Imposing Morality on Others

As expected, today the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that designated abortion as a constitutional right.  For those of us active in the antiabortion movement over the years, it is the culmination of many prolife campaigns, protests, and prayers.  I admit that I had at times given up hope that this day would ever come.  Now that it has, I feel a sense of relief and gratitude for the lives that will be saved, but also a modicum of dread over the backlash that is sure to follow.  Just this week I was contacted by a woman I’ve never met, who had read about my prolife stance and wanted to know why I saw abortion as an inherently biblical issue.  The first few passes of our exchange were professional and friendly, but following release the Boggs abortion decision I received a note filled with accusation, false assumption, and vitriol.  I fear it may be a harbinger of things to come.  Prolife people should be prepared to explain ourselves, even if our elucidations are not accepted.

“There Ought To Be a Law”

Some make the mistake of thinking that there should be a law against everything we believe is wrong.  For example, while I do not use profanity and don’t appreciate hearing it from others, I’m not interested in laws against it (and there have been many over the years) as free speech in a pluralistic society means I have to put up with your stuff.  The good news is, it means you have to put up with mine too, including my right to preach God’s Word and give the gospel.  So, if we do not seek to outlaw all instances of immorality, how do we decide when to do so?

Natural Law

Many answers to this question have been proffered for centuries, one of which is: We should hold people accountable for matters contained in natural law.  Natural law comes by general revelation (in creation and conscience) rather than special revelation (in the Bible) and so all have access to it and are to abide by it.  For example, one need not have a specific commandment to know that taking innocent life is wrong.  Abel’s murder at the hands of Cain was immoral centuries before it was codified in the Ten Commandments.  Likewise, heterosexuality is ensconced in nature, with marriage built on it for the stabilization of society for millennia, going back to the beginning.  It is certainly true that post-creation there have been many digressions from natural law, but disorder can only be identified in contrast to the order that preceded it.  The sanctity of human life is a principle known to all, and so is incumbent on all.

Who Are You?

Still, whenever one advocates for a law to regulate morality she is inevitably asked: “Who are you to tell me what I can do with my own body?”  One response is to ask who you have to be in a democratic society where people are free to elect those who will legislate according to the voter’s will.  But if pressed on the ‘my body’ issue, we might imagine the following (admittedly silly) scenario:

A motorist is pulled over by a police officer who tells her she ran a stop sign.  If the motorist asks why it’s against the law to drive through stop signs, the officer might say, “Someone might be killed.”  It probably would not help at that point for the driver to say, “I understand that you think killing is bad, but who are you to cram your morality down my throat?  So, the motorist asks: “So what am I to do next time I see one of those red, octagonal signs?”  The officer says, “You need to stop accelerating and apply the brake.”  But once again it probably would not help at that point for the driver to say, “Who are you to tell me what I can do with my own body?”

You see, laws are the expression of a society’s collective view of morality, and laws always place responsibilities and prohibitions on people who may not like them.  The question is not whether morality will be imposed, just whose morality it will be.  While we need not and should not seek to sanction all moral deviations, violations of natural law (at least) should be regulated.  We should see the ability to prohibit abortion as a good development.  We should also prepare ourselves to explain why.

I encourage you to listen to the 6/25/2022 edition of the That’s a Good Question podcast (see here) for an expanding discussion of this important topic.

Ken Brown is the pastor of Community Bible Church in Trenton, MI. We republish his article by permission.