As of writing this, the last presidential debate was held a few days ago and one of the opening questions was about the life issue, more specifically about Roe v. Wade. To many people's surprise, one political candidate vehemently supported the right to perform partial-birth abortions and even went so far as to not deny the claim that partial-birth abortions could be done well within the third trimester of pregnancy. However, her admission of supporting the performing of partial-birth abortions was not a surprise to me; in fact it was to be expected especially given her bedfellow, Planned Parenthood. Abortion is polarizing and one that many would avoid talking about all together. It is a topic that for many is far too divisive to bring out into the open and should be confined to the area of a "quiet but necessary evil." I, on the other hand have a different view entirely. Abortion should be exposed for what it is and should be looked at with a Biblical worldview. Abortion is not just the destruction of a life, but instead it is the killing of a person. Now, the argument against this position would be that though many who support abortion would concede that it is a life within a mother's womb, it is still not yet a person, due to environment, level of dependency and even development. Again, even the most vocal supporters of abortion would agree with all pro-lifers that the embryo is a living thing, however it is no different than a twig being alive. Now if personhood is dependent on conditions such as environment (whether in the womb or out), level of dependency and development then who decides when a person is a person? It is a scary thought considering that there are some within academia such as Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, who says "Human babies are not born self-aware, or capable of grasping that they exist over time." So therefore, "the life of a newborn is of less value than the life of a pig, a dog or a chimpanzee." Singer has even gone so far as to assert that an infant should not be considered a person until 30 days after birth. Let that sink in for a moment and follow its logical conclusion. If an infant is not a person and is not protected under Constitutional law then we are no longer just talking about abortion in utero, rather we are talking about infanticide. The Bible is extraordinarily clear that a person is a person upon conception. As a matter of fact, science even backs up the Biblical assertion by showing that upon conception everything that makes you, you, is found within that embryo and the only difference between you today, versus you back in the womb is location, level of dependency and development. Not only is a person a person upon conception, but the very reality of the Imago Dei (Image of God) is at conception because as the Bible teaches, God himself is wonderfully and intricately weaving a person together within the womb (Psalm. 139:14-15). According to Scripture, no child is just simply a "life," rather an incredible and precious wonder of God. Throughout the Bible we see the personhood of the unborn child. For example we see in Genesis 25:22, about the twins of whom Rebekah was carrying, it states, "The children struggled together within her..." Not only is this evidence of sibling rivalry, but notice its explicit reference that it was children, not clumps of tissue that were jostling back and forth. Yet one of the most amazing passages about the personhood of the unborn is found within the New Testament. In Luke's Gospel, chapter 1:39-45 we see an incredible verse speaking of the unborn John the Baptist and his reaction to Jesus, who also at that time was still in the womb. Verse 41 says, "And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb." This is hardly a picture of what Peter Singer or anyone that would claim that a baby is unaware and therefore not a person. The baby John leaped for joy in response to, was the unborn Christ. I know of only people who could respond in such way. Abortion is polarizing and we should recognize the topic's sensitivity. However the Scriptures are clear, the life within a womb is a person, and that person, created in the image of God should be cherished and protected.