Abortion: A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue (Book Review, part 3)

Here is the conclusion of my review of Dr. Sproul's book.  If you missed the first two parts, they are here-

  Part 1
  Part 2

Part Three is titled, A compassionate response and strategy.

Ch 11- 'Is Abortion the Unpardonable Sin?'- This is a short but effective chapter. Sproul starts with David and explains how God deals with sin in our lives. He leaves no uncertainty about abortion being a forgivable sin. He then explains clearly how to apprehend that forgiveness.

Ch 12- 'A Pro-Life Strategy'- Sproul attacks the issue of what to do in this chapter. He uses comparisons between Wilberforce's work against slavery in England two hundred years ago with our work against abortion today.  On page 144, he says, "On one occasion, Lord Melbourne stated, 'Things have come to a pretty pass when religion is allowed to invade public life.' Doesn’t that sound like today’s media quotes in the United States?" 

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Sproul says we should speak up where appropriate, target pro-choice (not pro-abortion...see chapter 9 for the difference), target (liberal) churches that support abortion, target the medical community (which has been done effectively already), target political officials, and target parents and families.  The strategy for each of these groups varies, but is not complex, and he gives short descriptions of each.

He ends with the idea that the struggle must continue until the time when, "...no human child is destroyed under the sanction of law." (p. 153)

I heartily agree.

There are two appendices included in the book:  (A) Testimony on the Beginning of Human Life, and (B) Pro-Life Resources. 

The testimony section is fascinating.  It is the recorded testimony of a geneticist at a trial about a dispute involving frozen human embryos.  Just this testimony is worth the price of the book.  I wonder why this hasn't made wider rounds?

The second appendix has contact information, including URLs, for various pro-life organizations.

There are summaries and discussion questions at the end of each chapter for group or personal study use.  There is a bibliography, not exhaustive but very good, and a useful index.

I suppose the best summary of the whole thing, and the best way to end the discussion might be a question Dr. Sproul asks in page 115-

"Do we have the moral right to choose what is morally wrong?"

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Here's the link to the book on Ligonier's website-

   http://www.ligonier.org/store/abortion-hardcover/

Portions used in this review were used by permission, per email on December 6, 2010, from D. Finnamore.

This book's copyright information: © 2010 by R.C. Sproul, Published by Reformation Trust Publishing. All Rights Reserved.