Can you be Christian and Pro Choice?
Can you be Christian and Pro Choice?
Scenario 1: A woman and a man decide they are hot for each other and they have sex. The woman finds out she is pregnant, and has no real complications associated with the pregnancy, but certainly didn't intend to get pregnant. What are her options?
Scenario 2: Another woman and a man decide they want to have a baby, and are excited to bring a child into this world and are delighted by the prospect that they could be parents. As the pregnancy progresses, the mother begins to have severe morning sickness and can't barely function. She presses on for several weeks, but it just seems to get worse despite medical attention. What are her options?
Scenario 3: Another woman and a man decide they too are very excited to have a baby and to bring a child into this world. As the pregnancy progresses, the mother becomes very anxious. She begins to worry incessantly about everything. Is there home ready for a baby, am I going to be a good mom, what was I thinking, I can barely take care of myself let alone a baby who will be dependent on me, and that I have to take care of for the next 18 years …. what the freak was I thinking. Normal right. For most that is normal. Then you have others who dive into deep depression and anxiety as a result, with the world closing in around them. They can't sleep, which only deepens the depression and anxiety. What are her options?
First of all, I have no authority or specific education that gives me any right to speak on the topic. I am generally a conservative voter, and I am a Christian, but here are my views nonetheless. This post is meant to make us think about this issue, hopefully from a different perspective than you have previously considered.
I am not in favor of abortion. I think the number of abortions that take place are evidence that our society has no respect for the sanctity of life. Life is precious, and a life of a child should not be considered to be less than anyone else. It is heartbreaking to see that we are a society that will seek to remedy a “mistake” with something so egregious as performing an abortion. Some may argue, it's not really a life yet until some number of weeks into the pregnancy, then I ask, how many weeks? What is the magic number of days into the pregnancy where they become a life? Or is it not until they are born? So is it ok then to perform an abortion the day before they are born? That doesn't seem right. They are clearly a life by then, and they could live independent of the mother.
I believe that consenting to sex means your are consenting to the possibility that you could get pregnant, and you are willing to live the with the consequences of that. The consequences are, you are pregnant and now responsible for that child. This should not be taken lightly.
I hope you can see that I regard life, including the life of a fetus, to be sacred. Now for the catch. Some Christian religions who do not condone abortion in general, but do condone it for specific cases, such as 1)incest 2) rape 3) life of the mother is in danger 4) Baby dies in utero. Why is that? Is that wrong? Are all abortions bad? According to some church policies, it is not. So what is at the heart of this. It seems to me that it is taking into account the mother. So the fundamental question that springs from this: is the life of the baby more important than the life of the mother, or is the life of the mother more important than the life of the baby?
Both are a child of God. God loves them both. So who does He love more? Hmmm.... God loves them equally. So why is it that in many states our legislation enforcing Pro Life is so rigid? This suggests that the life of the baby is more important than the life of the mother, which in contrary to a God who loves them equally. Pro Choice proponents seek to effectively advertise abortions as a fall back when you fail to effectively prevent pregnancy. There has got to be some middle ground here.
What about when a mother during pregnancy becomes very ill due to morning sickness. Many do not suffer much with this, but what of those who have immense suffering, feeling like they cannot take it one more day. What then? Does she have the right to end the pregnancy because her health and sanity are at risk? Who should decide what is too much, and whether or not she can push through? The government? A doctor? It is her life, and only she knows what she is going through and how it is effecting her, so doesn't she deserve the right to make decisions that will ensure her enduring health and sanity?
I get it. Having children is a sacrifice. A sacrifice of time, money, blood, sweat, tears, and your body. Your body will presumably not be the same after childbirth, and it is worth it. However the sacrifice of one mother's body may not be exactly the same sacrifice it is for another. So even other mothers don't really have a right to decide for another mother when it is too much. Each can have very different experiences and complications.
I believe the life of the mother and the baby are sacred. Modern medicine is used to preserve our health, and abortion is one of those procedures that can be performed to literally save a mothers life. It can also be employed to save a mothers health, and mental health. She should not be denied the right to maintain her health. She is loved by God, as much as that baby is. I have to believe that God's plan allows a woman to decide when to suffer, and when it is too much.
Now if you are Pro Life, you may worry that if we don't put laws in place to regulate the practice of abortion, then it will just go rampant. Maybe, but would you deny someone their right to choose to be healthy both physically and mentally so that you can stop others who are using it as a convenience? Is that fair?
I believe that abortion is extremely difficult if not impossible to legislate to preserve the rights of the woman baring the child. This issue must be addressed some other way other than legislation. This has been an issue for which many U.S. Citizens have been very concerned with for many years, and yet the legislation is not sufficient to preserve the rights of women who should be able to choose her health over the health and wellbeing of an unborn child. Her life is as sacred as the life of the child.
If not legislated and enforced by the government, then what can we do? First of all the government has never been adept at tailoring policies to individuals particular circumstances. So really the government would never be the right place to put this decision. It has to be individuals who choose to do the right thing. They must be allowed to exercise their agency. To make informed decisions, education has always been the method. Women and men should be taught of the physiological and mental repercussions of an abortion. Men and women should be taught that it's not just an easy thing, you have an abortion, and move on with life. Christians should be taught boldly in their churches by their religious leaders that life is sacred, and women should not have an abortion unless it is necessary. I believe counseling should be recommended (maybe required) to anyone who is considering having one, and recommended to continue if that is what the mother deems necessary for her health.
You may argue then, that we as a society are choosing to do nothing about it, and something is better than nothing. I would say we are offering medical procedures that may be necessary to maintain the health of the mother, and we are giving her the right to decide. Will it be abused, yes, yes it will. That breaks my heart, but would you seek to remove that right from those who truly need it?
So refer back to the scenarios above. Do I believe it is morally wrong for scenario 1 participants to have an abortion. Yes, absolutely I do. I believe this is the scenario that probably happens the most, and it is the one we focus on when trying to legislate any restrictions on abortion. Let's not forget the scenarios where it is necessary for the health of the mother, and certainly within the policies of their respective churches. According to these church policies, abortion should be made available to those who need it. Let's not forget that most (not all) church policies are in favor of abortion being an available medical procedure. Then if you venture outside of Christian beliefs, other churches don't have a strong stance one way or another.
Can you be Pro Life and properly legislate, take into account both mother and fetus?
*There may be a path to reasonable legislation for late term abortion, but I am even less qualified to speak on what that legislation should be than I am to comment on abortion in general. I have voted against legalizing late term abortion laws, because it seems to me that at that point the mother and the fetus can be protected, but then again, I'm not an expert, so I'm basing that off of limit understanding.
** In my opinion governments should also legislate the business aspect of abortions. It is a medical procedure. When centers begin to make money by selling aborted fetus', this now incentivises doing abortions for that center. I believe responsible governments will regulate any monetizing of the abortion process outside of the normal medical costs to perform the abortion and monitor the health of the mother.
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