300,000 abortions in one year? Silence is no longer an option for Christians

There is no disputing that the latest abortion statistics make for desperately grim reading.

Official figures from the Department of Health and Social Care reveal there were 278,740 abortions in England and Wales in 2023. This includes 3,205 disability-selective abortions and 300 late-term abortions for babies with disabilities at 24 weeks and over. 735 babies with Down’s syndrome were aborted.

If you combine these figures with data from Scotland, it means that in 2023, across England, Wales and Scotland, nearly 300,000 abortions were carried out - more than a quarter of a million lives lost.

It cannot be said enough times that each abortion is a tragedy. And yet our laws continue to become ever more extreme, harming both women and babies.

Only last summer, after a mere 46 minutes, MPs voted to remove the last remaining vestige of legal protection afforded the unborn child. Abortions at any stage of pregnancy up to birth, if self-induced by the expectant mother, will be free of any legal consequences. This is promoted as compassionate but will only put women at heightened risk and more late term babies in mortal danger.

My message to the church is simple: we cannot and must not walk on by.

I believe abortion is especially grievous to God

We all know the parable of the Good Samaritan. There was a man, helpless and hopeless, lying bruised and battered on the street. A priest and a Levite walked on by. They could have helped. And they should have helped. But they chose the path of least resistance and even crossed to the other side of the road to avoid the situation.

On abortion it is almost too easy to do the same. It is such a complex and deeply personal issue. Each abortion is a story of suffering, pain, confusion, fear and ultimately loss. It has also become completely normalised in our country. But I urge Christians to be like the Good Samaritan. This begins by staring the issue full in the face: looking at what happens when an abortion takes place and turning to God’s word and reading and hearing about his heart for the most vulnerable.

Whatever your politics, whether you are left, right, centrist, or something else entirely, abortion should be an issue that transcends political allegiance.

As the body of Christ and as the salt of the earth and light of the world, we have a solemn responsibility to point our society to the better story we find in God’s word. We must not let confusion or ignorance of what we might do stop us from taking action.

For some of us, it might mean focusing our energies of legislative reform. For others it might mean fostering and adoption, to give a home to unwanted babies. You might get involved with abortion counselling and working to ensure any women in a crisis pregnancy is made properly informed about her options. And for others, it might mean working in education to help make people aware of abortion and why it happens and what we can do about it.

It is true that there are many good, righteous causes that God’s people rightly care about. We believe in a God of righteousness and justice and one who cares about all of human life, from conception through to its natural end.

But for me, I believe abortion is especially grievous to God.

In the Bible we find there is a category of the innocent. This is not to deny biblical teaching on sin and its effects. But it is rather to acknowledge that there are victims of crimes when they have done nothing to deserve what is done to them.

In Psalm 106, God is condemning his people for following the brutal practice of the pagans by sacrificing their own children. He says they have shed innocent blood.

Abortion is done against innocent babies in the womb. And it also harms women as well. We do not talk enough about the trauma and regret that all too often accompany an abortion and linger, long after it has happened.

And so alongside our actions, the Church’s message must also be filled with hope. The gospel of Jesus is the greatest possible news for all humanity. It tells us that there is forgiveness to be found in repentance and faith in him.

And we also know from church history, that times of revival and awakening can lead to the most tremendous social change.

My hope and prayer is that the quiet revival gathers pace and carries on. And as more men and women believe in Jesus, we start to see the church speaking out more boldly on this issue.

It will do so with truth and grace, with prophetic clarity and provide a beautiful witness to a counter-cultural way of living.