Andrew Nicholls - Abortion 20191115c

Thank you, Laurence. It is a great delight to be here and to see some old friends. I'm going to introduce you a little bit to the scale of the issue in various aspects of the world.

And 13 and a half years after it started. Now I've made a kind of assumption, haven't I, in the title of the talk, Love and Our Unborn Neighbors, that that is how we should think about unborn life.

But the reality is that the defining what it is that's growing inside the womb of a pregnant woman. And really, this is the whole issue.

And there are lots of different words that are used. Some of them are more scientific, technical words like fetus or embryo. Some of them more relational, warm words like baby.

Others that sound really very deliberately impersonal, like ball of stale or blob of jelly, which is how it can be described in some settings.

And the range represents the fact that there are very widely differing opinions on the status of the unborn, but on what options are legitimate for pregnant women.

And I know that the divisions are very wide and very deep. So I know that to speak into this area is to speak into an area around which people have often been used to living and thinking and debating at one or other pole of a very seriously called debate.

I also know, perhaps even more importantly, that because of some of the numbers I'm going to go on and look at with you, this is an issue which almost certainly affects people in this room.

You don't need to get very many people in a room before you find someone who's deeply personally affected by this issue.

And it's very important and it's a matter of rejoicing to me that a church is taking time to look at the issue and discuss the statistics and what the Bible teaches.

And this is a talk that is thinking about those kinds of structural things, background.

It's not the kind of thing you would say to someone if you were in a conversation about what to do with their unborn, what we decided to call it, or with someone who's been through an abortion in the past.

That conversation is very different.

But I want to, it's great to take the time to have this kind of discussion.

We've got to do that, and that may mean that without intending to, I say things in ways that feel painful or hurtful or touch on areas which are tender and cause pain.

I don't intend to do that.

I want to try and be as understanding and as mindful as I can.

But at some point, we have to stand back from the very significant personal obligations and think carefully about what's really happening and how we really ought to respond.

Or indeed, if we ought to respond.

Because when you read Scripture, when you read Matthew 28 and you realise that we're supposed to say everything Jesus commanded,

it is long if you're reading the apostles that you realise there is quite a lot that Jesus commands.

There's quite a lot that God commands his people to do.

And there are lots of priorities there for the church to consider and weigh.

And church leaders have a tough job working out which of these many possible ways of loving our community,

which of these many possible ways of glorifying the Lord have been to concentrate on.

I think it would be true to say that in most churches, we've spent many years thinking about some of the things that churches do,

and a lot less time thinking about other things that churches might do.

And I would argue that the issue of responding to abortion is one of those that Christians must be responding to in some way.

And that implies that there's something for churches to be teaching all Christians about the issue,

and to be teaching all Christians about how to respond to the issue.

So, I'm really glad to have the chance to be part of the process in this church and these churches here tonight.

So, here are some facts.

I want to start with some pictures, don't worry.

None of them are gruesome pictures.

And these are a couple of slides that are taken from a DVD, which you can watch later if you want.

I've got it with me.

I'm not going to try and show it on here.

It'll be too complicated.

But these are the scenes in a DVD, which takes you through the whole of the development of an embryo.

And you can see how much it develops at different stages of development.

By four weeks, that's four weeks from fertilization, the way this DVD is presented.

So, by the embryo has been four weeks old, you can already see, and there's a video of an embryonic heart beating about 130 times a minute.

By six weeks, you can see the ears and the diaphragm.

And by eight weeks, 90 plus percent of all the major organs are already present in developing a new being that's only about that size.

And it grows over the coming weeks and months.

So, by 18 weeks, they look like that.

By 22 weeks, they look something like that.

Now, to my mind, that 22-week-old baby should be called the baby.

Because it looks exactly like a baby.

But before we get to thinking whether that kind of instinct, that kind of reflex is right according to Scripture or not,

let's just find out some more facts about what happened.

Because at 22 weeks, that baby or any baby could be aborted.

And you might think, well, that's so obviously a baby.

That must be quite rare.

Abortion must be quite a rare thing.

And Lawrence has already told us some local facts.

I checked the latest figures that were available to 2018.

In 2018, there were 205,000 abortions in England and Wales.

And if you add up all the abortions that happened since 1968, which is the year after I was born,

so in my lifetime, there have been 8.7 million abortions in England and Wales.

That's way over 10% of the population.

If you ask the question, of all the pregnancies that happen in a year, what percentage of pregnancies end in abortion?

I wonder what you'd think it is.

Perhaps you know most people think it would be something well under 10%.

If they thought about it at all.

It's actually 22% of pregnancies end in abortion.

So more than one in five, little lives that start in their mother's womb end in abortion.

