The Sanctity of Life

I think our nation has gotten so far away from basic biblical principles that sin upon sin has created circumstances with no easy solution. If I had gone into the medical field (beyond medical insurance, that is) I think I would have ended up studying the medical ethics of reproduction and the beginnings of life. It's something I think about on a regular basis, and I rarely have enough answers to ever want to write anything regarding this topic. It has gotten so complicated in our society that there is no easy answer. Ultimately, God is the giver of life, and I think he wants the one with the final authority to take it away. Humans have assumed the role of God in both giving and taking life.

When I worked at 911 we'd come across situations that made us say "that person should not be allowed to have kids." Kind of like this guy: http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/45871127.html. He's 29 and has fathered 21 kids and now can't afford to pay child support (surprise!) Some may say it's time for a court-ordered vasectomy, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of the government being allowed to say when we can and cannot procreate. This is so far off from God's design that there is no easy answer. Should I say "you shouldn't be allowed to have kids"? I might not think you're going to offer that child a healthy environment, but God still creates life, and by his grace kids can come out of rotten circumstances and become something great.

Or how about this situation: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090603/ap_on_re_us/us_the_next_tiller. The guy who kills the nearly-full-term-unborn-babies gets shot and killed. Another doctor offers to take his place killing babies. Obviously, once again, we're so far from God's principles that it's just a mess with no easy fix. Should anybody be habitually killing unborn babies? Should it be legal and okay with society? I don't think so. Should somebody shoot and kill the guy who kills the babies? Most people say no, he's a fanatic, it wasn't his place. Yet somehow he saved some kids lives by giving his own. Wouldn't it be noble if he saved some kids by killing their would be killer if the kids were say, 3 years old? I think it would be more allowable in our society. Yet we read all the time of the parents who abuse and/or kill their children. That's not okay either. Some would argue that it's better for the babies to not be born (aka killed prior to birth) than to live in a life of poverty, abuse, etc. Well, I don't think that's the solution. Once again, we're so far off the track that God set humanity on that there is no easy answer.

I don't have all the answers. It's a mess, and it makes me sad. I think that we need to do all we can to live our lives according to the principles set up by the Creator and Giver of life. Yeah, we'll have different interpretations of a few things, but let's strive to be lovers of God and others, and protectors of life.