Abortion: The Blood Offering of Feminist Autonomy (Series: The Embrace of Exile | Part 3)

One of the most pressing issues of our time is abortion. Around 73 million induced abortions occur worldwide each year (according to the World Health Organization), making it one of the greatest genocides in human history. Churches and Christians must do all we can to fight this evil. We need to teach, preach, and post about it relentlessly. We need groups ministering outside abortion mills. And we need Christians voting faithfully for politicians with at least a minimum of morality to combat it on the political level.

But if we are truly to end abortion, we must strike at the ideology at the heart of this demonic industry. We must end feminism and its exaltation of autonomy as the highest good. Think of it this way: abortion is the sacrifice that the "god" of autonomy demands, and feminism is the religion that most zealously promotes the worship of this false god. That's why even many "conservative" churches speak against abortion while harbouring feminist ideology in their midst—and it shows. Research reveals that significant numbers of abortion patients identify as Christian: according to the Guttmacher Institute (2014), 13% as evangelical Protestant, 24% as Catholic, and 17% as mainline Protestant—over half claiming a Christian affiliation. Lifeway Research data similarly shows that about 70% of women who have had abortions self-identify as Christian. This leaven has real consequences, even within conservative circles.

One of the core tenets of feminism is body autonomy, encapsulated in the motto "my body, my choice." We must recognize that this is a myth. From a biblical perspective, there is no such thing as absolute body autonomy. Too often, even faithful Christians concede this ground when engaging pro-abortion women. When a feminist shouts, "My body, my choice," many respond, "Yes, but the baby's body is not your body." While that's true (the baby's body is not the mother's body), it's even more vital to dismantle the deeper lie that anyone has complete sovereignty over their own body.

The Bible teaches that we were created by God, for God. From the beginning, humanity is made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), but this does not grant us carte blanche over our bodies. Our physical existence is a divine gift, not a personal possession to redefine or dispose of at will. God alone holds ultimate authority over our bodies, as they were created for His glory.

Jesus is the supreme example. As Philippians 2:5-8 declares, Christ "did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Jesus surrendered His body to the Father's will (Luke 22:42: "not my will, but yours, be done"), enduring scourging, crucifixion, and death for our redemption. If the Son of God submitted His body to divine purpose, how much more should we? This truth directly confronts the autonomy narrative in abortion debates: both the woman's body and the baby's body belong to God—all life is His.

This is especially true for Christians. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul writes, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." Our bodies belong to Christ. Romans 12:1 urges us to present our bodies as "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God," emphasizing surrender over self-rule. That's why feminism and Christianity are like water and oil—they don't mix; they are utterly and ultimately incompatible.

Biblically, bodies are interconnected. In marriage, spouses' bodies belong to each other (1 Corinthians 7:4: "The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does"). In the church, we are one body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27), where individual autonomy harms the whole. Feminist autonomy is incompatible with the Christian vision of marriage and church.

Feminist "freedom" is the opposite of biblical freedom. True freedom in Scripture isn't autonomy (doing whatever I want); it's liberation from sin to serve God and others (Galatians 5:13: "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another").

That's why we Christians must reject feminism and purge our minds, hearts, families, and churches of all feminist leaven. Remember, a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Do not give this demonic ideology even an inch. To accept, embrace, or tolerate feminism is to support the ideology behind the murder of innumerable babies.

May God sanctify our churches, giving us sound minds to reject and demolish—without fear or hesitation—all ideologies and idols that oppose the living God.

Nino Marques