Now there's lots of reasons for that.

And I won't have lots of time to unpick those, because they're different situations.

But it's an extremely high number.

If you ask the question, of all women by the age of 45,

so all women in England and Wales by the age of 45,

what proportion of those women would have had an abortion?

The answer is one in three.

Now you can break those numbers down a little bit more.

So 22% of pregnancies, one in three when they were aged 45,

81% of abortions are done in women who are not married.

1.6% of abortions, so a very small, very small percentage of the total,

were done where you would believe there was a risk of serious handicap in the baby.

So in 2018, there were 618 unborn children,

that were reported with Down syndrome.

Some of you will have friends with Down syndrome.

You'll know people with Down syndrome.

You'll know what they're like.

You'll know they are people.

You'll have, you'll count them as friends.

And there are 618 that are not alive now,

because they were killed in this country.

This is happening.

And only 7 of the 205,7%,

7 were done to save life in an emergency.

So 97.7% are done for what is described in the legislation as ground C,

that is, if there is a risk,

greater than if the pregnancy is terminated,

to the mental health of the woman.

Now, that, the mental problem, is never specified.

The official statistics confirm that in 99.9% of these abortions,

the code that is given for the mental illness is F99,

which is unspecified.

So no one's thinking about what the mental health problem is,

because effectively they don't need to.

The law offers abortion on demand.

If a woman says, I don't want this baby,

and they go and see a doctor who is willing to allow abortion,

that is all they need to say.

And that means that you have this huge table,

where more than one in five pregnancies,

every year, end in abortion.

As I say, 8.7 million since 1968.

Now, this is related.

If we're thinking about what's the status of the wrong-born life,

it's right that we think not only about abortion.

It's right that we also think about some other things,

which, for other reasons, may affect people in this room very personally.

Some of the mechanisms by which infertility is treated,

IVF,

some of those result in embryos being created,

which then result in a baby.

And it's a little bit hard to put the numbers together.

But something like 170,000 embryos

are lost in in-vitro fertilization treatments per year.

Only about 7% of embryos created in the laboratory

for these facility treatments end up in pregnancies.

All the others, in the end, die.

Either because they're frozen,

and when they're thawed,

they don't reanimate,

they don't continue dividing.

Or because they're used and destroyed in research and development.

Or because they're implanted in cycles,

and they don't implant there.

So, we've got 205,000 abortions,

and 170,000 embryos lost in IVF.

One more thing to mention

before we start thinking biblically

about what might be going on.

This is a poster that I saw on the Tube a few years ago,

which is,

for Tommy's,

the baby charity,

and you may have seen,

they're quite a big charity,

they advertise quite effectively.

They're trying to research miscarriage.

And here is the poster

of a baby crossing its fingers

with the statistic

when anxiety pregnancies fail

in miscarriage.

And the proportions are

roughly the same, therefore.

There's roughly the same number of abortions,

actually,

a little bit more

babies are lost in abortion

than lost in miscarriage

at the moment.

That data comes from

a reputable source too.

What that means is that every year,

there is more than half a million

embryos dying.

Because,

either because we're

killing them in the top two,

one way or another,

or because

they're dying in miscarriage.

And plus,

there's an unknown number

that,

in some methods of contraception,

they allow fertilization to happen

and then prevent the fertilized

egg from implanting.

And so,

they work by disrupting

barrier to pregnancy.

And you can ask about that

later if you want to.

I need to

keep moving.

But in other words,

from multiple angles

in this culture,

we have become used to

a very high rate of loss

of unborn life.

And the big question is,

how do we process this?

How do we process this

as people?

How do we process this

as Christians?

What are we to make

of this extremely high number?

Well,

wonderfully,

by God's grace,

Christian ethics are not difficult.

They're very straightforward

because God tells us

everything we need to know.

And in fact,

he summarizes it

in two very straightforward commands.

You'll know them

from the Old Testament

you mentioned

in the teaching of Jesus.

Love God

and love your neighbor.

That's all we have to do.

Love God

and love our neighbor.

There's a bit too

loving God

and there's a bit too

loving your neighbor.

But that is

the essential center

of the Christian life.

One of the big things

we need to work out

is who are my neighbors?

Who are the people

I should be loving?

And I'm to argue

very strongly

that the evidence

of Scripture

is overwhelming

that unborn life,

unborn people

are our neighbors

that we should be loving.

And I've got four

straightforward points to make

in order to persuade you that.

The first is that

unborn life

is created by God.

I'm not saying

anything remarkable here

to a Christian

because everything

is created by God.

