There’s just no argument: Scripture clearly and repeatedly teaches that we are uniquely created in God’s image, and this begins physically at the point of conception, spiritually before the foundation of the world.
As David said to God, “It was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalms 139:13). He didn’t say, “You knit the cells together that would eventually become me.” David knew he was a full person from conception, a person who was even guilty of sin: “I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. (Psalms 51:5).
He wasn’t a blastocyst, or an embryo, or a fetus. He was a person who could be charged under God’s law, but also could be chosen through God’s grace: “He chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One” (Ephesians 1:4-6).
If we carry this much spiritual weight before we’re even born, then unborn babies must be defended just the same as any other person on the planet. That’s why I was overjoyed to hear about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade. Even if the decision leads to just one more baby being born who would have been aborted, that’s one more person who can potentially hear the gospel and receive the life-to-the-full that Jesus offers.
Which means the Supreme Court decision also comes with a much bigger burden for Christians to carry.
We should be first in line to offer financial, physical, and emotional support to single moms and impoverished families who will struggle to raise their kids.
We should be eager to bring foster kids in to our families, and ready to permanently adopt if that’s the best course of action.
We should sacrifice our time, talents, and treasure to display the gospel and proclaim the gospel to needy kids and families. As Jesus said, “Make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9).
If you’d like to investigate foster care and adoption more, I highly recommend Adopted for Life by Russell Moore and Now That They Are Yours by Brian Borgman.