The most pressing question at the center of the abortion debate

OPINION:

A version of this story appeared in the Higher Ground newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive Higher Ground delivered directly to your inbox each Sunday.

The toppling of Roe v. Wade has ignited a war replete with multitudes of new battlegrounds, perpetually sinister plotlines and a seething penchant for paving deleterious new pathways toward debaucherous self-worship.

Abortion has always been a progressive idol, but the most recent obsession with the procedure after the Supreme Court’s dismantling of federalized abortion rights has cemented its almost sacramental placement in the liberal ethos.

Meanwhile, the pro-life movement continues to seek ways to preserve and protect the most vulnerable, as horrific, anti-life rhetoric takes on monstrous new forms. One movement seeks the preservation of two lives while the other excuses — or facilitates — the destruction of innocents.

These polar divergent positions aside, there’s a pressing question at the center of the tear-inducing debate that must be comprehended, confronted and honestly answered.

And this query doesn’t surround laws, courts, caps or restrictions; rather, it’s a moral and ethical curiosity — a question with an answer sure to tear off our masks and fully expose each of our hearts. Ultimately, it’s an inquiry that says a great deal about our level of humanity, our posture toward compassion and how deeply we understand our responsibility to the Creator.

We must each confront the following: Are we more grieved by the flippant taking of unborn human life or by restrictions impeding that so-called right? That is to say: Do we most revere the right to abortion — or the right to life?

One posture will always outweigh the other, with our public positions on the matter offering a lens into the state of our souls. Individually, our handling of abortion is a litmus test exposing what we truly believe about life, death and the Almighty. Collectively, our handling of the issue says a great deal about our nation’s moral standing.

From a theological position, the issue has long been settled. Jeremiah 1:4-5 proclaims God knew us before we were born and formed us in the womb. And Psalm 139:13 adds a stunning corroborative proclamation: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

These verses, among other references, raise additional questions: Do we believe God holds the keys to human existence and flourishing, and do we hold reverence for His power or design? Or do we insist on being the arbiters of our own “truth,” seeing ourselves as dystopian mini-gods with unfettered power to terminate the Lord’s creation?

Not everyone abides by these theological realities, of course. And this is usually the point in the conversation when pro-choice enthusiasts begin to ignore such realities and chant some form of, “But it’s a woman’s right,” “My body, my choice,” or “The government has no right to make these decisions.”

Yet these proclamations are distractions from the central question of what most grieves you. Even if you’re confused as to where you stand, have no religious bent, or sympathize with the notion that the government shouldn’t make abortive decisions, voicing lament over the killing of innocents should be easy; it’s a low bar, to be honest.

Sadly, the remarkable silence among many pro-choicers is telling. Fetal heartbeats begin just weeks after conception, exhibiting just one of the undeniable realities pointing to personhood. But many glaze past this biological reality and are happy to shout, hold marches and bolster other forms of pro-choice messaging — all in hopes of drowning out reality.

They so create a fetish over the “right” to abortion that they fail to bring themselves to think introspectively about the real issues at play: if and when they believe abortion should be capped, the moment life truly begins, and how and why they’re OK with states that permit unfettered abortion access throughout the entirety of a pregnancy.

Those advocating abortion — or the right to it — should find it within their souls to, at the very least, mourn the loss of life and recognize the unborn as more than mere clumps of cells. But the obsessive clinging to this so-called right has blinded them to goodness and truth.

Years ago, those who heralded the “safe, legal and rare” mantra recognized the need to minimize the procedure and operate with at least a semblance of care. But today’s progressive movement has worked diligently to squelch this position, treating unborn lives as unworthy of respect or dignity — a plainly immoral position flying in the face of all that is good and holy.

You can’t purport to defend innocence while advocating its annihilation — and it’s impossible to logically conclude that a beating heart isn’t a primary component of a living, developing human. At the very least, let’s stop denying the obvious and using benign language to shield the truth.

Ultimately, the majority of your sympathies can land in only one camp: with the unborn or with the right to end them. So, where do you stand?

• Billy Hallowell is a digital TV host and interviewer for Faithwire and CBN News and the co-host of CBN’s “Quick Start Podcast.” Mr. Hallowell is the author of four books.