KEEP YOUR RELIGION OFF MY BODY

With a heavy heart I bring to our weekly discussion one of the most painful and difficult issues of our time, the matter of abortion. It is certainly the most intractably divisive issue of our day. If you believe that the pre-born fetus is, indeed, a human being “...endowed with unalienable rights,” then you must come to the conclusion that the termination of that life is tantamount to murder, and thus should be prohibited under American law. If, on the other hand, you believe that the fetus remains a part of the woman’s body until given life at the time of birth, any restrictions on the care or destruction of that fetus beyond the choice of the carrier is an unspeakable violation of privacy.

It is only natural, in questions of life and death, that many people turn to religious faith to form and define their beliefs and values about such important matters. If you believe the fetus to be a child created intentionally and specifically by God, then the preservation of that life is among the most important questions a society faces. If you believe that the fetus is a part of the woman’s body without a soul of its own, then religious faith would call us to protect the dignity and privacy of the woman and the province of her choice.

There simply is no middle ground in the question. The fetus is either life or it isn’t.

That said, it is imperative that we as a society take this question out of the realm of religious belief and argument. The United States of America is, despite the charmingly ignorant proclamations of some that we are a “Christian” nation, a secular society. We affirm freedom of religion, but we make our laws on the basis of known science and on the common understandings of personhood as prescribed in the Declaration of Independence and as codified in the United States Constitution. For the purpose of making and enforcing laws, it is these documents and known science, not articles of faith, that must guide the argument and our decisions as a society.

Thus, we must keep our religious faith off the woman’s body and, for that matter, off the body of the child.

I have often said, and I firmly believe, that the question of abortion at the turn of the 21st century is reminiscent of the question of slavery in the United States 150-200 years ago. On the one hand, there were those who then proclaimed that “all men are created equal, endowed.. with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...” They believed that the enslavement of one person to another was a base violation of the enslaved’s core right to personhood. On the other hand, there were those who argued that humans with black skin were not persons at all, that they were some “middle ground” between animal and human, and that to keep them enslaved was not only allowable, but was a compassionate means of providing for their care and protection. Such was often preached from pulpits in both the North and the South in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Thankfully, that question has been settled. Though the struggle was long, hard and bloody, there are very few modern Americans that would question the personhood of any human being. In fact, most Americans look back at the days of slavery with shame and embarrassment, a throwback to a more primitive and barbaric time.

One of the primary reasons for this understanding, even above Lincoln’s goodness and Grant’s artillery, has been the advance of science. In time it came to be commonly understood that beyond color and environment humans are essentially the same. They are each and every one endowed with gifts and graces, strengths and weaknesses, talents to offer and burdens to carry.

Though it escapes the notice of partisan media and lobbying organizations, there have been many advances in the science of prenatal development since the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that opened the door to the legalization of abortion. At every turn, with every scientific advance we learn more and more that the developing fetus quickly attains all of the elements of personhood, emotions of fear and happiness, curiosity, playfulness and self-preservation. We have learned that many elements of our personhood are formed in the womb, including personality and intelligence.

In the application of known science we must determine then that the developing fetus is, indeed, a human being “endowed with certain unalienable rights” under the Declaration of Independence and, by extension, the United Sates Constitution.

In light of the advancing march of clear science, the only way that the child can be considered merely a tissue mass that is a part of the woman’s body is through a form of blind faith or superstition that flies in the face of clear, indisputable fact. Thus when we say, “Keep Your Religion Off My Body” the words should apply to the protection of the child’s right to live, rather than the woman’s option to terminate the life of the child.

I believe, I guess as a matter of faith, that our culture and society will grow in this matter in the same way that we overcame slavery. It is my confident hope that, 200 years from now, an American society will look back with shame and sorrow over the denial of personhood and the destruction of the lives of the most vulnerable of Americans. I am sure that they will consider us a barbaric culture for our willingness to sacrifice human lives on the primitive altars of “choice” and “privacy.”

