When it comes to "sensitive topics," many churches in America choose to ignore them. Here we have the subject of abortion, which always ignites some heated discussion. As I talk about this I am aware by even opening up a stance I'm inviting hate comments and even perhaps ruining acquaintanceships. Some might tell me since I'm not a girl I have no say in the matter. Some might say since I'm just some college kid my say has no importance. None of that matters to me, all I care about is delivering a message. Many will stop reading right now, some will read then laugh it off, and then a few will feel a conviction. The latter is whom I'm writing this too.
So, I present a hypothetical story scenario where I run into someone whom is considering having an abortion...
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As I walk through the park on a warm August day I run into someone whom I've talked with many times while doing the register at work. As I approach her at the bench she's on, she smiles, recognizing me. As I sit down I say, "Hey how's it going? Perfect day for the park!"
"Ha, yeah." She replies.
I detect a hint of sadness in her voice, so I decide to pry a bit.
"Everything alright?"
She looks above for a second, then replies,
"Just contemplating."
I could tell despite not diving into the subject that she wanted to talk about it, so I went ahead and asked,
"About what?"
Pausing for a second, she responds...
"As you can tell I'm about five months pregnant, so I've been deciding whether or not to get an abortion. My friends and parents both agree that's it's the right move. Tomorrow I'm scheduled for an appointment, so I'm just here thinking about whether or not to really go through with it."
"Well I think the answer is obvious." I reply.
"How so?" She says, surprised by my quick answer.
"Well for one thing, many don't realize about the emotional trauma that takes place afterward. There's a feeling of emptiness and many later on in life look back and deeply regret that decision. I think in the present we should be eliminating decisions which we might deeply regret later on in life!"
"Hmm. But what if I don't care about a supposed sadness and believe that a person has the right to do it?"
I pause for a second, then look at her and say,
"That's true in some way, you do have a choice to kill him/her. Just as I have a choice whether or not to kill you at this very moment. I of course do not wish to do that. No one should want to kill somebody whom has done them no wrong, right? But let's say by some odd reason I did want to kill you, that I didn't want you in existence, why shouldn't I be able to? I wouldn't and couldn't because I know God is with me. That's from a moral standpoint, what about a reason why someone without faith couldn't, in their mind, kill a person? Because it's against the law. Murder/killing is worth up to many years in prison. But for some reason Congress has made it legal for women to kill individuals. So, when you think about it, Congress has literally established a statement that says it's legal to kill innocents! It's a contradiction. So, if somebody advocates pro-choice, they're literally advocating a contradiction."
"A very interesting conclusion." She says.
I continue,
"Basically, let's say a criminal appeals to Congress to enact a law where killing someone they don't want in existence is legal. Most people would laugh at this statement, but they fail to realize something like that was approved 42 years ago!"
She responds,
"I didn't think of it like that. But what is a person supposed to do if she isn't able to care economically for the child, the father has vanished, and has no family to give them to?"
"I think you know the answer to that, but for some reason it doesn't seem that popular. Adoption is a real, successful concept. Many couples are looking to adopt a newborn baby!"
After saying that I pause for a second, then conclude with...
"Many say an embryo/fetus doesn't count as a person. That's a pretty strange statement is it not? A fetus doesn't become a person...it is a person. Imagine if your mother had decided she didn't want you being born. Then, well, you wouldn't be. That would entail a person has the right to kill someone whom is the definition of innocent. Perhaps a would-be mother thinks she's doing the child a favor because the doctor said he/she would live a handicapped life. Should that give her the legal right? Again, the same principles apply. Life is precious, even if the life has disabilities. A person still has feelings, emotions, and a personality, so to deny that because someone thinks it would be best is just simply unethical when you sit down and truly think about it."
She looks down for a few seconds then at me...
"You've given me a lot to think about."
"Great!"
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Life is precious. It needs to be protected. If a person for a second can let go of pride they can see that to advocate pro-choice is to advocate planned murder. Many people have let pride blind them into thinking that they're supporting some empowerment cause and betterment for humanity. On the other side of things, maybe a person has done this at one point and deeply regrets it, wondering if they can be forgiven. My friend, if you have gone to God in Christ, He does not hold that against you.
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb." ~Psalm 139:13
I'm definitely Pro Choice as well and i't's cool to see your post on that. Abortion is essentially murder and I've made that case as well in the past although Antropology professors will quickly try to tell you that a fetus isn't alive. As long as it is us in our conception, I'd say that it is alive and destroying it is like destroying a person. It's regrettable to have a baby when one is not prepared for it, but you will have put yourself in that situation. Take the risk and be prepared to endure the consequences. It would be great for more churches to tackle critical issues, but I can see why they would be worried about dividing themselves. Just look at the whole LBGT movement. A lot of churches and Christians have now decided that it's okay while others still do not. I still do not believe that it is something that was intended and the relationship between a man and a woman is what God has intended for us. Some Churches don't seem to want to tackle that and upset the masses. These are delicate topics of course, but it's always good to talk about them. Solid article Destroyer.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to imagine you giving that speech though as the first big paragraph perhaps felt a little formal, but either way, the message is what's important not critiquing the story! ;)