And whether we think about

the Father

from Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

and the Father,

the Son,

the Spirit

from Genesis chapter 1

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

or whether we think

personally about

the Word,

Jesus Christ himself

in John chapter 1 verse 3

John 1:3

through him

the Lord God,

Jesus,

all things were made.

Without him

nothing was made

that has been made.

Now,

this means

before we start to think about

whether there's a particular

status to unborn life

we have to acknowledge

that like everything else

that exists

unborn life does not

belong to us.

Unborn life belongs

to its Creator,

belongs to God,

it belongs to Jesus.

And whatever we think

it is,

is his,

not ours.

And we must work out

what he thinks of it

and what status

he wants us to give it,

not just come to our

own conclusion

as if it belonged to us.

We're used to

the kind of language

and in a sense

there's nothing wrong with it

because to be given a baby

is a very high trust.

When God gives us a baby

we feel,

we feel the responsibility.

But we use the language

of my baby

or our baby.

And,

in a sense it is.

But first,

it's God's baby

given to us,

loaned to us,

put under our care

by the Creator.

So,

firstly,

unborn life,

like everything else

that exists,

is created by God

and he's the one

therefore that should

tell us

what to make of it

and how to treat it.

Secondly,

not only creator

but God

creates a human

unborn life

is human

I would argue.

Here is one of the

famous passages

that I think

absolutely explicit

from Psalm 139.

Psalm 139

is a beautiful psalm

in which David

is describing

his total confidence

that he will never

ever ever

be able to escape

from the

gaze and care

of God.

And,

to some extent,

that's a little bit

scary.

I'll never be able

to get to a place

where you can't see me

in everything I'm doing,

David says.

But,

similarly,

I'll never be able

to get to a place

where you can't

be with me

and help me.

And,

one of the reasons

for that is because

for,

you created my

inmost being.

You and me together

in my mother's womb.

Before I began to

exist outside my mother,

you were there,

you were with me

and caring for me there.

In fact,

I praise you

because I'm seriously

and wonderfully made.

Your works are wonderful,

I know that so well.

My frame was not

hidden from you

when I was made

in the secret place,

when I was working

together in the depths

of the earth,

your eyes saw

my unformed body.

David has confidence

that God is going

to care for him

and be with him

everywhere he goes

in creation

because God was

with him

and caring for him

before birth

in his mother's womb.

It's one of his reasons

for confidence

in the care of God

now as an adult

is because

under the guidance

of the Holy Spirit

he reveals

his certainty

that God was his God

and caring for him

in his life

before birth too.

Similarly,

in Psalm 22,

which is the psalm

that Jesus takes

on his lips

on the cross,

begins,

my God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

And on the way

through,

reveals this,

from birth

I was cast upon you,

from my mother's womb

you have been my God.

It's an original

psalmist,

indeed,

and Jesus himself.

The relationship

between the human

being and God

begins the full birth

in the mother's womb.

Luke 1.31

Very similar words,

we're about to hear them again,

read a number of times

in the church

over Christmas.

You will

not give birth

to a son

and you'll call him

Jesus,

you will conceive

and give birth

to a son.

You'll give birth

because you will conceive.

So,

Jesus'

incarnation,

a remarkable

moment

when the sovereign

eternal daughter

is united

to a fully human nature,

that happens

not at a virgin birth,

that's a nonsensical term

in a way,

it's a virginal conception

and the birth

that follows from it.

So,

Jesus'

incarnation

begins at conception,

explicit

in scripture

and conception

is the main

of the way

egg and sperm

come together.

Although,

differently,

we assume

in Jesus' case

we haven't been

revealed to us

exactly how

the father

made that one work.

And,

in Hebrews 2,

talking about Jesus,

he's described as

fully human

in every way.

So,

it's not likely

to think of

Jesus' conception

as abnormal

and humans

as different.

His,

the whole of

his human existence

from his conception

he was fully human.

It wasn't that

because he was

somehow God

and man

and that his

humanity was

less than human.

He was fully human

in every way

all the way through.

So,

Jesus'

own humanity

confirms the witness

of the rest of scripture

that unborn life

is human.

I think we can

add an extra

wrinkle to this too

that the unborn child

is unique.

Especially sometimes

in a kind of

attempt to comfort

people after miscarriage.

The impression is given

that unborn life

is kind of replaceable.

well-meaning people

would say something like

well,

don't worry here

I'm sure you can

have another one.

Kind of built

on the assumption

that,

you know,

one day it's pretty much

like another baby.

And yet,

what these two

verses reveal

is very plainly,

if it wasn't already

plain,

that the individuality

of the human beings

and the consideration

in these verses

has begun in a way.

They're already the people

they're going to be

when they're born.

