Do citizens of the United States have a fundamental right to choose? With the recent leak of what could be a Supreme Court decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, this question has come back to the forefront of national discussion. Those who support abortion emphatically believe that the woman has the right to choose whether a baby’s life growing within her should be permitted to live or not. Their position is that this as a fundamental right which should be guaranteed. Both our president and some leaders of the senate have said that the abolishment of Roe v. Wade would mean that our next generation will lose their right to choose as they are stripped from them. However, have we ever considered where our “rights” begin and end, who grants those rights to us, or what limits may be placed upon those rights?

Let’s begin with the right to choose life. Have we been given that right? No. In fact, we don’t even have the power or ability to choose life. Sure, we understand the biological processes that make life happen. We have doctors that specialize in fertility and have drugs that promote conception, but many couples still try to have children without success. This is because we have no true control over the creation of life. God alone has that power and therefore God alone has the “right” to choose life. God is the one who implants life in the womb. He is the one that protects life and ensures good health. He is the one who limits the size of some families and abundantly populates the size of others. Yes, we do play a role in this process – but we are not the ones in control and no government can claim to give us a right that only God possesses. We are self-deceived to believe that we have a right or ability to choose life.

The real question of the abortion debate then becomes, “Do we have the right to choose death?” Now I recognize that we have the power to take a life. However, just because we have the ability to cause death, neither our government nor our God yields that right to us. Our government deals harshly with those who violate this. The intentional taking of a life carries grave consequences which could involve a lengthy prison sentence or even the death penalty. Even if the government did not care if we take the life of another, God makes it perfectly clear that, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13). Yet, taking the life of a baby in the womb is not condemned, but rather lauded as a fundamental right. God has not given us this right to choose death. He is the giver of life, mankind is made in His image, and He alone has the right to take life from us.

This leaves us with the only real choice we must make in this life - whether or not we will choose Jesus Christ. We don’t often see the abortion debate framed with this question, but this is the fundamental decision that is being made. Choosing to rely on Christ’s sovereignty means that when God chooses to place a life in the womb we accept it, nourish it, and give it every opportunity to thrive. Choosing Christ’s strength means that when a crisis comes and abortion seems like the only path forward, we can find the strength offered through Christ to bring us through. God has a purpose for every life that He creates and has a purpose for our lives as we are called to raise children to reach their fullest potential in Jesus Christ. Choosing forgiveness from Christ means that no matter what bad choices you have made in the past, He offers forgiveness and new life in Him. Come to Him by faith, repent of your sins, know that He loves you, and trust that He has a perfect plan for your own life and that of your children.

The abortion debate is not truly about a fundamental right to choose life or death, but whether or not we will choose Christ. Don’t try to escape the immediate consequences of sin in your life. Look to forgiveness and strength that is found only in Him. Remember Psalm 127:3 – “Children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”