The Citizen, 2012-10-11, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012.
By Pastor Dow
Living Water Christian
Fellowship, Blyth
This coming Saturday, Oct.13,
Campaign Life Coalition is
spearheading a campaign involving
mini-rallies at the offices of local
Members of Provincial Parliament
advocating that abortion be “de-
funded”, that is, seeking for it to be
de-listed as a “medically necessary”
procedure that is covered by OHIP.
Advocates of abortion tout it as “a
woman’s choice”; but what about
those whose consciences object to
their tax dollars being used to pay
for the killing of babies in the
womb? Do they deserve some
choice? They might argue current
policy links them by their wallets to
an action that in effect makes them
an accessory to murder.
For those espousing a Biblical
worldview, personhood precedes the
moment of birth. The Evangelical
Fellowship of Canada is an
association of some 40
denominations and nearly 1,000
church congregations. Its
Declaration on Human Life states,
“Recognizing that life is a gift from
God, we affirm the inherent worth of
human life from conception. Human
beings are made in the image of
God.” This is clear from texts such
as Genesis 1(26f), “Then God said,
‘Let us make man in our image, in
our likeness...’ So God created man
in his own image, in the image of
God he created him; male and
female he created them.” Psalm
139(13ff) declares God’s
involvement and recognition of us
before birth: “For you created my
inmost being; you knit me together
in my mother’s womb...My frame
was not hidden from you when I was
made in the secret place...your eyes
saw my unformed body. All the days
ordained for me were written in your
book before one of them came to
be.” Clearly, God invests our human
existence with value, as worthy of
record in God’s “book”, even before
we see the light of day!
In Luke 1(44), when Mary as
Jesus’ mother-to-be visits her
relative Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s
mother-to-be, to announce the news
Gabriel has announced to her,
Elizabeth experiences a remarkable
phenomenon. She tells Mary, “As
soon as the sound of your greeting
reached my ears, the baby in my
womb leaped for joy.” This was not
some coincidental kicking of a
mindless clump of cells; Elizabeth
attributes it to her not-yet-born baby
as a person reacting to Mary’s visit,
leaping for joy – fully capable of
responding to and participating in
the momentous events happening in
the outside world.
In the Biblical view, prohibition
against murder is rooted in
recognition of each person’s value as
bearing the divine image, however
imperfect or fallen. “Whoever sheds
the blood of man, by man shall his
blood be shed; for in the image of
God has God made man.” (Genesis
9:6, emphasis added).
Regarding the issue of funding
abortion as a “medically necessary”
procedure, the group Canadian
Physicians for Life has published a
Statement on Provincial Funding of
Abortion (published in Vital Signs,
Spring 2012, p.4) which refutes
several of the most commonly-given
reasons defending the practice. One
justification sometimes given for
abortion as a required medical
service is the emotional health of a
woman who finds herself in a crisis
pregnancy and doesn’t wish to
parent a child. CPL observes, “there
is no good scientific evidence that
says abortion positively impacts
mental health outcomes for women
in crisis pregnancies. Actually, the
opposite is more likely true. There is
evidence that abortion negatively
impacts a woman’s mental health
with respect to depression, anxiety
disorders, and suicidal behaviour.”
Another rationale offered for
abortion involves infrequent cases in
which pregnancy can place the
physical health of a woman in
jeopardy. CPL believes treatment of
the underlying condition should be
the primary course of action
(although this may result in loss of
the pregnancy) rather than induced
abortion. “So even in these difficult
situations, abortion should not be
considered as a medical necessity,
given that other treatments exist
which also preserve the physical
well-being of the mother.”
A third situation is that in which
fetal abnormalities are detected
during pregnancy. But let’s not
forget that in any pregnancy, there
are two patients: the woman, and the
baby she is carrying. Thus CPL
concludes, “identification of adverse
health status of the fetus should
prompt a physician to pursue
appropriate medical treatment if it is
possible, not simply ‘terminate’ the
patient who has the health concern.”
Or, the baby may be normal
enough, but not be the gender
parents would prefer; media and
medical journals have carried
discussions about sex selection
abortion in recent months. In this
case, parents may simply decide the
baby (often a girl) does not meet
their skewed definition of “healthy”.
CPL notes, “Nearly everyone should
feel uneasy about their tax dollars
paying for such a great offense to the
dignity of women.” Is there not a
parallel here though to cases in
which the unborn baby apparently
runs a risk of being disabled during
its life? Who are we to decide who
gets to play eugenics? Canadian
Physicians for Life deduce, “It is
discrimination against those with
disabilities to selectively abort
fetuses simply because they will be
disabled, just as it is discriminatory
against women to abort female
fetuses simply because they are
female.”
These doctors would agree with
THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH
CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS.
OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Brussels:
St. Ambrose
Saturday
6:00 p.m.
17 Flora Street
Wingham:
Sacred Heart
Sunday
9:00 a.m.
220 Carling Terrace
Listowel:
St. Joseph
Sunday
11:00 a.m.
1025 Wallace Avenue N.
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, October 14
Brussels Business & Cultural Centre
at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Sunday School for children
4 to 11 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and
preschoolers during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173
You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship
Hwy. 4, Blyth 519-523-4743
www.blythcrc.ca
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
getlivingwater.org
Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water
Christian Fellowship
Evangelical Missionary Church
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
Wingham Bible Study - Tuesdays 7:30 pm
Youth Group - Tuesdays 7:30 pm (at CRC)
Women At The Well - 1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm
Chuck & Shannon Talbot
- Missionaries to the
Ga’dang
Sat., Oct. 13-11 am at MPP Thompson’s
office: De-fund Abortion Mini-rally
1-4 pm -Youth Group Pizza Card
Fundraiser Blitz
at 308 Blyth Rd.
(NEW LOCATION!
former Church of God Building)
October 14: Potluck!
250 Princess St., Brussels
519-887-6388
www.bmfchurch.com
Guests Welcome
Jesus Is Lord!
Brussels
Mennonite
Fellowship
Worship Service 10:00 am
Sunday School 11:15 am
Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m.
CORNER OF DINSLEY & MILL STREETS
MINISTER
Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div.
All Welcome
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.OFFICE: 519-523-4224
OCTOBER 14 ~ Open Doors 2012
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
Rev. Elwin Garland
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
519-887-9017
10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship
- Sunday School
119 John’s Ave., Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
Rev. Mark Royall, Sr. Pastor
9:25 a.m.
Sunday School for all ages
10:30 a.m
Morning Worship Service
UPCOMING
OCTOBER
EVENTS
Thursday, October 18th
EN-KATA AFRICAN CHOIR
7:30 pm
Saturday, October 20th
ABC LADIES FALL RENEWAL
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
From the Minister’s StudyRally to de-fund abortion in Blyth Saturday
BRUSSELS
Sandra Cable, Pastor
Church Office 519-887-6259
E-mail - beunitedchurch@gmail.com
SUNDAY SERVICE 11:00 am
Sunday School
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
United Church
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