People on both sides of the political aisle try to make the issue of abortion "black or white", but the truth is, abortion is far more complicated than any of us would really care to admit.
The Bible does not say anything specifically regarding abortion as we understand it today or the early termination of a pregnancy. Most pro-life Christians will cite Psalm 139:13-16:
"For You created my inmost being, You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be."
Based upon this verse and others like it, most Christians believe that life begins at the moment of conception (the moment when sperm fertilizes egg). You could also argue that, in many ways, at least spiritually, it actually begins before that. As the last stanza of that verse indicates, God had a plan for you and your life long before you were even conceived. If you believe you were the result of an "unplanned pregnancy", you are in good company, because, technically, so was Jesus (see Luke1:26-38). But in God's Book, there is no such thing as an "unplanned pregnancy", whether it's in Jesus' case or yours. I'm not sure how you can be a Christian and not believe that life is sacred; it is interwoven throughout the whole of scripture. So, is it safe to say God is "pro-life" in the purest sense of the words? I would say yes, it is ... comma. I say "comma" because if you stop reading your Bible at Psalm 139 and put a period there, you will only be getting half-truth. And half-truth is not Truth.
I could give plenty of examples of the hypocrisy on both sides of the political spectrum surrounding this issue. However, one in particular stands out in my mind by those on the conservative right.
I have led many a Bible study where we prayed as a group for women we knew who were trying desperately to get pregnant, and many times leading to the very difficult decision of whether or not to pursue IVF treatment (In Vitro Fertilization). We were very aware of the fact that the decision is never an easy one, and isn't always "black and white". Never in a million years would we question or judge a woman's decision to pursue IVF or speak words that we knew might cause her additional emotional pain. We provided nothing but unconditional love, support, encouragement, and fervent prayer that the procedure would be successful.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a process where they remove eggs from a woman's body, and combine them with sperm in a laboratory. Typically, they remove several eggs and fertilize them in order to increase a woman's chances of having a successful pregnancy. The fertilized eggs are then implanted into a woman's uterus in hopes of a successful pregnancy and birth. The live birth rate is, at best, 40-50% (forgive me, but for sake of ease, I am using a lot of rounded numbers here; this is by no means "scientific"). This means that more than 50% of the fertilized eggs will not result in a live birth. To increase the odds of a successful pregnancy and to reduce the odds of higher-risk multiple births, fertilized eggs (or "embryos") are frequently frozen in the laboratory and stored for use in subsequent rounds of IVF. According to Wikipedia, "The Rand Consulting Group has estimated there to be 400,000 frozen embryos (in storage) in the United States in 2006." In addition, there can be "leftover" embryos, which can either be discarded, used for scientific research, or donated to another woman attempting IVF. (See Wikipedia)
I recently heard an advertisement on my local Christian radio station for a program that was seeking people who may wish to "adopt an embryo".
Now imagine inserting the word "baby" (or "babies") into that paragraph every time you see the words "fertilized egg/s" or "embryo/s". We would never do that! It would be completely insensitive! Even the Christian radio station referred to them as "embryos". And, yet, more often than not, I hear Christians refer to abortion using the terms "baby", and even "murder", and I don't typically hear of pro-lifers lining up with picket signs outside the local IVF clinic, praying for the 400,000 frozen "babies" in the U.S., or publicly shaming or condemning the women who agonize over whether or not to make this decision.
Back in the 80's and 90's, the Right to Life movement used the slogan, "Choose Life". They had it on bumper stickers, buttons, and posters ... everyone knew it was a reference to the pro-life movement. However, many didn't know that the slogan was taken from a bible verse, Deuteronomy 30:19-20:
"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord Your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
God had miraculously freed the Israelites from a life of slavery and oppression at the hands of the Egyptian people. As slaves, they'd had very little freedom to make their own decisions, and as they were about to embark on a new life of freedom, God had given them the Ten Commandments to follow (see Exodus 20:1-17). But it was a choice to follow; they had the freedom to choose whether to follow God or not. In fact, many times throughout scripture, they failed to follow Him in some way, shape, or form, especially as they were first experiencing their newfound freedom. In this passage, God is referring to spiritual life and death, and promising that He has good things in store for those who choose to follow Him. If you look at the whole of scripture, God is a God of freedom, free-will, and choice; He never demands anyone believe Him, love Him, or follow Him. It is more than a bit ironic to me that the pro-life movement would have chosen the slogan, "Choose Life" because, by definition, you can't choose life unless and until you have first been given a choice. So, is it safe to say that, in the purest sense of the words, God is "pro-choice"? I would say yes, it is.
