Abortion and Bastiat’s Seen and Unseen

As a devout Christian I believe all human beings are made in the “image of God” (Gen. 1:26-27). This truth claim shapes my understanding of abortion.

Clement of Alexandria reasoned in his Stromata Book 1 chapter 5 that “God is the cause of all good things.” Even the truthful insights of unbelieving Greek philosophers come from God. We sum up this reasoning as “All truth is God’s truth wherever it may be found.”

One such source of God-given reasoning shines in the brilliance of French economist Frédéric Bastiat. Although he was likely derelict in his Christian faith when he wrote it, his What is Seen and What is Not Seen expresses human reality with timeless wisdom.

Bastiat reasoned that an action can have many effects. The immediate one gets our attention. That first effect is what is seen. The other effects that follow are what is not seen.

Bastiat explained the economics of this with a parable about a broken window. A shopkeeper’s son accidentally breaks a window. The unhappy shopkeeper must pay to replace the window.

However, other observers explain that the broken window is actually a net gain. Glass makers need to sell windows to stay in business. The shop gets a shiny, new window. The child is now the glass maker’s hero. Many more people benefit, because the glass maker has extra money to spend on other business. Money circulates and “employs” a whole community. It’s a win-win situation!

What is seen in this flawed theory is the new window and spreading wealth. But what about the effect on the shopkeeper that others conveniently overlook? After replacing the window, he now has less money. What is unseen is what the shopkeeper could have done with that money. Instead of replacing a broken window, he could have bought a new pair of shoes. This benefits the shoe maker, who can now spend money elsewhere.

Money circulation happens in either scenario. A broken window is not a net gain for the economy. It redistributes wealth from the shopkeeper and is a total net loss. Money spent from a broken window is hastier and prone to exploitation. Money spent without a broken window would likely be voluntary and better planned. Both parties to the exchange could fare better.

Destruction doesn’t increase an economy. It only decreases it while benefiting some people at the expense of others. As I read Bastiat’s masterpiece recently, a thought pierced my mind. He explained that the unseen “third person” in the scenario “is always kept in the shade.” Yet, to understand the truth, Bastiat argues, this third person “shows us how absurd it is to think we see a profit in an act of destruction.”

These words echoed in my heart as I thought about the abortion debate. I wonder how many have tested this issue with the broken window fallacy. I invite you to see how abortion can lead us to the fallacy of “the blessings of destruction.” We can forget that shaded “third person” in this issue. No matter how we may be tempted to reason, ending an unborn human life in the womb is an act of “destruction.”

What is seen when a man and woman engage in intercourse is the euphoria of the moment together. This is Bastiat’s “immediate” effect. What is unseen are the other effects that are actual and potential, including the possibility of an unexpected pregnancy. As I hear the argument “My body, my choice!” I can’t think of a better example of an argument only for what is seen. What is not seen is that shaded “third person,” the new human life forming in the womb.

The shopkeeper’s son may not have intended to break the window. That doesn’t mean sacrifice isn’t necessary to repair the damage. Unlike a broken window, a new human life is growing. Nothing has been “destroyed.” However, the seen and the unseen are clear.

For abortion proponents, an unplanned pregnancy may be a tragedy, and the solution is to end it. What is seen is the pain, grief, and fear of an unprepared mother or couple. No one should dare minimize that! What is also seen is the cost of pregnancy and child rearing. But what is unseen is the human life that will end by force: the “third person.”

When an abortion happens, the “immediate” effect seen is the relief from a disruptive and difficult situation. But, as Bastiat taught, an action has multiple unseen effects. What is unseen is the pain the unborn child may have experienced, a life forcefully ended, and the potential effects this loss will carry.

Like the broken window fallacy shows, money circulates if a window is broken or not. Remember, the broken window is a net loss. What is seen with an abortion is the perceived economic benefit that the woman is now more free to offer society. What is unseen, however, is the human dignity, value, worth, and potential economic benefit the child could have offered society.

May I suggest that what is unseen includes the unspoken agony and depression that post-abortive parents may experience for decades. What is seen is a “Turnaway Study” that followed some women for up to 5 years after abortion to claim that regret is a myth. What is unseen are the countless people who hide their pain until they can be “Silent No More.”

As the battle over abortion rages, we can’t deny what scientific advances bring to the seen and the unseen. Two hundred years ago, what was seen was the evidence of human life at “quickening,” when the mother felt the first “kick.” What was unseen was unborn human life before that. High-resolution ultrasound and other tools now greatly expand what is seen, and drastically reduce what is unseen.

What is now seen is a “zinc spark” when fertilization begins and a primitive fetal heartbeat at only three weeks gestation. What is now seen is the ability to watch human life grow and develop from conception to birth.

But the rhetoric and policies of abortion want to keep the unseen in the shade. Abortion jealously guards our ignorance to protect us from the unseen. Abortion tempts us to see only its perceived benefits. That forgotten “third person” must remain unseen. Despite what ultrasound shows and morality would dictate, we must force our reason and senses to press what is seen into the realm of what is unseen to shade it.

Frederic Bastiat reportedly reclaimed his belief in God near his death by saying “I see, I know, I believe; I am a Christian.” As “all truth is God’s truth,” I believe Bastiat’s wonderful treatise on What is Seen and What is Not Seen is full of truth for Christian and non-Christian alike. We should see the unseen wherever our mind’s eye finds it. Bastiat’s logic demands we pull that “third person” out of the shade and respect unborn human life.

Source: https://libertarianchristians.com/2025/10/10/abortion-and-bastiats-seen-and-unseen/