HELP AFTER ABORTION
Chapter 14
Where Is My Baby Now?
"I have assurance that Jesus is caring for my baby and has been all along."
Phyllis Lefort
I want to believe my baby is in heaven. Every post-abortion woman I have ever spoken with believes her baby is in heaven. Is there any biblical support for our belief?
As I've struggled with the destiny of aborted babies, I knew I would eventually be called upon to speak or write on this most important issue. This is that time and this is what I believe.
What did they do with my baby?
Many women have written with concerns over the physical disposal of their babies. Wondering if the baby was used for "spare parts" or research troubles some women. My own aborted baby was disposed of like a piece of garbage. I know, because I watched the nurse carry his tiny body to the disposal, and I listened as they flushed him down. That was harder to live through than I could ever put into words. But since that time many years ago, I have come to realize an important fact. It does not matter what happened to the physical remains of your baby. God, who created the world and all that is in it, can easily "put back together" a body torn apart by human hands. What matters is what happened to his soul - that part which lives on after the physical body dies.
Does God recognize the unborn baby as a person?
In order for us to better understand God's view of the unborn, it will help to look at His words:
God knew us prior to birth:
For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my substance; And in Thy book they are written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, I, the Lord, and the maker of all things. (Isaiah 44:24a)
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. (Jeremiah 1:5a)
Normal human actions occur in the womb:
In the womb he [Jacob] took his brother [Esau] by the heel. (Hosea 12:3a)
And it came about that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb. (Luke 1:41a, 44)
God places a high value on the life of the tiny person you carried in your womb. Unique and created in God's own image, he was of inestimable value to God. Because God sees the end from the beginning, God saw your baby as a person before he was formed.
God refers to unborn babies and born children with the same word, the term brephos in the Greek. Children are so highly valued by Christ that He told his disciples not to hinder their coming to Him. Yes, God recognizes the unborn as human beings.
Does an unborn baby have a soul?
Philosophers and theologians have speculated through the ages on the soul and its origin (ensoulment) - before conception, at conception, at birth, or somewhere in between. I believe ensoulment occurs at conception.
When God first formed Adam's body, God breathed into him and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Our soul is as much a part of us as our body. Our body permits us to function on this earth, to relate to other people and things. Our soul permits us to relate to God. It lives on after our body dies. Without a soul a human being is dead (James 2:26).[1] Therefore, if an unborn human baby did not have a soul, it would not be alive. We know that the unborn do live. God declares it. We have seen it. Since human life exists in the womb, then he has a soul from the moment he comes into existence - at conception. Yes, your baby, no matter how small, has a soul.
Is my aborted baby in heaven?
Abortion ends God's plan for the baby's life on earth. We know the body is disposed of, but what happens to his soul? This opens the door to some sobering thoughts. If all babies go to heaven, why not abort all babies to insure they spend eternity with God? The answer is that the end never justifies the means. More importantly, God determines the length of one's life. If only some go to heaven, it behooves us to think carefully before conceiving children or aborting them, for we may have sentenced a human being to hell.
As I consider this question, John 3:3-7 stands out clearly in my mind. This passage tells us that a person must be born again - once from the mother and once from the Holy Spirit. Romans 3:23 tells us all people are sinners. David states his mother conceived him in sin (Psalm 51:5).[2] If you have ever seen a small child throw a temper tantrum, you can easily believe the truth of this! You and I must choose to receive Christ to be forgiven our sins, but an unborn baby has never chosen to sin. Not only that, but he was never born a first time and so could not choose to be "born again"!
Deuteronomy 1:39 states, "Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there [the promised land], and I will give it to them, and they shall possess it." Although this passage refers to Israel inheriting the promised land, the implication is clear: children were not held responsible for the sin of their parents. Some people apply this passage to aborted babies, believing it indicates that God will not hold aborted babies responsible for their mothers' sin of abortion.
Other passages confirm God's faithfulness to His children:
For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up. (Psalm 27:10)
Can a nursing woman forget her nursing child, and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I [God] will not forget you. (Isaiah 49:15)
To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, That man who is of the earth may cause terror no more. (Psalm 10:18)
When we aborted our babies, we relinquished the opportunity to know whether our child would come to trust Christ as his personal Savior. Although the Bible does not come out and say in so many words "aborted babies are in heaven," we can believe with assurance that God is in control and has done what is right.
Will I ever see my baby again?
The classic passage which infers dead babies are with the Lord and we will one day join them is found in 2 Samuel 12:23b. David says at the death of his baby, "I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." The inference is clear - one day David expected to see his child.
Some things are hard to understand and/or accept. God's idea of what is "fair" is based on His infinite and all-knowing mind. Our ideas of what is fair are limited to our understanding of what happens to us and to those around us. God is merciful and just. What He chooses to do is acceptable to me.
Worrying is wrong because we don't know. Nothing we can do now will alter or clarify our hope. Yet, it is right to hope because we don't know. Hebrews 11:1 tells us faith is the substance of things hoped for.[3] Read the words of women who are secure in the hope of one day reuniting with their babies:
"Their bodies were probably disposed of, like trash. But their souls are with their Creator. I see now that God twice offered me the most precious and valuable gift He ever made. Instead of being thankful and appreciative, I took His gifts and ruined them; but such is His mercy and love, that I know I need not fear His rebuke for my ingratitude - I believe He and they, my first two babies, will be waiting to welcome me into heaven when my life on earth ends." (Regina)
"I believe that child is in heaven with the Lord; that he is whole and happy. I believe that He would want me to be happy and that I will meet him someday - we will be reunited. 'Let the children come to me, do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven is made up of such as these.' I had to release him to the Father's care." (Laura)
We only torture ourselves by dwelling on the past and worrying about the future. To function normally, we must concentrate on the present. I do not worry about my baby - or about seeing him again - he is in God's hands now. I do think of seeing Jesus. I concentrate not on seeing my baby, but on one day seeing God who has forgiven me. I long to see Jesus.
Will we recognize them in heaven?
First Corinthians 15:35-56 tells us we will receive a new and wonderfully different body at the resurrection. Glorified. Incorruptible. Imperishable. Powerful. The old body was human in appearance and actions. The new body will be like Christ - perfect in every way. Whether the body will be in the form of a baby or an adult, no one knows. Jesus himself was not instantly recognized following His resurrection. But once He revealed His identity, people recognized Him as the one they had loved and lost and had now regained.
An anonymous woman penned this poem to express her conviction:
Where Is My Baby?
Sitting here by the ocean
I reflect upon my abortion
The child that once
Could have laughed and sang
Won't ever be here again.
My arms ache to hold her
The babe so sweet
Hold her all morning
Hold her all week.
My arms are now empty
Along with my heart
When I think of the time
And moments apart
I wonder how close
The two of us
Would have been
Mother, baby,
Child and friend
I love you my darling
Tho this moment in time
I can't see or talk to you
Or say you are mine
When I reflect upon it all
I think of my baby cuddly and small
I know my child is with the Lord
Held in the arms of the Savior I adore
Who I ask you, could ask for more?
Someday I'll see my child so sweet
And then everything will be complete.
[1] No scriptural support exists for the concept that souls exist prior to conception.
[2] This refers not to his mother sinning during the act of conception, but to the fact that David was in a state of sin from conception.
[3] "Hope" in this context refers to the secure belief that something will happen, coupled with a longing for it to happen.
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