Abortion

Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

1587

Abstract

ile many religions condemn the act, there are others that take a more balanced stance or none at all. What about situational ethics and personal conscience? What about legitimate medical reasons? What about a pregnancy that is clearly unwanted and a child born unwanted? What about poverty? What about incest and rape? What about violence in the home? What about the woman and her right to decide for herself?Is criminalization the answer? Clearly not. While legalization provides for safe abortions, criminalization will just drive it underground. Abortions have been around since the beginning of time. The situation is just too complicated for me to be either pro-abortion or anti-abortion. I prefer to use those terms rather than pro-life and pro-choice which I find politically tainted and expedient rather than helpful or truthful.It may appear that both sides are so polarized that we can never find the third way. Perhaps the problem of abortion is around so that we may be moved to work together to eventually eliminate or at least mitigate the need for it. Instead of championing legislation for or against abortion, how about acknowledging that legislation in the courts, one way or the other, is not the real answer. We need to look for other answers. I believe the following are some ways that will help mitigate the need for abortions. Can you think of others?<ul><li>Age-appropriate and factual health and sex education and free access to contraception.</li><li>Compulsory but compassionate counseling for those contemplating abortion,

Options

informing them of alternatives they have.</li><li>Stigma-free, safe and humane abortions for those who decide to have one after receiving counseling.</li><li>Abortion access for medical reasons that involve either the fetus or mother.</li><li>Post-abortion counseling.</li><li>Funding for pregnancy care that will provide an alternative to abortion.</li><li>A well-managed and funded adoption pipeline.</li><li>Free prenatal and postnatal care.</li><li>Universal health care.</li></ul>The federal, state, and local governments and private institutions including charitable organizations and churches can pool their resources to provide many of these services. My own Catholic church which does good work in encouraging adoptions with their “Homes for Unwed Mothers” can expand their work there. They can also be more understanding, practical, and compassionate in their stance against contraception. Surely this is an area that can be open to personal conscience and situational ethics?There are few issues that have the potential to become so contentious that they bind our thinking and blind our ability to Love. I believe abortion is one of those issues. Fighting to end abortion through legislation is not the way. It just further drives the wedge between us which surely cannot be God’s will. Abortion will always be with us as it has from the beginning of sex. I believe we are all called to help mitigate the social and human circumstances that cause it. The fruits of that labor will surely be more pleasing to God and neighbor.</article></body>

A very personal opinion on a very difficult subject.

Image by Rhonda Carrier

I have always been conflicted by the arguments for and against abortion. I write this as much to record and clarify my own thoughts as well as to honestly express the great difficulty I and many others have in thinking about the subject.

For a long time, abortion was a black and white issue for me. When I was living in Singapore in the 1980s, I remember writing a strong letter to the editor of the New Straits Times critical of the government’s support of abortion. It was also about the same time that I viewed the graphic documentary, “The Silent Scream” which clearly showed the violence of abortion. I do not rationalize the timing of when an abortion is right or wrong. I cannot in my own conscience accept it as anything but intrinsically wrong at any stage of a woman’s pregnancy. No matter how much my own thinking on situational ethics, morality, and personal conscience has evolved and informed my stand over the years, I still believe the act of abortion is intrinsically wrong.

But is it black and white? Herein lies the conflict. It is clearly not black and white in the eyes, minds, and consciences of many. While I may have very strong and personal feelings about the issue, there are many with equally strong opposing views and feelings. While many religions condemn the act, there are others that take a more balanced stance or none at all. What about situational ethics and personal conscience? What about legitimate medical reasons? What about a pregnancy that is clearly unwanted and a child born unwanted? What about poverty? What about incest and rape? What about violence in the home? What about the woman and her right to decide for herself?

Is criminalization the answer? Clearly not. While legalization provides for safe abortions, criminalization will just drive it underground. Abortions have been around since the beginning of time. The situation is just too complicated for me to be either pro-abortion or anti-abortion. I prefer to use those terms rather than pro-life and pro-choice which I find politically tainted and expedient rather than helpful or truthful.

It may appear that both sides are so polarized that we can never find the third way. Perhaps the problem of abortion is around so that we may be moved to work together to eventually eliminate or at least mitigate the need for it. Instead of championing legislation for or against abortion, how about acknowledging that legislation in the courts, one way or the other, is not the real answer. We need to look for other answers. I believe the following are some ways that will help mitigate the need for abortions. Can you think of others?

Age-appropriate and factual health and sex education and free access to contraception.

Compulsory but compassionate counseling for those contemplating abortion, informing them of alternatives they have.

Stigma-free, safe and humane abortions for those who decide to have one after receiving counseling.

Abortion access for medical reasons that involve either the fetus or mother.

Post-abortion counseling.

Funding for pregnancy care that will provide an alternative to abortion.

A well-managed and funded adoption pipeline.

Free prenatal and postnatal care.

Universal health care.

The federal, state, and local governments and private institutions including charitable organizations and churches can pool their resources to provide many of these services. My own Catholic church which does good work in encouraging adoptions with their “Homes for Unwed Mothers” can expand their work there. They can also be more understanding, practical, and compassionate in their stance against contraception. Surely this is an area that can be open to personal conscience and situational ethics?

There are few issues that have the potential to become so contentious that they bind our thinking and blind our ability to Love. I believe abortion is one of those issues. Fighting to end abortion through legislation is not the way. It just further drives the wedge between us which surely cannot be God’s will. Abortion will always be with us as it has from the beginning of sex. I believe we are all called to help mitigate the social and human circumstances that cause it. The fruits of that labor will surely be more pleasing to God and neighbor.