A Pro Choice Manifesto from a Christian Perspective: A Reasonable Response to the Pro Life Religious Right
Written by: Sam Weisgarber
On Sunday May 31 2009 a man named George Tiller was murdered outside of his Wichita Church. George Tiller was one of three doctors in the United States that would perform extremely late term abortions (more than likely until you had the baby). He was murdered no doubt because of this practice and no doubt by a strong abortion opponent. Within hours of the killing “Right to Life” and “NARAL” released similar statements condemning the violence and especially “Right to Life” saying that they believe in peaceful protests.
Do we murder someone who we believe is a murderer? Do two wrongs equal a right? Now the abortion debate has been hurled back into the spotlight and taken center stage in a country that voted for a left of center President who just announced his first nominee to the Supreme Court. It will be interesting over the next few weeks to observe how this murder will influence legislation and political debate dealing with abortion.
One of the toughest things for me is the topic of abortion. I must admit on the surface there is no reconciliation between being a man of faith and being a man of progressive ideology when it comes to the specific topic of abortion. With that I have had over the past three years hundreds of conversations and debates that have inspired me to write this brief manifesto about how I have come to reconcile my belief in a woman’s right to choose and my belief that God is the author, creator and sustainer of life. The journey in finding a peaceful biblical harmony has been one of constant prayer and study and that I am completely confident in as a Christian.
I have been attacked, confronted, encouraged, and supported for my beliefs about a women’s right to choose, specifically in regards of how it affects my Christian faith. First and foremost I believe God is the author and creator of life and He alone is responsible for its creation and He alone sustains it by his sovereign grace and will. I also believe that it is a fundamental right of the individual to choose privacy (AKA I believe in a women’s right to choose). For many these are contrary statements and coming from a Baptist Church heritage has led to some pretty intense debates with some individuals (see my facebook page for reference).
This next blog posting will outline how I have reconciled my beliefs and how I am unashamedly a Christian who is Pro-Choice. This will be a longer blog posting but I encourage you to read it and comment on it. I love debate and commentary and revel in intellectual discussion and disagreement.
Regardless of religious or political affiliation the abortion debate comes down to one central issues: when does human life begin? To me it is important to distinguish the difference between human life and just “life”. If someone says he’s pro –life (in all terms) then why does he eat meat? To me it’s illogical to say that “all life is sacred and should be protected and that by killing life you’re committing murder” and then turn around and order a 21 oz steak from a restaurant. Rather you must distinguish that you are pro-human life and say that “human life is sacred and should be protected”.
Why? Because we as humans are apart of the Animal Kingdom, we as a human race have a Kingdom, Phylum, Order, Genus, Specie ect… that make up our physical traits – its why I never argue against someone who brings up the point about our we’re only 1% different genetically from a chimp. However we are separate from the Animal Kingdom in three unique fashions:
- We have the ability to reason and to think critically
- We have the ability to Choose
- We have a soul and eternal destiny
It is why God made us the rulers over creation and all of its inhabitants. It is truly what separates us from the rest of the Animal Kingdom. It’s those three simple things when combined that set us apart from our animal brethren.
So the question is when does Human life begin? Now before you right wing Christians get all hot and bothered and ready to fight – let me preempt this by saying again (in case you didn’t catch it or read it above) – I believe that God alone is the author, creator and sustainer of life (humans, animals, and plants included), however that does not mean I believe that human life begins at the moment of conception. Many people say God say’s life begins at the moment of conception and the truth of the matter is – he doesn’t. In fact there is only one instance of God creating life himself.
You can look all throughout the Bible and if you, like I do, hold to the Authorized 1611 King James Version of the Bible, you can in your infinite wisdom, type in the word “conception” and navigate a dozen or so scripture verses which lays the foundation, in my belief, as this: human life comes from conception. Which we know is scientifically true. Again science is not anti-faith, science proves what the Bible has been teaching all along. The idea of saying “science is a godless study” is a ridiculous notion and something I’ll save for another blog post. However whenever you study these “conception” verses out what it doesn’t say nor does it give reference to is this: human life is at the moment of conception.
This is a very important distinction. It’s like out of bread comes dough. Is the dough bread itself? No. It must be transformed to become bread. You wouldn’t eat dough and say – what wonderful piece of bread you would say (in all likelihood) “gross”. Much like that when a sperm meets an egg it starts the animalistic traits of life and over time and transformation God forms it to become life. When the cell splits for the first time it begins laying the foundation of life (the dough) and out of that dough through transformation and development it becomes life or a full loaf of bread.
Now if you are a true Bible Scholar you will bring up the “fearfully and wonderfully made” or the “I knew thee in thy mothers womb” or “I knew thee before I formed thee in the belly” verses – I firmly believe this. I do not argue that God forms life. But what these verses do not say is that God creates human life at the moment of conception nor does it even give any regard to the notion of conception at all. In fact, if I dare make the claim, it supports my belief that God is the author, creator, and sustainer of life and that life doesn’t necessarily begin at the moment of conception (you’ll see why below).
Another argument that you’re probably forming in your intelligent mind is the fact that at the moment of conception our eye color, weight, height, sexual orientation, and other physical characteristics are chosen. Again a valid point – but these are our animal characteristics all of these deal our physical or emotional nature nothing to do with our three things that separate us as humans from the rest of the animal population, as I’m sure that you’ve noticed animals have things like eyes, legs, a weight and height and emotions.
