OceanSide church of Christ

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ABORTION:  THE HORRIFIC SLAYING OF INFANTS

Victor M. Eskew

            “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in the coasts of Bethlehem, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men” (Matt. 2:16).  It is easy to read this verse and pass on with little or no feeling about the horrific slaying of the infants in and aroundBethlehem in the days of Herod.  We need to pause and think of the pain inflicted by the Roman soldiers upon those helpless children.  How were those little ones slain?  Were they stabbed?  Were they hacked to pieces?  Were they beheaded?  Were they smothered?  Were they choked?  Were their little necks broken?  Whatever the means, it was cruel and brutal.  “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachael weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not” (Matt. 2:18).

            Herod’s actions of two thousand years ago cause us to think of him as an evil and wicked man and rightfully so!  It takes a very cold heart to brutally snuff out the life of innocent little children.  Yet, millions of innocent lives are brought to a cruel end in our present society and very little is said.  The murder of small children is performed hundreds of times each day in abortion clinics throughout our land.  We know this is happening, but we seem to have little, if any, feelings about these tragic deaths.  Perhaps we need to pause and ask ourselves:  “How are these children being killed?”

            There are eleven common methods used to perform abortions in medical clinics.  The following is a list of these methods:

1.                Suction Aspiration

2.                Menstrual Extraction

3.                Dilation and Curettage (D&C)

4.                Dilation and Evacuation (D&E)

5.                Saline Abortion

6.                Urea Abortion

7.               Prostaglandin Abortion

8.               Hysterotomy

9.                Hysterectomy

10.            Abortion Pill (RU-486)

11.             Partial Birth Abortion (D&X)

Let’s examine the techniques of three of these abortion methods.

Suction Aspiration:  This is the most common method of abortion during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.  General or local anesthesia is given to the mother and her cervix is dila-ted.  A suction curette (hollow tube with a knife-edge tip) is inserted into the womb.  This instrument is then connected to a vacuum machine by a transparent tube.  The vacuum suc-tion, 29 times more powerful than a household vacuum cleaner tears the unborn child into pieces which are sucked out through the tube into a bottle and discarded.

Saline Abortion:  “Salt-poisoning” or the saline method is used after the sixteenth week of pregnancy.  A needle is inserted through the abdominal wall, through the uterine wall and into the amniotic sac.  Some of the amniotic fluid is removed and replaced with a concentrated salt solution.  The unborn child breaths in and swallows the salt and is poisoned by it.  The mother goes into labor and a dead baby is delivered 24 to 48 hours later.

Partial Birth Abortion (D&X):  D&X stands for “Dilation and Extraction.”  This partial birth method of abortion is used when the fetus is 26 weeks of age or older.  After dilating the cervix for two days, the abortionist uses ultrasound to locate the fetus’ legs.  One leg is pulled into the vagina with forceps, then the other leg and torso are delivered by hand.  The head of the fetus remains in the uterus.  Using blunt-tipped surgical scissors in a closed position, the abortionist pierces the fetus’ head at the base of the skull, and then opens the scissors to enlarge the hole.  A suction catheter is inserted into the womb and the skull contents are vacuumed out.  The corpse is then pulled completely from the mother’s womb.

Gruesome and horrific are hardly appropriate words to describe the processes of abortion.  However, over 1.2 million abortions are performed in the United States annually.

            The Bible proclaims that God hates the shedding of innocent blood (Prov. 6:16-19).  Such catastrophic waste of human life grieves the heart of Jehovah.  It should grieve the people of God as well.  We should be doing all that we can to protect human life.  Please note:  When the right to life is abandoned in a nation, no other rights really matter.