Beware of the Trojan horses in the abortion debates
A Trojan Horse is a trick or strategy that causes something to appear benign or even good, and therefore be accepted and welcomed, while in reality it is deadly and brings defeat. As a result of the Dobbs decision in 2022, abortion is now largely a state issue being decided by laws passed by locally elected officials or by voters in the case of a constitutional amendment. Some of those laws and amendments include Trojan horse words.
Ten states had abortion on their ballot Nov. 5, 2024: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada and South Dakota. In Virginia, a Democrat-led House of Delegates Panel has just approved sending a radical abortion Constitutional amendment (HR1) to the full House when it convenes in January. Virginia requires a lengthy legislative process for amendments, so it would be years before it potentially could reach the voters. It demonstrates however, that abortion is now a local issue.
Every voter needs to be informed and aware of the deceptions being promoted by abortion advocates. Floridians voted on an amendment to their constitution that read: “… no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider” (italics added). The amendment failed to reach the 60% threshold required for a constitutional amendment. However, 57% of Florida voters supported the amendment.
There are two Trojan horses in the amendment. Some Florida voters may have assumed that the amendment allowed abortion, without restrictions, up until about week 24 of gestation, and after 24 weeks only if a mother’s dire health issues required it. The first Trojan horse is that “viability” does not reference gestational age. According to Webster’s dictionary, “viability” means “having attained such form and development of organs as to be normally capable of surviving outside the uterus.” People might assume that corresponds to the gestational age of 24-26 weeks. It does not. No baby can “survive outside the uterus” without support, and some babies require medical support. All require parental support to feed and care for the child. Therefore, an amendment or law that permits abortion until the baby can “survive outside the uterus,” can be interpreted as abortion throughout the 9 months.
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There is a second Trojan Horse is, “Patient’s [mother’s] health.” Some people may assume that means terminating the pregnancy in order to resolve a life-threatening issue. It does not. The word “health” in the abortion context was defined by the Supreme Court in the companion case to Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton , 1973, where the Court declared “medical judgment may be exercised in light of all factors — physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age — relevant to the well-being of the patient. All the factors may relate to health” (italics added). “Health” therefore includes not only the physical life of the mother but things like financial anxiety, depression, morning sickness, and family pressure. It is a legal term defined by the Supreme Court to include “all the factors.” Nothing is excluded.
Certainly, there are cases where a woman, after the child is 24-26 weeks old has a medical condition that may require the child to be delivered prematurely. But there is never a reason to intentionally kill the unborn child to secure a mother’s health or life. The American Association for Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) states:
Abortion is the purposeful killing of the unborn in the termination of a pregnancy. AAPLOG opposes abortion. When extreme medical emergencies that threaten the life of the mother arise (chorioamnionitis or HELLP syndrome could be examples), AAPLOG believes in “treatment to save the mother’s life,” including premature delivery if that is indicated — obviously with the patient’s informed consent. This is NOT “abortion to save the mother’s life.” We are treating two patients, the mother and the baby, and every reasonable attempt to save the baby’s life would also be a part of our medical intervention. We acknowledge that, in some such instances, the baby would be too premature to survive.
AAPLOG explains that “premature delivery” is “NOT ‘abortion to save the mother’s life.’” The distinction is central to the abortion debate. Abortion by definition is “the purposeful killing of the unborn.” “Premature delivery” attempts to save both the mother and the baby’s life.
A third potential Trojan horse is whether the sweeping language in some bills would nullify existing laws or prevent new laws, such as requiring parental notification before minors receive an abortion, a 24-hour waiting period, continuing to allow physicians to prescribe drugs to reverse the effect of abortion pills, basic standards of care at abortion centers, and keeping statistics on reasons for abortions, outcomes, and complications.
A fourth Trojan horse is that apparently, there is confusion on exactly what constitutes an “abortion” versus a “premature delivery.” Demonstrating the confusion, a woman at a 2024 Ben Shapiro event asked, “Why does the definition of abortion have to do with the death of a fetus?” The woman continued, “Would you not assume something like a c-section would be considered an abortion?” To bring clarity, Shapiro correctly defined abortion as, “The forcible termination of an unborn human life.”
The woman continued, “I don’t see why you say that it has to end in the death of a fetus, which is why I’m pro-abortion all nine months, right?”
How many people accept abortion through all 9 months, because they believe, as this woman does, that abortion equates to premature delivery? It does not. The goal of abortion is to intentionally kill the unborn child. The goal of premature delivery is to give both the mother and child life.
An April 2023, NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist, poll found that 80% of Americans reject abortion on demand throughout pregnancy. Yet, in contradiction to the polls, 57% of the voters in Florida voted to allow unlimited abortion through all 9 months. One wonders if they were deceived by the Trojan horses of “viability” and “patient’s [mother’s] health” into believing that they were limiting abortion to the first 3 months and only after that in extreme medical emergencies. We must not allow such Trojan horse deceptions to go unchallenged when the powerful, well-funded abortion advocates try to pass pro-abortion policies in our state.
When considering approving unregulated abortion during the first three months, it is also important that we are familiar with fetal development even as early as 9 weeks. Think of the developing child described by the Cleveland Clinic. By the 9th week of gestation, a heartbeat is detectable. By the 10th week, the arms, hands, fingers, feet and toes are fully formed. By the 12th week all organs, limbs, bones and muscles are present. The circulatory, digestive and urinary systems are working. The fetus is drinking and peeing amniotic fluid. This is the first-trimester baby.
By overturning Roe v. Wade, the abortion debate has been moved back to the states. Every individual who understands what is at stake in abortion legislation has an opportunity and obligation to bring clarity to the abortion debate. To do that, we must understand the terms and explain the terms to others in the legislature, as well as to our neighbors.
Susan Cyre was on the IRD Board for several years serving under Mark Tooley’s leadership. She helped start Theology Matters and was its executive director and editor for 20 years. She's the author of From Genesis to Revelation God Takes a Bride. Other articles she's written that bring Christian faith to bear on cultural issues can be found on Google or academia.edu.
