Some Religious Leaders Sell Out On Abortion

For months there has been an ongoing debate about whether abortion will be part of any health care reform bill. Last month, a coalition of religious leaders published an open letter calling abortion a moral decision.
They want "to create a world where abortion is safe, legal, accessible, and rare."
Although the preamble focuses on abortion worldwide, it is fairly obvious that the timing of the letter coincides with the debate about abortion as part of the health care bills being considered in Congress. Then they set forth their religious convictions for affirming that abortion is a morally justifiable decision.
The key section in the letter addresses the Bible. The group claims that: "Scripture neither condemns nor prohibits abortion." While it is true that the word "abortion" does not appear in the Bible, it is hard to understand how these religious leaders could come to such a sweeping conclusion.
There are verses that show God's call to Old Testament prophets while they are still in their mother's wombs. Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you." Isaiah 49:1 says, "The Lord called me from the womb; From the body of my mother He named me."
In Psalm 139, David is reflecting on God's omnipresence. He then says, "For you formed my inward parts, You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:13-14).
The Bible teaches the sanctity of human life. But these religious leaders argue that the sanctity of a human life only applies if our parents wanted us to be born. This is what they say about this in the so-called "respect for life" section of the letter: "The sanctity of human life is best upheld when we assure that it is not created carelessly."
This is wrong. A child's dignity and worth should never be determined by what the parents were thinking when they created that child. The Bible teaches that all of us are created in the image of God and thus have value and dignity. Unfortunately, these religious leaders seemed to have missed that part of the Bible. I'm Kerby Anderson, and that's my point of view.