I had never heard about Trisomy 18 until a couple of years ago, when some dear friends shared that their unborn child had been diagnosed with the condition. Trisomy 18 is a chromosomal condition associated with abnormalities in many parts of the body “due to the presence of several life-threatening medical problems, many individuals with trisomy 18 die before birth or within their first month. Five to 10 percent of children with this condition live past their first year, and these children often have severe intellectual disability.” (Medline plus)
The severe nature of the medical complications associated with this condition means that even the most conservative countries permit parents to terminate such pregnancies. However, the ethical implications of such a decision cannot be left to governments or society alone. Even though the laws of a state may permit a pregnant woman to terminate her pregnancy, the question remains: Does the Bible warrant the termination of a pregnancy because the baby is diagnosed with disability?
What does Scripture say?
As I have pondered and discussed this question with parents who are presently in similar situations, it has become clear to me how strong the influence of the secular world can be, even on Christians. However, as believers, it is important that we take our cue from the Bible rather than from what is considered acceptable or approved by the state or society.
A search through the Scriptures makes it clear that life begins at conception. In , the psalmist speaks about God forming his inward parts and knitting him together in his mother’s womb. This verse helps us understand that, from the very beginning—and, in the case of , even before Jeremiah’s birth—God is the One who designs and creates.
Or think of Moses in . As he resisted the call to go and speak to Pharaoh, God rhetorically asked him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” Similarly, in , as Jesus’ disciples were asking why a man had been born blind, Jesus answered them, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” In these passages, God asserts His sovereignty over human disability.
It is important to keep in mind that each of us was in the plan of God before we were made. Think of an architect who draws the building plan before a brick is laid. The final structure is exactly what the architect had in mind. That is how each of us came into being. God first decided whom he was going to make before the knitting process took place in our mother’s womb. Therefore, whatever medical condition a baby may be diagnosed with is not a result of some medical imbalance or accident. It is all designed and planned by God. I am sure there is more that can be said about this, and the medical fraternity will have different views on it; however, the witness of the Scriptures is that our lives, whether “normal” or with complications, do not take God by surprise.
Therefore, if we agree that it is God who designs and creates life, that life begins from the earliest stages in the womb, and that Scripture affirms God’s sovereignty over disability, then we have no right to terminate that life simply because the government or society permits us to do so.
But it will not be easy
Everything I have said so far does not take away the fact that this is not an easy decision. Since the dawn of time, obedience to God’s Word has come with costs, and in some cases people have paid the ultimate price with their lives. It was Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” The decision to keep a baby with special needs comes with drastic changes to family dynamics. In some cases, mothers have had to sacrifice promising careers to become stay-at-home moms. Family vacations may never be the same again. Others have had to relocate to countries with sufficient medical and social facilities to care for the child, not to mention the psychological and emotional demands of caring for a child who constantly needs extra care and attention. I have seen firsthand the lives of more than half a dozen families with special-needs children, and it is not a walk in the park. Therefore, the point of quoting all the Scripture passages is not to paint a picture that this is an easy decision.
Yet it is reassuring to know that God does not leave his obedient children without help. The same Scriptures that guide us to take the difficult road of obedience also provide great promises to help us along the way. In , Jesus told his disciples that the man was born blind so “that the works of God might be displayed in him” (). If God in his wisdom and providence decides to put a child with special needs in your family for his glory, he will also provide sufficient grace to you and your spouse to carry out the task. It is as though God looked around and said, “I want to send this special child into the world to demonstrate my glory. Which family is worthy or equipped to provide a home for my special one?” If you are a faithful and obedient child of God, it is not because you or your spouse did something wrong that you have a special-needs child. Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, God is working through you for his glory. And he has promised never to leave you nor forsake you (). As a faithful Commander-in-Chief, he never sends anyone into battle without providing the necessary ammunition or requiring them to go at their own expense.
Your special needs child is your ministry
Many of us are inspired by stories of missionaries who leave the comfort of their home countries and travel to distant lands to learn foreign languages so that they may share the gospel with unreached people groups. We have similar feelings when we read about Christians who remain steadfast unto death in the face of severe persecution for the sake of the gospel. The sacrifice of such people often challenges our faith and serves as an encouragement for our own discipleship journey. You may wonder what missionaries and persecuted Christians have to do with a decision to keep or terminate a pregnancy involving a child with special needs. I believe it has everything to do with it. Many of us may never be called to cross oceans to distant lands to share the gospel or live in countries where hostility to the gospel is high and persecution is rampant, but all of us are called to take up our cross daily and follow Jesus (). For some, the decision not to terminate a pregnancy involving a special-needs child is a gospel-preaching opportunity to a world where expediency trumps faithfulness and obedience to God. The world will take notice when we do not take the path of least resistance but make decisions that show that we fear God and desire to obey him.
A few years ago, videos circulated on social media of Christians who refused to recant and were beheaded by the terrorist group Islamic State live on camera. The question many people asked was, would I be faithful if I were in such a situation? Many of us may never find ourselves in such a dramatic situation; however, we are all called to take a similar stand for God in the daily choices and decisions we make. The question is, will you be found faithful unto the end?
The Lord will guide and help you
I began this article by mentioning those dear friends who had to make a decision whether to keep or abort their baby diagnosed with trisomy 18. By God’s grace, through the encouragement of the church community as well as support from Christian medical professionals, they made the decision to keep the baby despite the fact that the laws of the country permitted them to terminate the pregnancy. In the years that have followed, I have seen their family dynamics change. They have needed extra hands; their vacation decisions have changed. Nothing is normal anymore. I have no doubt that in their quiet moments questions arise, yet they have become a source of encouragement to many of us. I also have no doubt that God is bearing them up on a daily basis as they live out this life of obedience for his glory.
Whenever I think about them, I am reminded of the words of Paul in ,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.”
I am sure that on difficult days, this family may not feel like it, but their life of faithfulness is a powerful gospel-preaching, God-glorifying, other-saints-building reality. They have become a source of strength and encouragement for all of us. My prayer for you is that when your own time comes to take a stand for God, you will be found faithful.
Notes
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22172-edwards-syndrome
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, and Reginald H. Fuller. The Cost of Discipleship. Rev. [i.e. 2d] & unabridged ed. containing material not previously translated. New York: Macmillan, 1959.