regarding sexual activity and the value of human life is an imperative. If He doesn’t exist, or at least not as He is revealed in the Bible, all bets are off. People can make up their own morality and participate in sexual activity according to their own personal preferences.

As the arguments for and against abortion are rarely addressed regarding the existence of God, some may find this connection rather novel. But in actuality, it is the very bottom line of the argument itself. So for anyone who wants to truly address whether or not abortion is okay, they must first determine that God does not exist, or that at least He has no authority over their life.

Interestingly, I have never heard anyone use that argument in support of abortion. The advocacy is virtually always focused on the right of the woman to have control over her own body – ignoring all counter or mitigating arguments. They limit their argument to this point because they don’t want to have to dig down deeply to face the prospect that they are sinning by their sexual activity, and/or sinning by killing the child they are carrying.

But that is the fact, and that is the case. In spite of the fact that people want to come up with excuses that satisfy their desire to be autonomous, they ultimately advocate for abortion because they don’t want to follow the standards God has revealed to be true concerning sexual activity. It’s as simple as that.

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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