Guest Editorial: Who Is a Human Being? Responding to Alabama Supreme Court Ruling
By Jared Lincks
Who is a human being? This pressing question has seemingly plagued the world over its existence. Whether it is the Jews being treated as subhuman by Nazi Germany, black slavery or the issue of abortion today, this has long been one of our most important issues. Recently, the Alabama Supreme Court made headlines by saying that embryos developed by In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) are human beings by law.
IVF is the joining of a man’s sperm and a woman’s egg in a lab. This creates the embryo which can be placed in the woman’s womb for her to become pregnant. These embryos are often frozen and left in that condition indefinitely. Horrifically, genetic testing is performed to see if these embryos have any sort of medical issues. If they do, then they can simply be discarded on a whim.
This leads us to the recent decision made by the court. Their hearing of the case was prompted by the loss three couples suffered when their frozen embryos were destroyed through the interruption by someone with no authorization into the storage facility. Are these embryos considered to be human beings? The court answered with a resounding “yes.”
Alabama Supreme Court Justice James Mitchell wrote the majority opinion for the case saying, “Alabama law is really clear. A child is a child before and after birth.”Indeed, it is hard to put it any plainer. For us as Christians, multiple moral issues arise from this particular case. Modern technology allows for developments of which our minds could never have imagined decades ago. The most pressing issue of this ruling is the reality that unborn children were legally declared to be human.
Biblically speaking, that fact is unmistakably clear. Exodus 21:22-25 requires a man to suffer penalty for both the pregnant woman and her child if he wounds them. Both the life inside and outside the womb are sacred before God, which means there must be justice if either, or both, are harmed. The death penalty was instituted against murderers in Gen. 9:6 because we are made in God’s image. Born, unborn, male, female, regardless of any of these distinctions, or any others, all humanity is precious before the sight of our God. The duty and responsibility of our legal system is to protect all life by upholding the sanctity of life. Chief Justice Tom Parker made this clear in his opinion attached to the ruling, “even before birth, all human beings bear the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory.”
The question for us as believers remains, how do we respond to such headlines in our day? Many are losing their minds at the ruling decrying the restrictions on IVF procedures and the implications for abortion. Nevertheless, we must remain firmly gripped on applying the inspired Word of God to every realm of life. Our aim must be to abolish abortion in this land and see that every threat to human life is opposed according to the just standard of Scripture. Many companies and publications will be outraged at the impact on IVF because of the expenses they will incur to prevent the loss of life. Human dignity and the sacred gift of life before God does not have a dollar tag. Neither do women have any right given by their Creator to murder their children.
As Christians, we offer praise for a ruling that recognizes what we already know to be true — the sanctity of life. It seems in every generation the question, “Who is a human being?” must be answered. The great Christian politician William Wilberforce fought for the freedom of black men and women considered less than human by many of his day. We as Baptists have a history in this fight for human dignity and life. Charles Spurgeon said of Wilberforce: “I have been amused with what Wilberforce said the day after they passed the Act of Emancipation. He merrily said to a friend when it was all done, ‘Is there not something else we can abolish?’ That was said playfully, but it shows the spirit of the Church of God! She lives in conflict and victory — her mission is to destroy everything that is bad in the land!”
Indeed brethren, let us press on onward for the good cause of Christ Jesus our Lord!
— Jared Lincks is the pastor at Vesta Baptist Church, Charleston, Ark. He is also a graduate of Liberty University with a Master of Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He writes at the The Christian Manifesto (thechristianmanifesto.org) as well as hosts podcasts on Always Ready.
Sources
1 Supreme Court of Alabama, Lepage vs Mobile Infirmary Clinic, Inc. p. 3.
https://publicportal-api.alappeals.gov/courts/68f021c4-6a44-4735-9a76-5360b2e8af13/cms/case/343d203a-b13d-463a-8176-c46e3ae4f695/docketentrydocuments/e3d95592-3cbe-4384-afa6-063d4595aa1d
2 Ikemoto, Lisa C. Op-Ed: How IVF could be derailed by abortion restrictions. LA Times (2022).
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-07-07/ivf-roe-vs-wade-abortion
3 Mohler, Albert. A Huge Affirmation of Human Dignity: Alabama Supreme Court Rules That Frozen Human Embryos Are Children. (2024). https://albertmohler.com/2024/02/20/briefing-2-20-24
4 Supreme Court of Alabama, p. 37.
5 Spurgeon, Charles H. The Best War Cry. (1883)
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons29.xii.html
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