So,

Luke 1.44

is Elizabeth

at the arrival

of Mary.

And Elizabeth

feels her baby John.

And the text

makes explicit

that the Holy Spirit

reveals to her

why John the Baptist

jumps in her day

and it's for joy.

So,

the Holy Spirit

is telling us

that John the Baptist

has begun

his distinctive ministry

of pointing to Jesus

with all birth.

So,

it's not just

a block of jelly,

it's not just

any old human being

who becomes

John the Baptist

when he's born.

He's John the Baptist

already,

miraculously,

of course.

But he is.

He's already

a unique human being

fulfilling the role

that the prophets

assigned

and announced

in advance

to Zechariah and Elizabeth.

And in Genesis 25,

22,

23,

you have a very similar thing.

That is,

Jacob and Esau

twins.

Some of you may have

had twins

or had the experience

of having twins.

It can be pretty uncomfortable.

But for their mum,

she feels

an unusual amount

of pretty strong movement.

And again,

the text takes the trouble

to tell us

that it's God

reveals to her

why she's feeling it.

Because

two nations

are in your womb,

Rebecca.

These two babies

are not just

sort of

impersonal beings.

They are already

playing out

the personalities

before birth

that will so colour

much of the rest

of the story

of Genesis after birth.

Do you know

some of the

in your womb?

So,

when Scripture

gives us a window

onto life

inside the womb,

it tells us

that not only

is it part of

the whole creation

over which God

is sovereign

and to whom

we are accountable,

it tells us

that unborn life

is human

and distinctively

personal,

unique already.

And therefore,

there's another

aspect to

Scripture's teaching

which is very

important,

which is

the unborn

child is weak.

The unborn

child is weak.

The most dangerous

place to be

in the whole

of your life

in England

and Wales,

statistically speaking,

is in your

mother's womb.

You are never

more likely

to meet a violent

death

than in your

mother's womb.

Because never

again does the

death rate

reach 22%.

And at that

stage of development,

there is obviously

no possibility

whatever for the

unborn child to

express themselves

and to exert

their own

on the situation

they are as weak

as it's possible

for a human

being to be.

And Psalm 82

is one of those

places all over

Scripture where

God gets very

crossed with his

people when

they overlook

the cause of the

weak and the

fatherless.

So defend the

cause of the

weak and

fatherless.

Maintain the

rights of the

poor and

oppressed.

Rescue the

weak and

needy.

Deliver them

from the hand

of the wicked,

God says to

his people.

And God is

saying in part,

is this not how

I treat you?

Haven't I

taken you as a

weak nation from

among all the

nations of

the earth and

protected you and

loved you and

cared for you?

And now when you

see weak people

around you and

do nothing,

you're denying my

character and

you're inviting my

anger.

And we do

well to hear

such instructions

today.

That if you

ask who are the

weakest, who are

the fatherless,

the way of

abortion legislation,

the way abortions

work, is the

father is legally

deleted from the

process.

The father has no

rights.

I don't understand

why, because the

baby is entirely

growing in the

woman's body.

The father may or

may not be keen

to keep the child.

It's irrelevant.

And fathers are

often far too

absent.

But one way or

another, this

baby is made

fatherless.

And that's an

issue we need

to think about

how to respond.

So summarizing

what's seen from

the Bible, I

would argue, the

unborn child is

great by God, a

unique and very

weak human being.

And therefore, they

are our neighbors.

They're in God's

image to be loved.

How are you that?

It's a big question.

Because it's quite

hard to get to

them.

But that's the

direction that

Scripture, to my

mind, necessarily

pushes us.

Now, there are

people that read

the same Bible and

they come to a

different view and

you may be one of

those.

I want to introduce

you to this thing

called the

precautionary

principle.

That's one thing

you can call it.

And I want to

introduce it by

telling you a little

story.

Imagine, this may be

very far from

anything you'll ever

do, but imagine

you're going hunting

with a friend in a

forest.

And let's say you

want to hunt deer.

And you split up in

two directions.

and you're waiting

for some time

before you see a deer.

And you see

something that's a

shootable distance

away in a bush.

And you're 99%

certain that it is a

deer.

So there's just a

1% chance it could

be your friend.

I think everybody

would know that

was not acceptable

odds.

You ought to be

absolutely certain

that it's not a

human being before

you pull the trigger.

And even for people

who find scripture

is less straightforward,

less clear than me,

I'd love to have a

discussion about why,

because I think it's

very clear.

But, as I say,

there are people who

take the Bible as

seriously as I do

and come to a

different view.

And they'd better

be 100% sure,

before they say,

before they come to

a different view

about abortion,

they'd better be

100% sure that the

lives we're talking

about are not our

human neighbors who

need to be loved.

