ABORTION & THE BAHA'I FAITH

(please print-out this short article for personal study, and deepenings)

 

The Universal House of Justice has written:

"Birth control procedures which allow the ovum to be fertilized but do not

permit the fertilized ovum to develop are thus not permissible, but there is

no objection to those procedures which prevent the occurrence of

conception." (3 January 1993)

Many birth-control pills actually allow conception to take place, but merely cause the conceptus to be washed out of the uterus. This is in fact an 'abortion' of the conceptus. And since the conceptus is a living human soul (although it doesn't of course resemble a person) the House has declared

that the use of such anti-conceptus birth-control pills are "not permissible". The phrase "not permissible" means not permitted; not allowed.

 

The Universal House of Justice has also written:

"All Baha'is are subject to Baha'i law and Baha'i standards. It would

clearly be unacceptable for a Baha'i doctor to advocate abortion as a method

of birth control and set up a clinic for that purpose,...." (Issues Related

to the Study of the Baha'i Faith, section 1)

All of the ealiest and most reliable writings and laws in the Sabean, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Islamic Revelations _all_ condemn abortion and see it as the destruction of a human life. Under Jewish (Mishnah), Christian (Constitutions of the Apostles), and early Islamic (Shariah) laws, abortion was always forbidden; with the only exception being to save the life of the mother.

Some Baha'is feel that abortion simply "cannot be discussed" because it is a "political issue". Again, race unity was a "political issue" up until only several decades ago! Yet, the Baha'is discussed it: constantly.

Homosexuality is also a "political issue". Shall Baha'is not discuss it? Shall they refuse to inform New Believers on what the Guardian and House had to say about it? Here are some more "political issues":

The equality of men and women

The abolition of the extremes of poverty and wealth

The elimination of prejudices of all kinds

The Unity of Mankind (i.e. a Universal Executive and World State which shall

have sovereignty over the U.S. and all other nations).

All of these principles can be called "political issues". They could also be called "divisive" as well as "partisan" (the Socialist Worker's Party are for all of these, while other political parties are not, or only for a few of them).

The _only reason_ why some Baha'is don't want the subject of abortion to be discussed (not even informing the Believers on what the Guardian and House had to say) is because they personally _don't agree with them_! If so, then all Baha'is should be allowed to "pick and choose" which Laws and Directives they personally wish to keep, and those they wish to simply "ignore".

Questions to Ponder:

Where in the Holy Texts does it say that a woman has a 'right' to abort the

child in her womb?

Will you simply 'ignore' what the Guardian and the House said about

abortion?

Will you 'strongly deprecate' abortion as the Guardian directed?

Can each Baha'i simply pick and choose for his or herself which 'Laws' and

directives are for 'them', or which are 'important' and which aren't and can

simply be ignored?

Baha'u'llah has written:

"The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him

who is the Dayspring of His Revelation adn the Fountain of His Laws, who

representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of

creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso

is deprived thereof hath gone astray, though he be the author of every

righteous deed. It behoveth everyone who reacheth this most sublime station,

this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is

the desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is

acceptable without the other." (Kitable-i-Aqdas, p.19)

'Abdu'l-Baha has written:

"The man who lives the life according to the teachings of Baha'u'llah is

already a Baha'i. On the other hand, a man may call himself a Baha'i for

fifty years and if he does not live the life he is not a Baha'i. An ugly man

may call himself handsome, but he deceives no one, and a black man may call

himself white, yet he deceives no one, not even himself." (Baha'u'llah and

the New Era, p.72)

The Cause of God in this Dispensation is about the Justice of God! And the

greatest violation of the Justice of God is _not_ preventing women from

becoming CEOs of major corporations, or from blacks eating with whites, or

from minorities having equal rights. The _greatest_ violation of the Justice

of God is to deny the "right of life" itself; especially to the innocent.

Some Baha'is claim: "Oh, we can't take a stand...this may be divisive and

cause disunity!" The same could be said for homosexuality, or race unity, or

any _number_ of Laws. The fact is, Divine Unity refers NOT to simply

everyone smiling and shaking hands with each other. Divine Unity refers ONLY

to conforming our wills to the Will of God. And if we accept some of His

Precepts (Race Unity) and reject others (Abortion is wrong and should be

preached against) then we are _not_ united with the Divine Will.

Other Baha'is say: "Oh, we can't be judgmental! We cannot judge!" Take that

to it's logical conclusion: if we cannot obey the Guardian because we can't

'judge' others, then this principle must be applied equally in all other

areas. We can't judge homosexuals, thus Baha'is must allow them completely.

We can't judge pedophiles. We can't judge racists. We can't judge.....

Again, these arguments are not even logical, but are more attempts at

justifying and ignoring the Guardian's clear and unequivocal directives.

Take a _stand_: the Standard of God, and let it be known! Do as the Guardian

specifically directed, and strongly deprecate abortion in a loving manner;

as a divine educator.

Darrick Evenson