I must admit it was a rollercoaster of emotions for me when I heard that the Supreme Court had overturned the Roe v Wade decision of 1973.
Firstly, I was shocked as I thought this was never going to happen. I then rejoiced because it meant lives were going to be saved. But then, thirdly, this rejoicing turned to sadness, not because I didn't support the decision but because I knew things were going to get ugly.
That's because whichever way you look at this, there are women who are going to choose to get an abortion whether it's legal or not if they feel there is no other option for them.
But mightn't there be some people out there with the right motives? There might be parents out there who are wrestling with the news that their precious baby has a severe congenital defect destined at best to live a year in great agony. Wouldn't abortion in that case be the kindest thing to do?
But when we take God out of our decisions, we don't see any chance of restoration. Yet God's will is to save and any decision about ending a life not yet born goes against His will at conception.
So when we see protests against a judicial decision which would merely see the debate around the issue of life move closer to the people (their elected state representatives), we are seeing not only the absence of God but also lawlessness, with calls circulating to defy the US Supreme Court decision.
As the Supreme Court justices rightly observe, the original decision in 1973 was wrong because there was never a right to abortion in the US Constitution. It was only imagined to suit a political agenda while not understanding the text in its purest form.
It also made any protections surrounding the unborn unconstitutional across all 50 states. So if, for example, a state wanted to ban the possibility of women aborting a baby girl because they only want a boy, that sort of protection would be unconstitutional because it would supposedly go against a woman's entitlement to have complete control over her body.
But abortion goes against God's foundational law not to murder. It reflects a spirit of lawlessness and even a spirit of Baal where our young are sacrificed on the altar of convenience and self-preference. There is a murderous spirit at work that only values life if it is convenient while wanting to destroy everything that's inconvenient as opposed to wanting to preserve.
We know that this is not the way of Christ. Christ came so that we "might have life and life abundantly" (John 10:10). Christ came so that we might live and not die. Abortion is the absolute opposite of Christ.
However there are some silver linings.
There have been calls from pro-abortion women calling for a nationwide sex strike in retaliation for the overturning of Roe v Wade.
Hallelujah! Roe v Wade would not even be needed if people only practised sex within the confines of marriage.
Could this even lead to greater discussion in how children are taught regarding their sexual health?
Will people start to learn about their responsibilities when it comes to sexual relationships?
Will people start to realise that there are real and serious consequences to sexual relationships that occur outside of marriage?
If this decision encourages a little self-control and self-reflection, then that can only be a good thing.
There is also a silver lining for the Church in this.
While we might rejoice that perhaps it will be harder to end the life of those who bear the image of God, we also need compassion to awaken inside the Church.
The care for mums, dads and babies must be on a level greater than we have seen before.
For this to happen, the Church must rise to the forefront to demonstrate the love of Christ, which involves overcoming evil with good.
There may be a revelation of the spirit of murder which fuels the fires of abortion. But may the beauty of life prevail against the ugly spirit of death.
