I’m going to be taking a break from the Trinity series to write on a topic that I was pondering last night. My roommate and I had dinner with friends from our church because their son was writing a paper on abortion and he wanted to have a good interview. I was asked if I’d like to be interviewed on the topic and said I’d be glad to help. I’m also pleased to see a Christian willing to take a stand in a public high school on the topic of abortion.
Later that evening, I was talking to a friend of mine who is a widowed mother and we were talking about the topic of abortion and I stated that I believe abortion is one of the most anti-feminine practices out there. Giving birth is the most feminine thing a woman can do that I can think of. This is something unique to her and something that is truly miraculous. The idea of a woman getting abortion actually helps turn her into an object. It means a man can have his way with her and he does not need to fear the consequences.
As I was getting set for bed last night, I happened to find lying on a bookcase a Christmas card that friends of ours from our church gave us. It has their daughter, who was 2 at the time and could still very well be, standing in front of their Christmas tree smiling. It’s upon seeing a picture like that that the idea usually hits home.
I often speak of the wonder of what is. While some may speak of the problem of evil, the problem of evil distracts from what ought to be. It takes away from something. It eliminates in a sense, its “is-ness.” A hole in a garment keeps the garment from fulfilling its purpose to the best of its ability. Evil in my life keeps me from fulfilling my purpose to the best of my ability.
This little girl is and I see the picture and I wonder. What’s in store for her for the future? I already know her mother is pregnant again and what is going to be going on when the new baby is born? Will this little girl understand that this other person came about the same way that she did? While she may not know the facts of life, and I seriously doubt she does, will she understand when she sees a birth taking place that she entered the world the same way?
What about all the friends that she will make in her lifetime? What kind of education is she going to receive? What will happen when she gets to Middle School? Are the guys going to start noticing her? Is she going to start noticing them? Will she have a sweet sixteen where she gets her own car and drives to the mall with her friends? Will she go to her senior prom? Will she go to college? Will she get married and have a family of her own?
All of these questions are questions we can ask of young men and women, although for some we will certainly reverse the roles for men. Yet for each human being, there is a chance that those questions might never have been asked. There is the sad possibility that some people might choose to eliminate the pregnancy to begin with.
I am well aware many people could bring up arguments such as rape or incest or anacephalic babies. Those are different issues and I think most of us would agree that most abortions do not happen for those reasons nor do I want it to be the case that we take the exceptions and make a normative doctrine out of the exceptions.
We could easily say that sadly, most of the time, abortions are done for the sake of convenience in some way. Maybe the mother thinks she can’t afford a child. Maybe she’s being pressured by a man in her life. Maybe, sadly, she just wants to have the “pleasures” of being able to have sexual intercourse without consequence.
For that, the baby in the womb is an interference. The baby is guilty of a crime. What is that crime? The baby exists. The existence of the baby is am impediment to some other good that someone else has in mind.
It is certainly the case that being able to have sexual intercourse is a good and sexual intercourse itself is a good. It certainly is the case that not having to be abused in some way by a significant other is a good. It is certainly the case that a woman being able to be financially secure is a good. The problem in each of these areas is taking the things that are goods and putting them over being good.
How is it that removing the existence (Though I as a Christian believes the child aborted exists regardless as they have souls that will go somewhere and I leave that in the hands of God) of a child in the womb helps someone to be good? Remember, I’m not asking if it brings about goods, because the only reason we do any action is because we believe ultimately it will bring about some good. I am asking if it helps the person having the abortion to be good.
If we have a society that teaches people it is okay to eliminate people just because they are an inconvenience in some way, are we going to produce a society of people that are good? If all we are about is obtaining goods, such as pleasure, money, or sex, then should it be a shock if we end up with such a society? We should not complain about the immorality of society if we have been indulging in this idea that having goods is more important than being good.
It will not do to push the responsibility to another. For instance, someone might say “Why don’t you go and adopt?” For one thing, I have a roommate and both of us are men and frankly, I think a child in the best situation needs a mother and a father and we can’t do that. Furthermore, we are financially incapable at this time. Having a child is expensive. We are aware of that, which is why the best case would be for people to be responsible with their sexuality and realize that actions have possible consequences and an act like abortion is simply a way of denying the reality of those consequences, at the cost of the life of an innocent child.
Another analogy can work at this point. I am an animal lover and particularly, unlike many guys, I like cats. I parked here at our apartment complex recently and it was raining and there at a neighbor’s door I see a cat outside meowing. Now this cat has a collar so it obviously belongs to someone else, but my heart is moved instantly and I just go over and pet the soaked kitty. Now if I was following the logic of pro-abortionists on this point, I would be at the humane society adopting every single cat that I could. As much as I love cats, that would not be proper. I would not be able to take care of them all. Hopefully someday though, our financial situation will be the type where maybe we can adopt a pet, or I might have to wait until I get married someday.
In the meantime, I can show love to the animals that I meet in my life and cultivate a sense of care for them. I’m not going to put them at the level of humans, but I am not going to put them at the level of rocks either. I believe they’re special gifts of delight God put on Earth for not only our enjoyment, but his enjoyment as well. In doing those things, I am learning to be good.
I simply desire the pro-abortionist to consider their point and ask themselves this question. How is it that the destruction of innocent human life is going to go about producing a society of people that are good? How will it teach us to value life? Will it teach us a proper role of sexuality? Is there even a proper role of sexuality? Is it merely an activity done solely for pleasure? Is having sexual intercourse on the first date for pleasure just the same as the guy kissing the girl on the first date? Why? What does it mean if anything? If it doesn’t mean anything, why care at all about it?
Every day, many women enter abortion clinics and every day, many children die while never getting to see the light of day. They will never grow up and explore the world and learn about its wonder. They will never have a sixteenth birthday, drive a car, go to prom, have an education, or get married and have their own family. Why? For what purpose are we saying it is good to have the freedom to put them to death?
Inquiring minds want to know.