Abortion vs Pro-Choice for Christians

There is no topic that arouses more emotion and conflict that abortion. I find that I am at conflict with myself over the issue. Theologically I am prolife, and I’ll tell you why in a bit. But politically, I’m pro-choice. I’ll explain later. Here’s why I, and every Christian I’ve ever known, am prolife. 

Three stories reveal the child before conception

First story: In the 70’s I had a friend named Mary. She was short, blonde, and cute in a unique gnomish way. There was only one Mary. No one else came close to looking like her. She married and had a daughter. One day they had a Pentecostal prayer meeting in their home. A man who had been an alcoholic, but had converted and been delivered, had a vision. Their daughter was an infant at the time. He saw a new baby, and saw the little girl riding a tricycle in the house. He said, “Mary, the baby looks just like you.” Mary and I were living in different locations at that time, so I never heard about that prediction.

Well, in time, Mary did have a baby boy. And about that time, their daughter was old enough to ride a tricycle. I visited them one day in their rural trailer park. At the door Mary said, “Just wait. Stand there and don’t move.” She ran into the house and brought out her boy and held him up to her face. The first thing I said was, “Mary, he looks just like you!” And that is what everyone who saw them said. Even at age 11 he looked like his mom. So the implication there is what King David wrote in Psalm 139:13, “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

Not convinced? Second story. The same thing happened to me. I married at age 39 and was pregnant two months later. I was not surprised, because God had promised me children years previous. I was hoping for a second, but just left it to God’s will. My only request was to not be delivering babies at age 44. One night I had a dream. I was in a car with friends when I sensed something in my lap. It was a baby. I picked it up and laid it on my shoulder and said, “Oh, are you the little one who hasn’t been conceived yet? If you are, I just want you to know how much we’re looking forward to you coming and living with us.” He was wearing a white gown, so I couldn’t tell the gender. Unlike my first boy, who was almost bald, this one had a head of black hair. When Ben was born, he looked just like the child in my dream.

So in the sight of the God that I believe in, Ben was Ben even before he was a blob of protoplasm in my womb. And it follows that every conceived child is similarly known to God, no matter what stage of development they are at. They are a person. They have a destiny.

Third story. On the day of the 2016 election our church was 50/50 politically. Several of us were openly horrified at the prospect of Trump being president. I was at church, and one of my Bible students was sitting near me. Since we were alone, I felt emboldened to ask her who she voted for. She paused a bit before answering. Quietly and gently she said, “I voted for Mr. Trump. I am a nurse, and I used to work for a place where they performed abortions. It was really traumatic. I had to look at those baby parts lying on the table. I could NEVER vote for anyone who was in favor of abortion.”

That was a compelling story that I’ll never forget. The Christians can say, and rightly, "It’s not a choice. It’s a child."

Abortion rules go sideways fast in cruel ways

HOWEVER, there are two bodies involved in a pregnancy. Two sets of rights, two agendas. Being pregnant is not the same as being a mother, which is as much a state of mind as a condition of biology. Nothing is more sacred or intimate than what we do with our own bodies and our health. And nothing can overturn a woman’s world for good or ill than bringing a child into the world.

It’s the woman’s job or career, her education, her dignity, her health, her relationships, her future economic challenges that will be upended by an unwanted pregnancy. And that doesn’t touch the emotional trauma of having your life wrenched away from a chosen direction into some path full of pitfalls and resentment. Now I can tell you more stories of wonderful mothers who carried those surprise babies through to term, and they don’t regret the consequences. I also know of one middle aged woman who gave birth to a surprise downs baby. Yes, she loves the little girl, but that mother was at wits end dealing with such a child’s needs at her advanced age. Every day was a struggle to survive.

The are privacy questions and health issues that would be impossible to untangle if strict laws are in place. How close to death would a mother have to come before a doctor could perform an abortion? What damage does the psychological damage do to all involved during the wait, hoping the timing is right, because if it isn't the woman could die or be injured for life? What if women die because gynecologists don't want to go to prison or have their licenses revoked? What if gynecologists flee a state where strict rules apply, leaving women unprotected? What if strict abortion rules enacted by politicians are just hypocritical virtue theater to garner votes and the life and mental health of women don't matter to them?

So we Christians can judge if we will, but I’m not into Sharia law for Christians. The people advocating the loudest for strict abortion policies are the same ones screaming tyranny if they have to have a vaccination. They parade around with their child-killing guns but think they are holy because they advocate for pro-life. They want small government, but they want the government to make a woman prove that her miscarriage was not an abortion. They want raped women to carry the child to term, and then maybe have to fight the rapist in court for parental rights. They want little girls to bring babies to term when their bodies aren't ready for it. How is this Christian religion?

If abortion is a sin, let God be the judge. We can plead with women if we feel we have to, or offer services for women making that big decision, but we are not going to make a case for a loving, life-changing encounter with Christ if we’re shoving our faith in cruel ways into lives that haven’t invited it.

It used to be the case that if an immigrant fleeing oppression in Cuba got caught at sea in a rickety boat, we could turn them back. If they managed to reach the shore and plant their feet, they were allowed to apply for asylum. Putting two feet on US soil was the first step toward a new life full of opportunity. I personally believe that there should be a limit to abortion. A fetus of 20 weeks is halfway through the process of becoming a viable human being. If a doctor could pull a fetus from the womb and it could live if sent to NICU, then its life should not be terminated and cut up in the womb. Dismembering a child that could breathe on its own in the womb is no different than dismembering it on a table.

What would Jesus ask of us?

Some things cannot be banned. Tobacco, gambling, alcoholic, and drugs just go underground and create a nightmare for crime fighters. Women have always found ways to abort unwanted babies. Some of those babies were found in pit toilets at state parks or toilets in gas stations. Many women were permanently damaged or killed by careless black market abortionists. That is why Roe v Wade was so successful. It saved the health of thousands of women who would have found a dangerous way to abort their pregnancies.

Planned Parenthood is an organization that promotes good health in women in various ways. It exasperates me to see conservative Christian women cheering the destruction of these clinics. The women who hate PP have never needed it. They have no idea the challenges of being poor and lacking options in life. It’s not our place as Christians to deny them that aid. It's the opposite of what Christ demanded of us.

Religious people can be and have been some of the worst oppressors on earth. There is a good reason why there is a wall between church and state in the Constitution. When religion and state join hand in hand, both are corrupted.