I consider myself a follower of Christ, a Christian. But I do not consider myself an evangelical Christian as I once did. I first started to break with evangelicals over the issue of abortion–not that I ever had an abortion. Luckily, I was never presented with that dilemma. But their pro-life argument doesn’t make Biblical or scientific sense to me. And then the final break came over their stance and ill-treatment of homosexuals and transgender people. If I hadn’t already broken with the evangelicals, I would now as their leaders give a pass to the most overtly immoral president we have ever had. For me, being pro-life means caring for people who are born. Yes, I cared for my children when they were being knit together and formed in my womb because I wanted them to have the strongest and healthiest bodies and brains possible. But what was being formed was their body–this tent that our spirits reside in while on earth. Their spirits came from God. Each body that was formed in my womb is dust and will return to dust, but each spirit came from God and is eternal. I just happen to believe that their spirit entered each of them at birth.
In my humble opinion, the spirit, the living soul of a person enters at the time of breath and leaves at the last breath. I think of Genesis 2:7: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Our bodies are amazing whether we believe in God or not, whether we believe we are spirits occupying a physical body or not. To me, a body without breath is a tent. It will be difficult to convince me otherwise because when I stopped breathing in the dentist’s chair in 1980, I watched them reviving my lifeless body from the top corner of the room. I recall the exact moment when I reentered my body and took a deep breath.
Evangelicals like to use Psalms 139:13-16 as an argument against abortion: “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb, I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” The verses go on to say, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” These verses were written by a person who was living a life, acknowledging that the human body is incredible as God designed it to be and that God had fashioned a plan for his life. But evangelicals need to concede that not every human body that is conceived in a womb is born. An all knowing God has not fashioned days for them, “…when as yet there were none of them”(verse 16). Women miscarry every day for a variety of reasons and doctors can now save pregnancies that years ago would have ended prematurely. What is happening today has more to do with science and medicine working with the mechanics of the very human body that God designed to be knit together in a woman’s womb. Again, I am not convinced that a body is more than a temporary tent. Evangelicals believe it is more because of their interpretation of the Bible, but without scientific evidence to prove their viewpoint. I interpret the Bible differently.
My problem is that evangelicals are working hard to impose their particular religious beliefs that the cells in the process of being formed into a human body have rights over a breathing human trying to make personal decisions about her life. Abortion is and should remain strictly a matter of personal belief and morality with one caveat. I think that once a body (fetus) is viable outside the body, it should be allowed to live–so I’m against late term abortions except for extreme medical conditions.
If a person believes abortion is murder, then that person shouldn’t have one. But to press for legislation and Supreme Court rulings to again compel women to go through with an unwanted pregnancy despite their own beliefs and morality, is wrong. I’m glad that the days of back alley abortions are behind us for now.
It is shortsighted that evangelicals want to get rid of Planned Parenthood when it provides contraception and low cost medical screenings to low income women, and yes, safe abortion services. Where is the Christian love, compassion, empathy and actual care for breathing women? Where is the good public policy? Where is the actual consideration about the quality of life for the unwanted children who would be born under their proposals? If we care about young women being able to secure low cost contraception and medical care and yes, a safe abortion if they require it, then we have to pay close attention to the ideas of the people we elect to the House and the Senate this year.
Next week, I’ll talk about my experience with evangelicals and their attack on the LGBTQ community.
Overkill imposition of religious beliefs is not welcome, nor a moral obligation, even to Christ. Young people of child-bearing age can abstain or be responsible for themselves. Medical knowledge has given us command of both options. Far better to choose birth controls than abortion. That said, when an abortion is necessary, it should be a well-reasoned & safe legal option between the parents & Dr. only. When a miscarriage occurs, no woman should face jail or worse because “moral authorities” demand it. Politics embracing Evangelicals have created “color-coded forgiveness” that is strongly influenced by the color of money & “party” favors rather than Christ inspired personal morality. Thank you for a good read.