When is a baby fully human?

OPINION:

Is it a baby, or isn’t it? The perceptions of many Americans may surprise you.

With Florida recently enacting a six-week abortion ban, it cracks open a decadeslong conversation about when a baby is considered fully human. After all, if a baby doesn’t look like the form of a human for a while, it can be easier to accept or even condone abortion.

At Stand for Life, we recently commissioned some in-depth research on the perceptions of American women of childbearing age about abortion. The research found that only 12% of them who consider themselves pro-choice said conception is when a baby is fully human; 22% of them said after six weeks, 21% after 12 weeks, and 45% said a baby is fully human only at birth. Contrast this with those who identify as pro-life: 88% said a baby is fully human at conception. Combined with those who identify as a mix of pro-life and pro-choice, the overall sample size revealed over 23% do not believe a baby is fully human until it is born.

It’s so important to me and our entire team at Stand for Life that as we talk about statistics and the issue of abortion, we always remember that we are talking about real people with real needs and fears. Our mission is to affirm and defend the dignity of every single human being because they are made in the image of God, so it must also include vulnerable women who are considering or have had an abortion. And it must include the people with whom we disagree about this and other issues.

While many do not view life as beginning at conception but rather at various periods of pregnancy, half of pregnant women call their preborn child a baby. There is a cultural, ethical and spiritual conflict in America over the true beginning of life.

As a Christian, I look to the Bible for my answer on human value and dignity. The Bible gives a compelling vision that there is no measuring stick to evaluate whose life is valuable and whose is not. It says that all human beings have worth and value simply by virtue of the truth that they have been made in the image of God. Yet only 79% of those who are pro-life agree that all humans are made in the image of God, 53% who identify as mixed on the issue of abortion believe it, while 13% of those who identify as pro-choice do.

Each life, be it that of a child with a disability, an older adult, a refugee or an unborn baby, has infinite value and is worthy of protection. This is why Stand for Life advocates for the vulnerable. If so many in America do not agree that human life begins at conception, then those in the womb are vulnerable.

This issue is complex, especially when we look at it holistically. But God has equipped us to deal with complex issues. The church, the body of Christ, is the answer to this crisis where vulnerable unborn children are not protected and where women are exploited. At Stand for Life, we are working to mobilize and equip the church to help change the myriad viewpoints of when life begins by ultimately changing our viewpoints of how the worth of a human being is determined.

We are doing this by taking us back to our theological foundation that every single human person is made in the image of God. We have created standforlife.app as a free resource for practical ways you can move right now from being passively to actively and holistically pro-life. It includes ways to volunteer remotely or in person and a free study that can be used individually or in groups.

We can influence and change the viewpoint on human dignity for the better. We must push back against a culture that teaches a flawed vision of the human person, one that assigns value to someone based upon their ability to contribute to society rather than the inherent value they possess because of the God who created them.

Stand for Life wants everyone to see that human dignity is worth protecting, from conception to natural death, because everyone bears the image of God, regardless of how a culture or a society defines their worth. Scripture provides clear instruction for how we should live out our lives and for how we should defend, affirm and protect vulnerable people because they are created in the image of God.

As believers in Christ, we should uphold a different standard when it comes to embracing the value of human life, so let’s intentionally shift the wrong thinking that permeates our culture. All lives are worthy of protection, whether it’s at six weeks or 90 years. It takes all of us, but it can be done.

• Elizabeth Graham is the CEO of Stand for Life, an organization that connects, unifies and mobilizes organizations, leaders, influencers and the public to affirm and protect the dignity of life.