Though I fear that none of us will live long enough to see that day, I do believe that we can work together to help open the door to an America where the rights of all people -born and unborn- to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are equally respected.

Here is how you can help...

1) Approach all people on every side of this issue with compassion and with respect. Most people who consider themselves supporters of abortion rights take that position because they do not understand the facts of the situation or the barbaric nature of the procedure. The media and the abortion industry have worked hard to keep this information from the public. Without judgment or condemnation it is important to gently and persuasively keep the facts of abortion and the science of fetal development before as many people as possible.

2) Stand up for the social services that promote and enable adoption, and support the social safety nets that make it possible for women to carry their children to a healthy delivery. Mother Theresa was once asked, “If you wish to deny abortion, what shall we do with all of these unwanted children?” She replied, “Bring them to me!” Those who seek to protect life before birth must be willing to support the lives of children after birth. This means funding for health care, adoption programs and education.

3) Ensure that women who face an unplanned pregnancy know that alternatives to abortion are available. This is done by promoting adoption and support programs that will often cover the expenses of pregnancy. There are tens of thousands of American couples that would love to receive an adopted child into their homes.

4) Be sensitive and kind to women who have made the abortion choice earlier in their lives. In most cases these women were abandoned by the men who had fathered the children. In many cases financial fears and family pressure encouraged their tragic decision. In other cases they fell prey to the abortion industry and its counterparts in politics and the media. Every person on earth has made mistakes and most of us have made very serious ones. While it is important to fight the practice of abortion, it is not helpful to condemn good people who have made poor choices in tough times.

5) Be consistent in your support of life. If it is wrong to destroy a human life in the womb, it is equally wrong to support state-sanctioned killing in prisons. Most civilized countries have outlawed the death penalty. Those who oppose death by abortion should be at the forefront of opposing death by capital punishment.

6) Support the right of gay and lesbian couples to adopt children. Whatever one’s personal view might be on the appropriateness of homosexual relationships, there are tens of thousands of fine couples who happen to be gay or lesbian that would give anything to provide a loving home for a child.

7) Support life with your vote. Though you may be ridiculed as a “one issue voter” do not vote for any candidate for any office that claims a pro-choice position. Do not vote for any candidate of any party that proclaims a pro-choice position in its platform. Yes, it is a shame to vote against otherwise strong candidates for important offices, but there is no issue more critical to a civilized society than the protection of innocent human life.

8) Support life with your dollars. It is important to contribute to responsible pro-life organizations, and it is important to make sure that any organization receiving your support conducts its affairs with integrity, fairness, consistency and compassion. It is equally important to do everything possible to withhold funds from any organization that supports abortion or helps fund an organization that provides abortions. For example, the United Way is a funding source for Planned Parenthood, one of the largest abortion providers in the nation. Do not contribute to United Way, even if United Way supports other causes of interest to you.

9) Insist on impartial, candid and open abortion education. The media and the abortion industry do not want to talk about the process of abortion, how the procedure is done, or the emotional and physical complications that often continue throughout life. Most people do not understand exactly what happens in a partial-birth abortion or in a vacuum aspiration. Difficult though it is, like any other surgical procedure, the process needs to be revealed in vivid detail.

10) Most important of all, it is imperative that those who deplore the violence of abortion speak out loudly against violence and intimidation toward those with whom they disagree. Dr. George Tiller of Kansas was most certainly a mass murderer in the cruelest sense, but the deranged man who assassinated and martyred him did much to harm the cause of life. Even more, any word from anyone opposed to abortion that could be interpreted as supportive of the destruction of property, threats to abortion providers and supporters, or harm to any individual only serves to give credibility to those who contend that abortion is a legitimate medical procedure. The loudest condemnation of Tiller’s murder should have come from the pro-life community.

I believe that this painful matter is, indeed, the moral issue of our day. I hope that generations to come will look upon us as the people that began the process of eradicating this scourge from American society. The work will be long and hard, and it will not be accomplished on religious arguments, intimidation or abusive methods. The battle will be won through the application of science, the dispensation of factual information, and a spirit of compassion and healing.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill