While I have always been an advocate of a woman's rights to choose what happens to her body given the often severe consequences for a single woman. However, I believe that it is the least bad decision and would struggle to claim that it is morally justifiable.

Yuyutsu you make logical points and we share a love of God's greatest gift free will. The trouble is the act of killing a child in the womb is in a unique category because there are 3 people and God in this situation The biological mother the biological father and the babe in the womb and the Creator of all things. We have societal laws that protect the innocent and vulnerable from being killed hurt or maimed by others We even extend those rights and protections to other species via animal protection laws Yet throughout the world there has been the strange and cruel stripping away of those rights from the smallest and most vulnerable members of our species. By giving women the freedom to abort a baby you have robbed another person of their right to live.That person has committed no crime and yet their life is given no protection whatsoever.God does not intervene to stop abortion but we as a society can protect that babe in the womb Society has instead abandoned babe and mother and said Go ahead Do it We will not punish anyone who helps you kill your child There is neither love nor compassion in such a society The mother is encouraged to go against the deep and ingrained impulse of her own biological nature which is to nurture and protect the biological father is denied any rights in regard to the child and people make money out of the killing of the child There has even been the new low of some abortionist trading in harvesting the babies organs for transplant use. I think Foxy is a caring and thoughtful person who is trying to be fair and compassionate to women and that is good However society is not. Real compassion would be to say we as a society will care for all women expecting a baby regardless of how the babe was conceived.

Dear Truth Seeker,

The theological matters touched on by the subject of abortion are pretty complex and would require deep deliberation, but as I now live in a Christian country and am aware of the sensitivity of Christians around this topic, I so far tried to avoid it, for anyone who believes that one gets only one shot at life must come to certain conclusions about life's value.

I will therefore limit my response to just one point that you raised: Rights.

Since you mentioned "rights and protections" in one breath, I must clarify that I consider these two to be completely separate and here only address "rights", not "protections".

"Rights" are not God-given, but are completely man-made secular creations. A man of faith should have nothing to do with them because we are assured that God will give each of us exactly what we deserve, no more and no less, and that no human effort can change that either way.

Undoubtedly, one must obey their divine calling.
But we perform our calling for the single purpose of purifying our minds, not in order to achieve particular results in the world.

How can we tell the difference?

A servant of God will only think humbly: "I have done my duty".

Suppose one becomes aware that they have a duty to save a baby or a slave and proceed to perform their duty in the service of God, then neither will they be elated if they succeed, nor will they become angry should they fail - that's the test!

Yuyutsu – I believe that God gave humans free will but I do not believe that means that all choices we make are therefore equally valid and must be respected. If someone comes across a situation where a person is being raped I believe we must not respect the rapist’s “choice” but must intervene to help the victim. This is not to make me wiser than God but to obey God’s command to love my neighbour.

Similarly, if one recognises the child in the womb as one’s neighbour then it is right and necessary to advocate on their behalf if they are at risk of being killed by abortion

we are assured that God will give each of us exactly what we deserve, no more and no less
I am in total agreement and respect your thoughtful response However re rights and protection being separate I am not so sure For me a child has a right to expect protection They are vulnerable and unable to protect themselves initially. We are all alive and posting here because our right as a child allowed to come into existence was not robbed from us . Thank you for your courteous and considered reflection on the issue I will be making no further comments on this thread as I have to be careful of fatigue levels. My best wishes to all those who have commented on this thread

Dear JP,

If you feel the calling of God to prevent a rape or to advocate to preserve a baby's life, then of course so you must.

Yet Foxy did not receive that calling - not everyone does.

How can you tell whether you act purely in the service of God?
By using the above test: if you are content just with the fact that you tried your best to help and do God's work, then you are indeed acting in the service of God.

But if you feel elated when your task succeeds or angry when it fails, then some selfish motive has crept into your actions.

Suppose for example (and I am not hinting in any way this to be in your case), you are motivated by wishing to be seen as a hero in the eyes of society - then that being the case, you were not indeed motivated by love of your neighbour, even if the whole world believes that you are.

Or if you end up being angry at the rapist or the abortionist, then where is your love for them? Are they not also your neighbours?

In my view, it is better to not serve at all than to attempt to serve God without humility. It is not the external effect which God seeks when instructing you to act (had God wanted, then He could prevent the rape or murder Himself without your help). Rather, your instructions are God's graceful gift to you, in order that your obedient act(s) can purify your own mind and heart. Different people, at different times, receive different gifts and only God knows what gift one need most at each moment.