I argue that they

are, and that if

there is any doubt

about it, we must be

certain to treat them

as they are.

And the conclusion

that I draw from

these parts of God's

word has moved me

in my medical training

as a medical student.

I was a Christian,

but I hadn't thought

about ethical things,

and it was a routine

part of medical

students' training to be

offered a chance to

be involved in

abortions.

And I never did a

procedure, because

only doctors can do

it, and I was part

of the care of women

who were having

abortions.

And I knew it was

sad, but I've come

to think, under the

teaching of Scripture,

that in fact it is

wrong.

Abortion is wrong.

And it's wrong for

the reasons that I've

seen in Scripture and

shown you, even though

it's legal.

And it's hard,

this, because in our

country, wonderfully,

most of the laws on

which society

organises itself are

heavily influenced by

the day of Christian

values, and so they

fit very well with the

teaching of the Bible,

by and large.

And it's a surprise for

us to say, to come to

the conclusion that this

law is radically

opposed to the main

thing in the Bible,

but I think it is.

And if abortion is

wrong because it's the

ending of a human

life, the kind that

God rules out in his

work, then it's wrong

even in the really

hard cases.

There's one exception,

and that will be the

exception where, as in

for example in an

ectopic pregnancy, where

an embryo is developing

outside the womb, as

happens sometimes, it

doesn't go quite far

enough down into the

womb, for example, but

it's in the uterine

tube.

When that happens, it's

not possible for the

pregnancy to develop

beyond a certain size.

What will happen if it

does, is it will

expand, it will burst

the uterine artery, and

then within a very few

minutes, the mother will

bleed into her tummy

and die.

And there is no way to

sustain the life of that

baby when some mother

died.

In that setting, it

seems to me right to

intervene because you

know without a doubt

that you are saving one

life from death.

And there are Christians

who would disagree with

me, because they would

say it's not a

circumstance where it's

okay to take human life

even then.

that it's one of those

risks of having sex that

people ought to accept

and that could end up

killing them.

But, for myself, I

think that's the one

exception.

There will be one or two

similar cases where

there's no doubt that

intervene now will save

one life rather than a

certain loss of two.

There are plenty of

other hard cases where

I don't think it is

justified.

And if you'd like to

ask me a question about

a particular one that

relates to you, if

your starting point is

that if you have a

pregnant woman, then

you have two human

beings, then you have

to try and find a

solution which doesn't

result in one of them

dying.

And even if the

second life has come

about, for example,

as a result of a rape,

which is a horrendous

crime against a woman,

and where that rape,

let's say, has been of

a Muslim girl who is

now thrown out of

her family because her

family can't come to

terms with what has

been done to her.

And where she would

be, you know, perhaps

if she could get an

abortion, it would be

possible to cover it

up and save her life

from falling apart,

you might think.

Even in those cases,

I'm forced to think it

would be better to try

and find a way of

supporting her with her

child, even if her

family throw her out,

because the alternative

is ending in human life.

And there are some

extraordinary books and

testimonies written by

people who have been

raped.

raped, and there's one

quite well known one, a

woman who had been

raped, and had wanted to

have an abortion, and the

abortion had not

succeeded.

And she ended up carrying

the child to term.

And she's able now to

see, and to be so glad

that she now has this

child, because the

child is not half its

father.

It's not half a

rapist.

It's a new individual.

And she celebrates and

rejoices over her.

There's more one, I've

actually done it if it's a

boy or a girl, but there's

more one to say about

parques, and you're

welcome to ask me about

them if you would like.

But our starting point, if

we're thinking through them

all, is a woman who's

expecting a baby is two

human beings.

Now, having said that, it's

really important to go

straight on to say that

forgiveness is always

available, even for such

things.

And this is what Jesus

meant when he was hung

across and said, it is

finished.

I have paid for all sin,

all the sin that I did.

When I push God to

do my life, I'm committing

an infinitely serious sin

against an infinitely

powerful God, and

thinking that I can

replace him with me.

Christ died that even

that can be forgiven.

Christ died that all our

sins can be forgiven.

And in this beautiful

picture in which the

ministry of Christ is

foreshadowed, it says,

they or sins are like

scarlet, they shall be as

white as snow.

That's what Jesus did for

us.

And that's the sweet

offer and discovery in the

gospel.

But even where we've done

wrong, and there'll be

different reasons why we

did it.

Many of them may have

been because we were

responding to advice that

this was the right thing

to do.

As we discover the way

the Lord views it, we can

discover at the same time

the ruin of the Lord

has made us, let's

forgive us, and have us

as his children, clean and

white and pure, because of

Jesus.