In the same way that God is equally and simultaneously Truth and Grace, I would say that God is also equally and simultaneously "pro-life" and "pro-choice". And that presents a dilemma ... what do we do about that? How do we reconcile that?
If we are truly Christ-followers (not just "Christians" who show up for church on Sunday), we are called to follow Jesus' example, and I believe He demonstrated it beautifully for us in Luke 23.
Jesus had been working miracles and preaching throughout Judea, and it had caused quite a stir. Most recently, he had raised Lazarus from the dead, and, while many people saw and heard these things and believed, the religious leaders felt threatened by Jesus. They liked their religion and their religious community and customs so much that they wanted Jesus permanently out of the picture in order to protect it. A bit ironic, isn't it? I think, in many ways, that can sometimes still be the case today. Many Christian leaders would rather maintain their current doctrine and their current understanding, interpretation, and application of scripture rather than allow Jesus to challenge it or transform it.
The people in the community were divided. Many people believed Jesus was the Messiah and would change their lives for the better. But for others, it wasn't such an easy, "black and white" decision. The religious people were facing a huge fear of the unknown, and they desperately wanted to hang on to the way things had been. What would Jesus require of them? A change in their career (see Luke 5:1-11)? A life of poverty (see Mark 10:17-22)? Surely, having Jesus in their lives would cause a major upheaval in terms of their values, priorities, and lifestyle. Despite the benefits He might bring, He no doubt would cost them greatly.
In an effort to maintain control, the religious leaders had Jesus arrested and took Him to Pontius Pilate and King Herod in hopes that the government would eliminate their problem and allow the religious leaders to keep the status quo. But the government officials found Jesus innocent of breaking any civil laws. According to religious laws however, the people could choose to release one prisoner each year. So they were given a choice:
They could choose to release Jesus ... Or they could choose to release Barabbas, a man who had committed insurrection and murder. (See Luke 23:13-25)
It seems like such an obvious choice, doesn't it? Especially for those who had devoted their lives to following God and considered themselves to be righteous.
But the religious leaders and their followers were afraid. Afraid of change. Afraid of the unknown. Afraid of losing power and control. ... Afraid of the impact actually following Jesus might have on their lives.
The momentum in the crowd was growing and growing until it was overpowering and all-consuming, becoming more and more like a mob. And for whatever reasons were driving their fears, the crowd chose to sacrifice Jesus and absolve Barabbas, the insurrectionist.
And do you know how Jesus responded? ... He wasn't yelling at the Romans demanding that they change their laws on capital punishment because He had a "right to life". And He wasn't responding with condemnation and self-righteousness. Instead, He responded with unconditional love and forgiveness.
You see, Jesus loved all of them. ... religious and not religious ... believers and unbelievers. And He loved them regardless of where any of them fell on the political spectrum: conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, "pro-life" and "pro-choice".
And because He loved them, He allowed them the freedom to make a choice. And when they reacted from a place of fear instead of faith, He interceded on their behalf, and prayed to God, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) And then He did what He was born to do; He gave His life for theirs.
Christian or not, Christ-follower or not, we all have choices to make every single day. ....
We can follow the world, or we can follow Jesus.
We can follow religion and religious leaders, or we can follow Jesus.
We can follow politics and politicians, or we can follow Jesus.
... It is always a choice.
Unconditional Love. Unconditional sacrifice. Unconditional grace and forgiveness. ... That's Jesus.
Choose Jesus.
"But God demonstrates His own Love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 NIV
This post, with a different ending and conclusion, was originally written and published in October, 2020 (before the 2020 election, the January 6th insurrection, and the overturning of Roe vs. Wade). It was later edited in August, 2024 with the current ending.
© I Lift My Voice, 2020, 2024.
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