Abortion and Christianity

Yesterday, responding to the US Supreme Court's potential pro-life dealings with Roe v. Wade, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi lamented the Court's potential to roll-back abortion legalities. I found it strange that this is lamentable. 

Abortion is a contentious issue indeed. The Catholic para-church ministry Human Life International provides statistical information that says less than 4% of abortions are for medical/emotional necessity and that over 96% are for purely elective reasons, likely socio-economic. With these numbers, the ethical issue is unavoidable. Are these elective abortions necessary? I suspect there are a plethora of rationalizations, but finances and lifestyle inhibition are assuredly up there. 

Here's a thought I had...

If financial gain or maintenance can be motive for murder, then how can financial preservation not be motive enough to call elective abortions murder? Often, viability becomes the sticking point. Currently, abortions are allowed only through the first trimester, which is what the Supreme Court is working with now in whether or not to uphold Mississippi's new law that narrows permissible abortions even earlier. By viability, the end of the first trimester is considered the starting place of viability, so that if a premature birth occurred, the baby could possibly survive. 

Who are we to judge viability? This basically means that on the final day of the first trimester an abortion is legal, but illegal the very next day. Additionally, science has improved and the potential for surviving is potentially earlier. It's far too arbitrary. Besides, even after birth, a child is reliant on others to survive. Some posit that illegal and dangerous abortions will increase if abortion was made illegal. I am sure there would be a rise, but here we are weighing the viability of a fetus v. the future reproductive output of parents. We don't want potential mother's to die early because of a botched abortion. I get that. With regard to this scale, a mother's potential has primacy, but this should not be carte blanche to abort for expedience. The truth is, there are options women have that still preserve their long term independence and general fiscal stability. 

Adoption is the best option. As it is, only 4% of unwanted pregnancies are adopted out. The Adoption Network estimates that there are 2 million families seeking to adopt babies, while 1.3 (maximum) abortions are performed each year. This means that every aborted baby last year could have had a home.

For Christians, there is no middle ground. Compassion on women in real pain and facing the impact of pregnancy cannot be ignored, but abortion should be dissuaded. The earliest Christian catechism -- The Didache, 70 AD -- says, "The second commandment of the teaching: You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not seduce boys. You shall not commit fornication. You shall not steal. You shall not practice magic. You shall not use potions. You shall not procure [an] abortion, nor destroy a newborn child." Early Christian literature implores the preservation of life -- all life. Unborn life, death row life, the lives of enemies, and so forth are still lives bearing the image of God. 

I am pro-life -- completely. 

In an upcoming blog I will address how many people who carry the pro-life banner drop it with regard to other life matters, including disregard of women facing unwanted pregnancies. Rather than demonize these women, compassion and grace need to be applied and options must be given. Life is vital all the way around.