SB6, "The Arkansas Unborn Child Protection Act", passed through the Senate Monday on a vote of 27-7. Proponents and opponents alike claim that the bill would end abortion outright in the state of Arkansas.
If you are pro-life, you are probably asking yourself, "Why would a movement whose sole purpose is to abolish abortion in the state of Arkansas not support a bill that supposedly does just that?" After reading this article, you will have an understanding of why the bill falls short of the biblical standard of justice, and is ultimately dependent on a strategy that has failed for half a century.
Some aspects of SB6 possess merit. The bill calls for the end of abortion from the instant of fertilization. Previous pro-life bills compromised on the biblical principle that life begins at conception, and those bills accepted that some babies which did not achieve a particular age of development or physiological phenomenon (such as a heart beat) would not be protected for the sake of "saving some". Also, SB6 makes no exceptions for rape- or incest-conceived children, which has invariably been included in Arkansas abortion bills in the past. However, SB6 still contains moral inconsistencies, and ultimately does not establish equal protection.
The cause of abolition is built on a principled, biblical foundation, not pragmatism. When considering biblical obedience, the ends do not justify the means. The bible states that we are not to do evil (compromise or settle for less than God’s imperatives) that good may come. All Arkansans, legislators included, have a moral obligation to do what is right and stand like a tree planted by the River of Truth, regardless of what is deemed acceptable or unacceptable by society. Only TRUTH matters. Since it is TRUE that abortion is murder, since it is TRUE that God demands fair scales and equal measures, since it is TRUE that we have an obligation to obey God and esteem Him above the Supreme Court, then there remains one inescapable TRUTH: a bill of abolition that is immediate and uncompromising is the only remedy to abortion in Arkansas.
There are two key elements that a true bill of abolition must contain. A careful and prayerful evaluation of SB6, we hope you agree, finds that it falls short:
Putting our faith in the entity that sanctioned the murder of 62 million children has failed to right this national shame for 48 years. Expecting the same body of justices to end the bloodshed is not only wrong, it is just bad strategy.
Senator Rapert himself expressed disappointment in a different Court decision involving names of parents on birth certificates. On December 15, 2020, he wrote "Just when I had great hope that the new Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court would restore sanity to the federal judiciary - they reject science and truth in exchange for liberal politics." We heartily agree. But since the Court is "reject[ing] science and truth", there is no reason to expect a more favorable response to SB6.
Roe v. Wade is not law. The states have simply chosen to comply. The Supreme Court has no constitutional authority to create law or impose immoral opinions upon the states. Therefore, the states and the magistrates within them are duty bound to follow the Constitution of the United States, not an activist court that disregards both God’s moral Law and the law of the land. The Supreme Court has perpetuated tyranny upon the states, and we, the state of Arkansas, have allowed it to happen. We can no longer continue to appease tyrants and expect to end tyranny. We must defy them. The word of God tells us in Acts 5:29 that when the laws of men come in conflict with the laws of God, "We must obey God rather than men."
It is not our desire to see this response to SB6 cause division. In fact, we consider many sponsors of the bill to be friends and allies. It is our hope that this response would rally the church around the objective truth of God’s Word and propel us to take a stand as the state of Arkansas. There must be a paradigm shift among our churches and leaders if we are to end abortion in this state. We will only end this grave injustice if we are willing to proceed without fear of man or compromise on God’s standard.
Jesus is King, whenever man's corrupt laws come into conflict with His divine Law, His Commandments are to be obeyed
Abortion is sin, and the natural outcome of a culture of sin, sex, and death.
The Church is obligated by both duty and compassion to rise up and interpose for the helpless and the oppressed.