Posted August 04, 2026
While today’s news is dominated by wildfires in Washington state and the latest in the war with Iran, here’s a story that may seem less urgent than it is: GLP-1 weight-loss drugs might weaken the effectiveness of oral contraceptives. According to Cambridge scientist Giles Yeo, women using the birth control drugs are “going to get a lot of unexpected babies.”
That’s dramatically better than the alternative, however. But if women are taking contraceptive pills, they presumably do not want to become pregnant. If they then become pregnant, are they more likely to abort their baby?
In other words, will GLP-1 drugs cost even more babies their lives?
I need to respond to this question today, but not in the way you might think.
Scripture consistently states that God is the author of life beginning at conception. For example, David prayed, “You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).
The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). Those who “ripped open pregnant women in Gilgal” would especially face the wrath and judgment of God (Amos 1:13–15). (For much more, see my website article, “What does the Bible say about abortion?”)
What, then, are we to do with clergy who advocate for abortion?
The Rev. Rebecca Todd Peters is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a professor of religious studies at Elon University. The Washington Post approvingly covered her recent sermon to a congregation in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she stated that “at fifty-five, she is married, has two children, and has undergone two abortions.”
She told the congregation: “I felt God’s presence with me as I made the decision to end two pregnancies, and I felt no guilt, no shame, no sin. A forced pregnancy or birth is not holy.” According to the Post, Dr. Peters advocates for “reproductive justice,” one of the more recent euphemisms for abortion.
An abortion clinic in Cresaptown, Maryland, drew a group of what The Nation calls “religious leaders and people of faith.” According to the article, they were there to give “a blessing for the providers and staff, and the communities they serve, to acknowledge the clinic’s work as sacred.”
The Rev. Katey Zeh, an ordained Baptist minister, heads the Religious Community for Reproductive Choice, which the New York Times describes as “a multifaith organization that seeks to end religious stigma around abortion by providing training for religious leaders who want to counsel people through reproductive decisions.” Their group has “blessed” numerous abortion clinics over the years as well.
My purpose in today’s article is not to debate the subject of abortion in a thousand words or less. For an extensive look at the arguments made by abortion advocates and my biblical responses, please see the website article I referenced earlier and other resources on our website.
Rather, I am writing today to encourage you with this fact: God’s word and common sense are on the side of life. Not only is Scripture clear, but it is clear that an unborn baby is in fact a baby. At the moment of conception, the so-called “fetus” possesses a complete set of forty-six human chromosomes arranged in twenty-three pairs. No woman in human history has ever given birth to anything but another human.
Don’t let pro-abortion clergy dissuade you. There was a time when white supremacist ministers argued that chattel slavery in America was biblical and that Africans were “beasts.” Eugenics, the attempt to enhance the genetic makeup of society, was once widely accepted in America. In fact, Margaret Sanger founded what became Planned Parenthood to promote eugenic birth control throughout the US, to the continuing devastation of racial minorities.
As we noted yesterday, common sense can prevail across time even in a post-truth culture. In the meantime, on abortion and any other moral subject, believers are ultimately at war with Satan himself, who was “a murderer from the beginning” and “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). One of his favorite tools is discouragement, in large part because so few people know that it is his.
To this end, “let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). Let us stand boldly for biblical truth, using our gifts, abilities, resources, and influence to serve Christ in our kingdom assignment. And let us pray for the day when abortion is as abhorrent as slavery and eugenics, and our nation treats its most vulnerable and innocent members with the protection and respect they deserve.
President Ronald Reagan said, “I’ve noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born.” Such common-sense reasoning for biblical truth is vital in saving the lives of millions of preborn Americans. And in leading our broken culture to the One who alone can forgive our sin, transform our hearts, and change our culture.
Pastor and author Dave Harvey is right:
“Everything in Scripture is either preparation for the gospel, presentation of the gospel, or participation in the gospel.”
Let’s join in all three today, to the glory of God.
“I’m not afraid of failure. I’m afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.” —William Carey
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