The Africa Review in Five highlights African current affairs from a Christian perspective. Listen and subscribe through Youtube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Today is Friday, August 25^th, A.D. 2023. This is The Africa Review in Five, written by Paul Schlehlein and presented by Yamikani Katunga.

Sorry Benin, Legalizing Abortion Won’t Make Things Safer

A recent article in the Guardian tells of a gynaecologist in Benin and the journey that led her to push for abortion rights in her country. As the story goes, a young pregnant lady had come to her for the abortion of her unwanted baby. At the time, most abortions were illegal in the country of Benin, so the young gynaecologist urged the girl to keep the baby. 

Some days later the doctor saw the young girl again and discovered that she had performed a secret abortion, most likely through pills or bleach or some other “unimaginable and inhumane method”. Not only was the baby dead. The mother was near death herself. 

This tragedy was supposed to illustrate why reform to abortion laws in Benin was so crucial. Eventually, this doctor became the minister of social affairs in Benin and in 2021 became instrumental in convincing her political colleagues to legalize abortion. Benin joined other African countries like South Africa, Zambia, and Mozambique that had already embraced liberal abortion policies. 

Benin’s argument was simple. Illegal abortions are unsafe (for the mother, that is. No abortion is ever safe for the baby). Legalizing abortion will make things safer for the mothers that want to get on with their lives hands free. 

Christians must know how to read between the lines of such arguments and be ready with biblical answers for such dilemmas. 

Here are three reasons this kind of argument is wrong. First, the same logic would be absurd in other scenarios. Consider these examples. “Illegal drugs have led to innumerable murders, so the solution is legalizing drugs.” Or, “Illegal prostitution has led to innumerable crimes, so the solution is legalizing prostitution.” Or, “Illegal shoplifting has led to violent shootouts, so the solution is legalizing shoplifting.” These arguments, of course, are absurd. But this is exactly the logic that Benin officials are using when they say. “Illegal abortions have led to the physical harm or deaths of many mothers, so the solution is to legalize abortion.” 

Second, contrary to what abortionists want you to believe, legalized abortion does cause tremendous physical damage to the mother. There are endless medical reports that show this.  Abortions may bring a plethora of physical maladies to the mother, such as increased risk for cervical cancer, breast cancer, barrenness, preterm births, maternal suicide and ectopic pregnancies.

Women that have abortions also increase the odds of malformations in later children, such as low birth weights, premature births and cerebral palsy. Pro-abortionists almost never tell the mothers these things. 

Finally, legalized abortion causes emotional turmoil as well. Abortionists tell women that killing the baby will be simple, quick and painless. The mother can return to work the next day like nothing happened. The surgery is no different than a dentist removing a tooth. 

But no one has ever endured psychological trauma over a tooth ache. But many mothers that have killed their child in the womb have become emotional wrecks. Why? The answer is one word: guilt. 

Scripture tells us about the emotional despair that often follows after sin. Lamentations 1:20 says: “Look, O Lord, for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious.”

Studies have shown that abortion brings innumerable phsycological complications, such as traumatic stress syndrome, drug abuse, extramarital affairs and eating, sleeping and relationship disorders. This should not surprise us. Scripture tells us that guilt often produces feelings of shame. Ezra 9:6 says: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.”

Here’s the irony. The Guardian article presents legalized abortions in Benin as emotionally safe for mothers. Yet in the end, the article contradicts itself. The conclusion gives the testimony of a girl who performed a legal abortion but was devastated about her choice. She said: “The abortion has touched me. I still feel bad. I’ve asked God to forgive me. I will never do this again. If I could go back in time, I would keep the baby.” Even she knew that legalized abortions cannot rewrite what God has written on the hearts of all his creatures. 

In sum, abortion (legalized or not) is never safe. It’s not safe for the baby in the womb, nor is it safe physically or emotionally for the mother. 

The good news is that Jesus loves sinners and forgives our iniquities, including the sin of abortion, if only we will repent of our wrongdoing. Jesus will even cleanse our guilty consciences. Hang on to verses like 1 John 1:9 and then encourage other mothers to keep their babies. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And that’s it for The Africa Review in Five on this Friday, August 25^th in the year of our Lord 2023. Subscribe to the Missionary Minds podcast on Spotify or Apple podcasts. I’m Yamikani Katunga. Be not weary in well-doing.