Whenever the subject of abortion comes up there is a heated
debate. Is abortion wrong? Is abortion right? Is a woman
free to abort her unborn child at anytime during the
pregnancy? Even among Christians the questions and issues
are greatly divers. Some ultra conservative Christians
teach that abortion at anytime during the pregnancy, even if
the mother’s life is threatened, is murder. "Human life is
sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative
action of God and it remains forever in a special
relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God
alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end:
no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the
right directly to destroy an innocent human being" (Catholic
Teaching).
Other Christians teach that abortion on demand is wrong but
under certain circumstances abortion is permissible. Here
is a statement from one denomination about abortion:
“Prenatal human life is a magnificent gift of God. God’s
ideal for human beings affirm the sanctity of human life, in
God’s image, and requires respect for prenatal life.
However, decisions about life must be made in the context of
a fallen world. Abortion is never an action of little moral
consequence. Thus, prenatal life must not be thoughtlessly
destroyed. Abortion should be performed only for the most
serious reasons. . . Abortions for reasons of birth
control, gender selection, or convenience are not condoned
by the church. Women, at times however, may face
exceptional circumstances that present serious moral or
medical dilemmas, such as significant threats to the
pregnant woman’s life, serious jeopardy to her health,
severe congenital defects carefully diagnosed in the fetus,
and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. The final
decision whether to terminate the pregnancy or not should be
made by the pregnant woman after appropriate consultation.”
(Adventists Guidelines on Abortion)
The extreme liberal approach to abortion is explained in
this quote: “A woman has the right to decide what happens
with her body. A fetus is not a human life, so it does not
have separate individual rights. . . The decision to have an
abortion is a personal choice of a woman regarding her own
body and the government must protect this right. Women have
the right to affordable, safe and legal abortions, including
partial birth abortion.” (Student News Daily, 2010). The
extreme liberal’s approach is further explained by Eileen
McDonagh in the scholarly article “Liberalism and Abortion”
written by Robin West, of Georgetown University Law Center,
USA. “A woman’s right to abortion should be understood as
a right to defend herself against the nonconsensual
invasion, appropriation, and use of her physical body by an
unwelcome fetus, rather than as a right to use medical
procedures free of interference by the state.” This view
clearly teaches that once a woman does not want a pregnancy
the fetus in her womb is considered to be an “invasion” of
her body so she is free to abort.
WHY DO WOMEN HAVE ABORTIONS?
Research gives a number of reasons women abort their unborn
children. Interestingly, research indicates that less than
one percent of total reported abortions are due to incest.
Also, only three to five percent of abortions are decisions
made by women because of fetal health or threat to the
mother. According to many studies the primary reasons for
choosing an abortion are: (1) pregnancy was not planned or
wanted, (2) not ready to have a baby yet, (3) inconvenient
time of life or the child interferes with goals, (4)
financial concerns, pressure by parents or other family
members, (5) fear of people finding out about the
pregnancy.
What influences a woman to think about abortion when it is
her view that the pregnancy is at the wrong time of her life
or for any of the above reasons? Is it because she has no
support from family or friends? Is it because she is
embarrassed? I ask this question because in spite of the
extreme liberal views that a woman can have an abortion
anytime during pregnancy and that the fetus is just an
invasion of the body, many do suffer emotionally for a long
time after the abortion. In my article on abortion in 2011,
I stated the following: “. . . abortion is associated
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"It
is my view that all people, including
Christians, should be pro choice first,
and pro life."
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with
elevated rates of suicide, death from other causes,
substance abuse, clinical depression, and psychiatric
hospitalization. It
has been discovered that there are many emotional aspects
that can affect the psychological well being of women who
undergo an abortion. These emotions include guilty feelings,
anxiety, depression, loss, anger, and even suicide. Clinical
research has found that when women are in trusting, sharing
relationships, they report deep-seated feelings of
exploitation over their abortion experience.”
While it is also my view that a woman does have the right to
choose whether or not to abort the unborn child, that
decision must be made after thoughtful considerations and
clearly looking at the issues. I believe that if the woman
felt that there was a support system of compassionate,
caring, nonjudgmental people and understood more clearly the
options available (e.g. adoption) we would have fewer
abortions.
I AM PRO CHOICE/LIFE
If I would use the American terms to describe the views of
abortion, I can say I am “pro choice.” While I do not hold
the views of all “pro choice” proponents, it is my view that
all wise-thinking human beings and more so Christians, are
to be “pro choice.” This view is that the individual has
the God-given right to choose. However, I am also pro
family. This means that although I am free to choose, God
expects me to think wisely, look objectively at the options,
always considering that the fetus is of great value. I do
believe that there are times that abortion is necessary
(e.g. rape, incest and certain medical reasons). However,
when there is no such threat, abortion is not an option.
However, it is my view that all persons are to display at
spirit of compassion even toward someone who chooses
abortion for frivolous reasons.
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SYSTEM
It is my view that we need more individuals, churches, and
institutions to be less condemning and more compassionate
and understanding toward persons considering abortion or who
have done an abortion. There are countless stories of
daughters who were forced by their “godly parents” to have
an abortion to “save the face of the family.” Some of
these parents were more concerned about the family
reputation than the emotional well-being of the pregnant
mother. Thus, they drive their daughters into depression,
low self-esteem, and despair. Some of these daughters
suffer silently for years. The scares are deep. The pain
lingers on and on. While I am pro choice, this kind of
decision is foolish, self-serving, and down right stupid.
Not only did an innocent fetus die, the emotional life of
someone was also damaged.
On the other hand there are countless stories of daughters
who were raped or made a bad choice that caused pregnancy
and feared telling anyone, especially their rigid,
controlling, emotionally condemning parents. If only these
daughters were aware of their options or about a support
system. The longer these daughters keep their pregnancies
secret the greater the difficulty of making the decision
about an abortion. It’s an emotionally painful journey to
be on. We need to provide freedom and not misery. We need
to provide hope and healing and not despair.
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