And I always put a slide

like this up.

There may be closer ones

to you, but that's the

phone number for

Oxford Wimbledon, and

that's the website where

you can find other

Brexit centres while you

wait for eating to start.

If it affects you or

someone you know, there

are places to go to get

help to discuss what's

happened without you

having to necessarily

tell a friend.

Though if you can tell

a friend, it's usually

that way.

Abortion is wrong.

And while we're at it,

we should probably say

that some of those

forms of contraception

are wrong for the same

reasons where they

result in the failing to

implant or the

embryo that's been

created.

Even though it's so

common, everyone does

it, you go to CGP and

you ask for, you've had a

baby, the standard

standard of

contraception after a

baby is a mini-pill,

a progesterone-only

mini-pill, and it's

likely that that works

in a percentage of

times by preventing

implantation.

So, again, it's

normal, it's entirely

legal, but Christians who

know this and get to

find out about this

will want to discuss

another way of doing

contraception than one

of those methods.

And again, if that's

rather than to you, I

can point in the

direction for some more

information about that.

And it also means that

some infertility

treatments are wrong

for the same reason.

Again, even though

they're legal, and

even though a baby

itself is such a

beautiful thing to

long for, if the

process results in the

death of embryos, we're

talking about a process

that is creating and

then resulting in the

death of human beings.

And I don't think that

it's okay, because I

think the Bible is

encouraging me to see

that it's not okay.

And it also means that

miscarriages are

bereavements.

But when a pregnancy

ends in a miscarriage,

it's right to be sad.

We don't just shrug it

off.

And we're not kind of

prescribed that everybody

has to respond in the

same way.

So it's a very odd time

because there's a

relationship which was

anticipated and dreamt

about in all kinds of

ways, and then suddenly

brought to them before it

ever became very much

more than a hope.

And so there's going to

be a wide range of

differences.

But it's certainly wrong

to assume that

miscarriages should be

the kind of thing you

might have a day off

working and you're

back in and it's all

just as it was.

And I'm delighted that

here's a secular charity

miscarriage.

Let's enter silence

around miscarriage.

Yes, let's.

Because it's a loss of

human life.

Now, if you share those

convictions, I think it's

one of the things that

will change our view of

the kind of country in

which we live.

Because we are used in

the West to pointing at

civilisations and cultures

that we think barbaric and

that do terrible things to

some of their citizens.

And the way they treat

women in some parts of

the world.

Or the way that they

treat people from some

religion in some parts of

the world.

And the history of

torture and persecution

and so on.

And I think we need to

turn a rather more

perceptive gaze on our

own country where you

and I live.

Because we supervise the

death of half a million

of our population every

year.

The twin thousands

were three and a

half thousand.

Two hundred and five

thousand abortions

every year in the

world.

How many people died

during the Second

World War?

More have died from

abortions than

humans could get.

But who knows this?

People with God's word

in their hand know this

and that means that

Christians must leave

the way.

There's no one else

who's going to.

And there are some

Christians that have,

and Christian traditions

that have a very strong

and dignified history

in leading the way or

trying to.

But not very many

and not mine

and perhaps not yours.

And it is so

encouraging to discover

that not only here in

Ewing but in other

places around the

country, there's another

one they're trying to

start in Cambridge,

at the same time as

you, that people are

beginning to realise,

Christians are beginning

to realise that this is

something we need to do

something about.

So the question is how

will we love our

humble neighbours?

We've worked out that

they are humble neighbours

and we need to love them.

The question is how?

And I think there are

two broad ways we can

think about it.

Here's the first one

which I'm going to cover

quite quickly, just on

this one slide.

Challenge the culture,

even try to change the

culture.

There are lots of ways

we might do that.

It's something we could

and should be praying

about.

Not all the time,

because there's lots of

things that we're praying

about, but we should be

praying about a culture

that finds it possible

to kill so many of its

citizens.

The one in which we live.

And we should, we can

write or speak, campaign,

you know, like, that's a

social media comment.

I don't really know how

it works, but you can like

things, can't you?

You can let people know

the causes that you think

really matter with one

click.

You can do that.

You can put your head

above the parapet.

You can get shot down

for it.

Because you won't get

shot down for it, will

you?

Your life will be fine.

You can follow.

Another social media

thing.

You can protest.

I mean, that actually

is saying, I know why

they've done it, but you

could protest about that.

You can advertise.

I know someone who is

making a bit of money

at the moment, and when

they finish making a bit

of money, what they quite

like to do is spend a bit

of money, buying cinema

advertising, and just

showing 4D ultrasound

of unborn babies.

