The Holy Spirit and Abortion

The scriptures say in Job 33:4 "The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life." And in Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." At the same time, the life, which the Holy Spirit gives, is being attacked and destroyed by abortion. In the United States alone, some 4000 children are legally killed each day by this surgical procedure.

For a people filled with the Spirit, this is a tragedy that cannot possibly be ignored. Nor can we doubt for a moment that the Spirit who gives life will also give us all we need to defend it.

The Holy Spirit is God, and all He does and speaks to us is consistent with what God the Father and God the Son have done and spoken. "He will not speak on his own, but will speak only what he hears…because he will have received from me what he will announce to you" (Jn. 16:13-14) "The Holy Spirit…will…remind you of all that I told you" (Jn.14:26). No disciple can claim the "freedom of the Spirit" to contradict the commandments, including that which forbids the killing of the innocent.

The creation account in Genesis 1 tells us that "a mighty wind," the "breath" or "spirit" of God hovered over the waters and brought life and light out of chaos and darkness. The Holy Spirit is proclaimed in the Scripture to be "the Spirit of Life," and this is true both on a natural and supernatural level. To worship the Holy Spirit, then, demands that we stand against all that destroys life.

On the first Easter night, Jesus breathes His Spirit upon the apostles (Jn.20:22), that they too might bring new life out of the chaos and darkness of sin. A second Creation account is taking place here. The same Spirit who causes sin to flee will cause death to flee as well. "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also, through his Spirit dwelling in you" (Rom.8:11).

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth (see Jn.15:26), and His gifts enable us to understand created realities, their value, and their relationship to the Creator and to our own happiness. We can therefore ask the Holy Spirit to give us an understanding of the value of the human person. The Spirit enables us to cry out, "Abba! Father!" "The Spirit himself gives witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom.8:16). Abortion, on the other hand, sees the human person as a disposable object.

The Spirit of Truth likewise shows us the truth about our sins (see Jn.16:8). In Him we come to understand the difference between good and evil. This works directly against the dynamics of the abortion movement, which identifies a moral evil as a "right." "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who change darkness into light, and light into darkness, who change bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter!" (Is.5:20). Devotion to the Holy Spirit is a key element in praying for the conversion of mind and heart necessary for those who defend and perform abortions.

The Apostle John declares, "If anyone should sin, we have, in the presence of the Father, Jesus Christ, an intercessor who is just" (1Jn.2:1). Our Lord referred to the Holy Spirit as another advocate (Jn.14:16), and the Apostle Paul writes that he "makes intercession for us" (Rom.8:26). Because we cannot save ourselves, we need an advocate to speak up on our behalf and plead for our forgiveness and salvation. We know we have precisely that.

What, then, does the Holy Spirit do to his people when he comes to them? He makes them advocates! He gives speech to the tongue, not only that we may tell who God is, but that we may defend those among us who need advocates. The Pentecost Sequence invokes the Spirit as "Father of the Poor." Just as the Messiah will defend the poor and helpless (see Is.11), so do the people of the Messiah, filled with his Spirit.

Jesus Christ made the sacrifice of Himself "through the eternal spirit" (Heb.9:14). It is in the Holy Spirit that we too have the power to love, which consists in giving ourselves away for the good of the other. "There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (Jn. 15:13, see also 1Jn.3:16). Such is to be our response to the unborn.

The Spirit Himself is the bond of love between the Father and the Son. He unites the human family, whereas abortion divides it.

The same Holy Spirit who created the universe, descended upon the womb of Mary, came as tongues of fire at Pentecost, and leads the Church on her mission, is the one who calls and equips us for our pro-life work. Let us not lack for a moment the confidence and the joy which come from Him, and which impel us to build a Culture of Life.