Would restrictions on abortion make it legal? It’s a question many pro-lifers grapple with.
The reality is abortion is already legal. Even if there is no abortion law, abortion remains legal. Adding restrictions doesn’t make it legal, nor does it make abortion more legal. Some of what was legal is now made illegal (e.g., abortion after 12 or 18 weeks’ gestation), thereby saving some lives and limiting evil. That is exactly what the Bible calls the State to do – to limit evil.
Some might object, “Wouldn’t a law prohibiting abortions after a certain number of weeks arbitrarily divide humans into ‘protected’ and ‘unprotected’ classes?” The continuum of human life begins at fertilization and ends at natural death. Currently under Canadian law only “born” humans have protection, so our law today already divides humans into “protected” and “unprotected” classes.
Therefore, if the law was changed to reflect increased protection by extending it to “pre-born” humans from 12 or 18 weeks to birth, then fewer babies would fall under the unprotected class, thus limiting the injustice of abortion.