The Deadly Union of Sexual Immorality and Abortion

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recent passing, along with President Donald Trump’s appointment of Amy Cony Barrett, has put abortion front and center in the national spotlight ahead of the November 3 election. With conservatives seeing this as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to appoint a justice who will overturn Roe v. Wade, and liberals hoping to preserve the status quo, the upcoming fight for the Supreme Court guarantees that an already fraught election will become even more incendiary.

As the abortion debate rages on, it’s worth examining what the Bible says about child sacrifice and its relation to sexual immorality.

Leviticus 18 is one of the longest chapters in the Bible that deals with warnings against sexual immorality. Interestingly, Moses (the author of Leviticus) writes in verse 21, straight in the middle of the chapter, a warning against child sacrifice: “You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 18:21).

Now, why would Moses insert a warning against child sacrifice in the middle of a long passage on sexual immorality?

God’s first command to Adam and Eve was to be “fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:22): he gave us the union between man and woman in order to produce children, who are described in the Psalms as “a heritage from the Lord,” a “reward,” and arrows in the quiver of a warrior (Psalm 127:3-5). Children are a joyous and blessed gift; murdering them is like sowing a garden only to burn the flowers that sprout. Seen in that light, Moses’s mention of child sacrifice in Leviticus makes perfect sense.

Sadly, the secular left does not see things this way. Whereas God’s first command to mankind was “be fruitful and multiply,” the left’s first command is “do what you want!” Their god isn’t the God of Abraham, but their own desires (Philippians 3:19), and those desires must be satisfied at any cost. Any biblical commands against sexual immorality, including abortion, would only cramp their style. Who is God to tell us what we can do in our own bedrooms, after all?

The tragic results of this mindset are all too evident in America. In the decades after Roe v. Wade, 60 million innocent babies were aborted, more than double the death toll of World War I.

If your ultimate God is your own personal satisfaction, sexual or otherwise, then children are not a gift from the Lord. Instead, they are an unfortunate side effect to the otherwise pleasurable activity of unrestricted sex, much like a hangover after a night of drunkenness. We want consequence-free sex without bringing forth a child who will cost us money, time, effort, and our long-term career goals.

Modern man (and woman) is much too enlightened to sacrifice children to Molech, but sacrificing kids to the god of our career is another matter entirely.

But the left can’t afford to admit that to themselves. No one wants to admit they sacrificed an unborn child for their personal pleasure. That’s why they must invent ridiculous Orwellian terms like “reproductive health” to justify their actions. When the debate is framed in terms like “reproductive health” and “defending bodily autonomy,” pro-abortion advocates suddenly become heroic defenders of personal choice, whereas pro-lifers are old sexist men who want to control women’s bodies.

We must call out abortion for what it is: an idolatrous worship of sexual gratification fueled by child sacrifice. Any modern proponent of the “shout your abortion” slogan loses the moral authority to condemn the barbaric practice of child sacrifice, and to recoil in disgust at the sight of baby bones uncovered in ancient sacrificial sites.

The only difference between an ancient pagan and a modern pro-abortion advocate is the scale: the current murder of babies is so mass scale, industrialized, and systematic, that it would make even a Molech worshipper turn away in horror.