Representative Jason Zachary recently defended Tennessee Right to Life, Tennessee’s Republican supermajority, and the incremental strategy that has defined Tennessee’s abortion policy for decades in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Knoxville News Sentinel. Along the way, he labeled abolitionists as “extremists,” accused us of “weaponizing the Gospel,” and claimed we are a “threat” to the pro-life movement.

Abolitionism is a distinctly Christian, Gospel-centered movement built on five biblical tenets. At its core, Abolitionists believe abortion is the murder of an image-bearer of God, that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only ultimate answer to abortion, and that Scripture requires equal justice for every preborn child.

That last point is where the unbiblical inconsistencies in Representative Zachary’s and TRL’s position begin. Abolitionists believe not only that life in the womb has dignity and value, but that it has equal dignity and equal value to that of life outside of the womb, because all life, from the moment of fertilization, is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). Because we believe this, Abolitionists seek to protect life in the womb with the same protection and the same justice as life outside of the womb.

Representative Zachary and TRL reject that conclusion. They oppose legislation that would apply Tennessee’s homicide laws equally to all persons, including mothers who intentionally murder their preborn children. In doing so, they defend a legal standard in which the identity of the offender determines whether justice is administered.

The inconsistency is found in Tennessee law itself. Tennessee law recognizes that a preborn child is a victim when someone violently attacks a pregnant woman. If a criminal murders a pregnant mother and her preborn child, Tennessee recognizes two victims. Why? Because the preborn child is a human being whose life is worthy of legal protection. Yet, Tennessee’s abortion laws create an extraordinary exception. The very same child recognized as a victim when killed by a violent criminal is denied equal protection and justice when the person intentionally ending that child’s life is his or her own mother.

What changed? The humanity of that child did not change. The innocence of that child did not change. The image of God borne by that child did not change. The only thing that changed is the identity of the offender. Where does Scripture teach that justice should depend upon who commits the crime? Nowhere. Instead, Scripture condemns partiality in judgment, unequal weights and measures, and acquitting the guilty while condemning the innocent (Deuteronomy 1:17; Proverbs 20:10; Proverbs 17:15). Justice is measured by what was done and who was harmed—not by the relationship between the offender and the victim. Scripture never teaches that an innocent child deserves less justice because the offender is his or her own mother.

Representative Zachary insists Tennessee has built a “culture of life”, but a true culture of life cannot be built on unequal justice. Since the child in the womb is truly our neighbor, then he or she deserves the same protection under the law as every other innocent human being. That is not extremism. It is not radicalism. It is the impartial justice God requires. Representative Zachary says Abolitionists “threaten” the pro-life movement. We would suggest the greater threat is proclaiming that every preborn child bears God’s image while defending laws that intentionally deny those same children equal protection. Labels such as “extremist,” “fringe,” or “weaponizing the Gospel” cannot resolve that contradiction.

Since the preborn child is truly our neighbor, the law should recognize no favored class of offender and no less-protected class of victim. The debate is not ultimately about Abolitionists, but whether God’s command to establish impartial justice applies to every image bearer. Until Tennessee protects preborn children with the same justice afforded every other innocent person, Abolitionists will continue to call for equal justice under the law because Scripture requires it.