30 seconds before the

main feature.

By that advert, it's not

making a pro-life message

because that would never

get shown in the cinema.

But just a bit of

feature.

You know the film

2001, Space Odyssey?

It ends with a rotating

baby, doesn't it?

Well, similar image

before birth.

That's what they want

to do.

Maybe you've got money

if you want to know

who it is, I'll tell you

if you've got to get up.

And to do these things

with energy, this is

going to cost us to do

and have to pour out

some energy to do this,

have to make time in all

the other things we're

doing, if we're going to

do it.

Strategy, we want to work

out what's effective.

So there's a whole bunch

of campaigners in the

States that have done a

lot of study in how big

social changes actually

happen.

Particularly, how was it

that slavery got

overturned?

This great social horror

which is not as bad as

abortion, in my view.

Horrible though it was,

I think abortion is more

serious.

That in the end

came to an end

because the campaigners

put images in front of

people so they could

actually see what was

happening.

And I'm not going to

share those images

tonight, but I know

why people do that in

their campaigning.

Because they care enough

about what is happening

to try and let other people

know what is happening.

And when you see what

is done, it's very hard

to deny that this is the

ending of human life.

Here's another thing you

could do as part of

that campaign, or

changing the culture

anyway, changing the

culture.

That is one of, I suspect,

many websites that

ehd.org produces apps

that you can download.

I didn't actually know

about it until I came

across it today.

And if you've heard

people who've been

through printing, you must

know all about them.

But this is called

See My Baby, or My

Baby.

And it takes you

through, it shows you

pictures of what your

baby looks like at each

stage of pregnancy.

And apparently my wife

told me, oh yeah,

they'll be around

sometime.

And pregnant women

share links to say,

oh, this is what my

baby's doing right now.

What a beautiful way to

share real knowledge of

what's happening and

what it really means to

be pregnant.

It's not just a

preparation for a new

human life.

It's a new human life

growing.

So, in that way and

other ways, challenge the

culture, we could change

our language.

I mean, it would be a

bit radical, but we

could move our

birthday.

Or as well as our

birthday, we could have

a conception day party.

It's a bit odd, isn't

it?

Because no one's

thinking about that.

But maybe at least we

could say, how old are

you?

Say, well, I've been

born for 50 years, but

I'm actually nine months

older than that.

We could say, so,

they say, tell me about

the family.

Well, instead of

saying I have one

younger sister, I

could say, as is

true, my mum had a

miscarriage shortly

before she became

pregnant with me.

So I'm in the middle

of three.

And there's a

culture.

And, you know, we

can shrug this off and

go and think there's

something else to do

tonight, but

alternatively, we

could go and look for

something that we

will begin living and

be part of the

change.

And the same thing

we do is we can

create a new,

microculture.

That is, we still

have a lot of

freedom in this

country.

We don't have to do

everything the way

everybody else does

it.

And we can create a

microculture in which

things look different.

And I want to use my

last very few minutes

just talking about

options, which is what

we did in Wimbledon.

And I'll just share

very briefly how we do

it, and there'll be

some differences,

great, glorious

differences about

animals, these things

are annealing, and this

is good.

But that we're doing

something is really

important.

So options is down

in Wimbledon.

These are the services

that we've been doing

as for, I think it's

13 and a half years.

I've got to check

the card date.

We had our 12

anniversary a couple

years ago.

There must be more

than that now.

Anyway, pregnancy,

crisis counselling.

So that's when a

woman knows she's

pregnant, and it's a

crisis for her, she

doesn't know what to

do, she may be

thinking about abortion,

but she's willing to

have a conversation

with someone who can

help her think about

what's going on, think

about what she really

wants, think about

the fact that though

some people may be

telling her she must

have an abortion,

she doesn't have to.

But there's a

possibility of keeping

the baby, and the

options will support

her in any way during

that process, or

if keeping the

baby seems impossible

as the possibility of

blessing someone else

with a baby for

adoption.

There's a very long

waiting list for

babies between 0 and

2 in this country,

because most of

those that would

otherwise end up for

adoption are

obviously being

killed in the womb.

A good friend of

mine, he's a

pastor of the church

in Sollum, St.

Peter's Sollum,

Ruth Standering,

doesn't mind, who

knows, that he was

conceived shortly

before the abortion

act became law.

And he was given

up for adoption.

And if he'd been

conceived just a few

months later, he

wouldn't have been.

And so it's real

people.

Post-abortion or

post-termination

counselling.

Adoptions, we do

offer that, because

women who've been

through an abortion

and are feeling one

or other of the

effects of it, and

one of our early

clients was someone

who had had an

abortion 30 years

ago, and there

wasn't a day since

when she didn't

think about it.

