While many think of "The State" as an impersonal behemoth of laws, buildings and bureaucracies, the Biblical Theist has a different take. For the Bible student, "The State" is just a collection of accountable individuals. Therefore, this Article addresses the "Governing Official" - not some impersonal, inanimate, "State." So, the first order of business will be to define the primary charge given by the Creator to all who govern. We will then consider the issue of abortion and examine the hopes, the fears - and my advice to - governing officials who are pro-choice advocates.

"O Governing Official ... Your Role and Responsibility"

Romans 13:1-4, concisely defines the role and responsibility of governing officials. "Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities .... For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil ..." (Ro 13:1-4).

Actually, the authority itself is "theou gar diakonos" - "of God ... a deacon, servant, or minister"! The Creator calls governing authority - His minister! When one takes on this power, that one is responsible - and accountable - to use that tool of God according to God! Does it seem like most governing officials know - or believe - this? And the ministry? Encourage and promote all law abiding citizens and prosecute those who violate righteous law. And governing officials are to properly define what is good or evil - according to God's definition. So, with this as our backdrop, let's consider the abortion issue.

The Hopes of Pro-Choice Governing Officials

1. The preborn is subhuman. It has no "rights" - as it is not a "person". It is just a "growth" inside a woman - simply a blob of protoplasm. So, while abortion kills tissue that is alive, this destruction is not the taking of "a life."

2. The Church/State separation governing construct is valid. So, even if there is a Creator with interest in the preborn - abortion is still a religious question outside of proper governmental intervention. After all, there is no consensus even among the religious as to when human life is considered "a person". Therefore, this question confronts even the most pious government official: "Do I have the right to impose my religious beliefs on my constituents?" So, the governing authority takes the perceived high road and delegates the fate of this living "thing" to the mother.

3. A woman's privacy trumps the life of the preborn. Bumper stickers that declare, "Keep the government out of my womb!" capsulate the position.

4. It is sound policy that private citizens be allowed to wield "the sword" against an unwanted preborn ... and kill it.

5. There is no Creator of the preborn - nor One to whom the governing official must account. Conception is a natural event - random - absent a Designer.

"We are not actually pro-abortion. We believe this matter is properly between a woman and her doctor. It is the woman's body and she has a privacy right. This private health issue is outside legitimate government jurisdiction." The Humanist governing official has placed all of his/her hopes on the validity of the positions above.

The Fears of Pro-Choice Governing Officials (At Least These Should Cause Fear)

1. The preborn is human. (But if there is no One to whom one must account - so what?)

2. A Church/State governmental construct does not release governing authorities from the Creator's moral expectations and requirements for governance.

3. Every preborn has been formed by the Creator. He has a temporal, and eternal, design and interest in each one. A mother's "right to privacy" does not trump this. He is Owner of all His work - preborn ... and mother.

4. Governing officials who kill the preborn, or allow the preborn to be killed, have erred in their responsibility with "the sword." They have either errantly wielded it (China), or erred by delegating it to private citizens (USA).

5. Governing officials hold accountable positions before the Creator. He has the willingness, and ability, to call each one before Him to account for his/her role in each act of abortion. The hapless embryos of stem cell endeavors will also be part of this ledger.

If any of these "fears" are true, then the errant governing official will be found as a lethal agent toward the most defenseless of the human family.

"Now therefore, O kings, act wisely; take warning, O judges (leaders) of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear .... Do homage to the Son (Kiss the Son), lest He become angry, and you be destroyed in your way ..." (Ps 2:10-12). Jesus is either The Ruler over all authorities - or He is not. (See Mt 28:18, Phil 2:9-11, Col 1:16, Rev 19:16, etc., etc., etc.).

The Biggest Error - That Pesky Life Element

All who support abortion rights are operating with a fatal assumption. They have adopted the opinion of the atheistic, evolutionary, naturalist - before science has proven the opinion is true! And what is that opinion? The "spark" that causes life (in a mixture of non living elements) is a natural occurrence. Life "arises" when the proper elements are present in the right environment. What a huge blunder. Until scientists can isolate, identify, replicate or otherwise discover the "life element," self interest should restrain one from rushing to kill innocent human life. The primary goal of an abortion procedure is to make the "life element" vanish. The living material is attacked until this goal is realized. What it is, how it got there, or where it goes - no one has a clue. Abortion activity only knows how to make it leave. So, ... what if this is the truth? "See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life ..."(Deut 32:39). What do you suppose might be in store for abortion rights advocates - before such a Creator?

What Should Individuals Who Serve in Government Do?

You should think of it this way. "If there is even the slightest chance this pro-life position is right, then I must stay away from any complicity in abortion - period. When my short life ends, I must make sure I have no culpability in this area before a Creator of life." Whether contraception that produces the death of a preborn, or the harvesting of embryonic stem cells, or giving "the sword" to abortionists ... I would take the greatest of care to ensure the Creator of those lives would have no case against me. Protests and pressures coming from all the pro-choice quarters (Democratic Party Platform, NOW, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, etc.) would fade into the background as I see my time before the Creator drawing ever more near. Let them impeach me, vote me out - or otherwise tar and feather me. And, if they must, let them kill me. "My friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into Hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!" (Lk 12:4,5). "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb 10:31). Like is so often the case in the Bible, this is a massive understatement. But passivity towards abortion, or even a total abstinence of participation in its activity, is insufficient. Governing officials are charged with the welfare of each person under his/her jurisdiction. God expects governing officials to shut down abortion.

"O Participating Governing Official ...."

Do not think your pro-choice voting block, lobbyists, or advisors will come to your aid on Judgment Day. While the Creator will be meting out their "reward" for their errant actions and influences, those same "friends" will be busy declaring you made your own choices - and those choices should not fall back on them. But, don't worry. The Creator will not allow their blame shifting to be successful. Just know this: Your "supporters" will abandon you - as they will be scrambling to save their own lives. Your fate will be the least of their concerns. In this matter, I am your friend. But you must listen now. I will not be able to help you then.