Abortion: Some Reflections

Abortion

In an ideal world, we would not be talking about abortions at all. Every child would be welcomed into the world by loving parents.

However, we do not live in an ideal world, and abortion has become a divisive and controversial issue. So, I offer my reflection as a person/pastor who tries to think as Christianly as I can. The Bible does not speak about abortion, although infanticide was well known already in cultures of that time.

When a conception takes place, there are biological processes involved, but life is a gift from God. No life form of any kind would exist except for the face that God gave it. We are stewards of life, and as such we accountable for how we use it and for what we do with it to the one who gave it to us.

The idea that a woman is boss over her own body is a secular idea because there is no accountability to anyone.

In a pregnancy, there is the beginning of an independent person. This person is no mere extension of a woman’s body even though for nine months, and much longer, this new person cannot survive without the care of the mother, or, after its birth, without either a mother, a father, or a community.

When do people begin to speak about, or consider an abortion?

At worst, people think of the coming of a child as inconvenient. It is too costly. It gets in the way of my career. Because I think of a pregnancy as the coming into being of a new human, I believe that an abortion for reasons of convenience is simply wrong.

There are situations in which a conversation around the advisably is at least warranted, understandable.

·         Incest

·         Rape

·         The mother’s health is at stake

·         Tests show that there are serious issues:              

o   Heart issues

o   Cleft palate

o   Down Syndrome

o   Spina bifida

o   There can be other, albeit rare, developmental problems in utero

Observations:

·         When we insist that an abortion is not an option even in these cases, we should pledge robust support for mother and child for at least 18 years.

·         For women in these horrible situations, the decision to have an abortion is the most difficult, heart-wrenching decision she will ever make.

·         If in these cases the woman decides to have an abortion, we should stand by her without judgment or condemnation. Let grace be the last, and most formative world.

Allan Groen, summer 2022.