And she came to

us to post-abortion

counselling.

Women who've had an

abortion are among

our neighbours who

we are to love.

And we think a good

way to love them is

to offer them

counselling.

In that counselling,

the model that we

use talks about

forgiveness, and we

make explicit at the

beginning that it

will be an opportunity

if they want to, to

talk about forgiveness

by God.

There's more than

one woman in the

Wimbledon area now,

in church, a

Christian, because

they heard the

gospel in post-abortion

counselling.

Miscarion counselling,

when someone's had a

miscarriage, there is

someone who understands

the grief that other

people don't have in

options if they can't

otherwise find someone.

And they can be

helped through a

process that is in

some ways similar and

other ways different

from post-abortion

counselling.

We offer support for

single-munch-to-be,

whether it's in a

group, an expected-munch-group,

or whether it's giving

clothes, or whether

it's giving, we can't

do car seats, second-hand

ones, whether it's

giving clothes or

push-chairs, or

any of the huge amount

of clutter that

accumulates as people

grow out of the baby

stage.

They're only too keen

to dump it somewhere

in the church property,

so it can be waiting

for a young woman who

needs it.

Material support for

families with newborns.

When we had a

camp centre, we had

someone who learned

an awful lot about

debt and money, and

we can offer that

kind of support as

well, because the

camp centre's closed,

and that skill is still

around in the church.

We've tried, from

different times, to

try to do some

preventive work by

doing relationships

and such as

the school, and

the schools I've

had ago, the

others had, and

we just haven't ever

quite managed to get

the resources to do

it, and it just

seems that in the

Lord's hand, he's

provided resources for

us to do other

things and not for

that, and so we

haven't yet sustained

about it, but I

think it's a great

idea.

Also, but not

quite publicised on

the website, but

strongly motivating

us, we pray for our

clients.

We can pray with

our clients, with

their permission, if

they want it.

It's never forced on

them, but the offer

is rightly made in

some conversations, and

we can share the

gospel, and that's

happened.

And there are one or

two counsellors who,

you know, for all

their Christian life,

they have felt like

they're rubbish

evangelists.

They're never quite

good at taking

opportunities, and

they just love this

work, because they

just see opportunities

all over the place,

and they feel that

God has put them

there to open up a

conversation, which

is very natural.

And so there are

people in options who

have been given the

ability that they need

to share the gospel

with people in this

thing.

And it's not

surprising, because we

think God loves these

people, and if he

loves them, the thing

he wants to do is give

them eternal life.

And so it's not

surprising that he

makes that happen.

And it would be

remiss of me to say

anything other than

that options have

been the work of

God's provision, and

that if it's to

happen anywhere else,

it's to happen here

in Ealing, that

means God's

provision as well.

And I mean, there's

a huge amount of

things he's done, but

some of them, I

mean, our most

precious resource by

far is a constant

stream of amazing

volunteers, and who

give, I can't

remember how many

hours it is now, but

certainly the first

volunteers to train

in course, it was

56 hours to train,

just in crisis

pregnancy counselling,

and another whole

chunk of hours to

train in post-abortion

counselling, and they

would do it on

Saturdays, they'd do

it in the evenings,

they gave their time

for free, out of love

for these women in

the wrong one

building.

I'm so impressed

with both women and

one man, and he

only sees men by the

way, and so grateful

to God for them.

We've had the centre

directors that we've

needed, and our

first one was a

volunteer, and then

wonderfully we became

going to employ one,

and we've got one now,

she's called Nikki,

and she's great.

We've had a lot of

help of cash and

space from Don

Donald, which is the

church that it

started from, which

is part of a network

of churches, because

for a crisis

pregnancy centre to

run in a sustainable

way, it's incredibly

helpful to have a

wider network

contributing prayer

and money and

people, because

the kind of very

special people that

you need to keep

the volunteer body

up, are not so

thick on the ground

you'll find enough

of them in a church

of 50.

Don't know there's a

bigger church than

that, but even in a

church of 500, it's

been good to be able

to include volunteers

from other churches.

And now, we're

operating another

local GP practice,

because we're one or

two Christian partners,

they're really glad

of what we do.

Many GPs who aren't

Christian are very

glad to have someone

to send people so

they can have a

proper conversation

about abortion rather

than the ten minutes

that's all they've

got before they

need to sign a form.

And there's a very

happy relationship

there.

It's dependent on

local circumstances,

but it's been a

great joy to us that

the London church is

now being demolished

in order to make

way for a new

building.

We've got a

wonderful home that

feels a much more

normal place to be

having discussions

about these things

down the church

building, and that's