Genesis 2 and 3 are the only chapters in the ENTIRE cannon of scripture that tell of God creating human life. When we discover what God does in creating human life – I believe we find the answer to “when life begins?” In Genesis 2 and 3 God creates Adam by forming his BODY first from the dust of the earth. He forms Adams physical features – his eyes, height, weight, his hair ect.. and then after all of that was completed he gave Adam the breath of life (life being our soul, ability to reason and choose). By Gods example he forms the body first and then gives life to a dead shell of a body. So when and where does our body form? In the womb and over time! Where God is forming, creating, and authoring our life.
Could it be so audacious that we would be the same 6,000 years later? That our human body (our animal characteristics) could be formed before we’re given our human nature (our ability to reason, to choose, and the fact that we have a soul)? I think we find a very valid answer. This would give a lot of comfort for those who have miscarried in the notion that they didn’t loose a child they simply lost the shell of a child. Then the question of “is a fetus or womb baby innocent?” can be completely disregarded, because it had yet to take its sinful human nature and therefore not sinful nor eternally destined to heaven or hell. It also answers much of the question of “Why would God do this [let my baby die] to me?”. It would help the struggling husband or boyfriend comfort his helpless wife.
So the question then becomes when in the gestation period does human life truly begin. I believe personally its when our heart and brain fully form – which from what research I’ve done – begins towards the beginning of the second trimester.
My belief about Abortion:
- I firmly believe that every woman’s right to privacy should be protected until the second to last week of the second trimester. During the first trimester and up until the first day of the second to last week of the second trimester a women has a right to terminate the pregnancy with or without reason or notification to the husband.
- Absolutely no tax payer funded abortions – unless like people choose to give money to the national election funds choose to, provide as part of their taxes, money to perform abortions.
- Absolutely no abortions performed after the second to last week of the second trimester unless the doctor or spouse or carrier believes that their life is being threatened.
- All children (18 and below) must have parental consent before having an abortion.
- Doctors have the absolute right to refuse to perform an abortion unless obligated to save the mothers life.
- That the United States Government should provide educational resources and practical resources to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies by providing free condoms and birth control for people 16 and above and 15 and below with a parents/ guardians permission.
- Parents should take an active role in the formation of their child’s sexual education. Teaching them, whatever they believe about the subject, but most importantly teaching them simply to be responsible.
- That we should do what we can to streamline and accelerate the adoption process and to reform the abuse and red tape in Child Services.
Beyond this some people believe that our country has been built on the Bible and that all of our founding fathers were fundamental bible believing God fearing Christians. Furthermore some people believe that our country should be run as a theocracy.
Most of our founding fathers were indeed Deists, who acknowledged a higher power but didn’t recognize the God of Christianity as the single God. Many of our founding fathers were atheists and agnostics. However one thing is clear: our country was not founded on the Bible rather by European philosophers of centuries before. Those who would propagate the founding fathers as a bunch of evangelical Christians who read their Bibles and led them to approve the Constitution are simply liars.
To those who would believe that our country would be better as a theocracy: do you not remember why the Pilgrims left England? Or the Crusades? Inquisitions? Anytime religion has been given power there has been gross abuse of it. We say how terrible Islamic countries are for having a religion run a state but yet in the next sentence talk about how you only vote for God fearing conservative Christian republicans – can you say Pharisee (aka Hypocrite)? America would be no different. I mean look at what the Republican Party (which is the base of the Christian Right; albeit not all republicans represent this) stands for: their anti equality in marriage rights, civil rights, or working rights. They’re against the middle and lower class – thinking that they deserve what they get because they’re all lazy, poor and stupid. They’re against giving people the fundamental right of healthcare and education and are the epitome of elitism.
The Call to Social Justice:
How’s this for social justice – instead of protesting or marching in Washington D.C. or on the steps of your state capitol or writing a check to Right to Life or whatever else the pro life people like to do – why don’t you funnel your resources into protecting the human life (that God finds just as precious) that’s already here by taking an active approach against poverty, hunger, child labor abuse, human trafficking, and fighting disease? What if all the money that was used to pay lobbyists and t-shirt designers, and giving to politicians would find its way to the people who desperately need help out of their circumstances and help break the cycle of injustice around the world?
To me it’s a disservice and an embarrassment to God and his Church that Christians will give 10% of their money to organizations like Right to Life and not give a hoot about the homeless man they pass everyday on their way to work. They won’t give a minute of their day to speak or to pray for a person whom they know needs their help. I believe God is embarrassed by Christians who talk so much about the need to protect and defend human life and say that “giving everyone health care is socialist” (and we all know that God is a capitalist and hates communism; and Gods favorite colors are Red, White, and Blue and that God loves America and Americans and no one else) or that by helping people and states out in difficult times is plot to undermine democracy. In a faith that calls us to die to ourselves and our rights – Christians are some of the most obnoxious and greedy peoples on the face of the planet. So many Christians are bent on this notion of capitalism and building their wealth and kingdom because it’s the Christian thing – I disagree. The Christian thing to do would to make your money and give generously to people around you and pledge your allegiance to the Kingdom of God.
Why don’t we, as Christians and as the Church, finally step up and do something about the things we know God is passionate about: truth, justice, and mercy. Instead of picketing, screaming, and protesting – why don’t we truly become pro human life and fight poverty, hunger, disease, child labor abuse, and human trafficking. Lets make a difference in the world by being Christians who catch the true heart of God the heart that cares about the poor, the hungry, sick, outcast and broken.
If you have read this in its entirety – thank you – please comment.
