Ask Me Anything

Week 12: Pro-Life/Pro-Choice

Question Asked: Is God pro-life or pro-choice? I mean he literally chose to drown the planet. 

This question was submitted over the summer after the Roe v. Wade decision in June. We will be splitting this conversation into two different weeks, this week we will have a conversation about abortion, as it relates to faith. Next week we will talk about the flood story and other dark and seemingly violent old testament stories.  

As we begin the conversation, I want to acknowledge that this is a nuanced, complex issue. This conversation is often heated. This is a divisive issue that seems to only offer two points of view, either pro-choice or pro-life. My prayer for tonight is to offer space for us to exist in that in between space. My intention is not to change anyone's opinion, rather a place for us to process together. When we can take the time, to have conversations and look at the strengths of both "sides" (even though there are not just two sides). Tonight we are going to talk about the historic beliefs throughout the years, the false dichotomy of pro-life/pro-choice rhetoric, and how we can create shalom (comprehensive community wellbeing) regardless of our political beliefs.  

 Where have Judaism and the Christianity stood on this topic historically?  

Since Christianity split from Judaism, it's worthwhile to look at what Judaism has believed about abortion. There is very little (if anything) in scripture about abortion, but we do know that abortifacient herbs and other methods have been used since ancient times. There is a passage in Exodus that the Jewish community has used to interpret bodily autonomy for the mother. Exodus 21:22-23 (NIV), "If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life." In many Jewish circles, this has been interpreted as the premature birth was likely a miscarriage given the birth circumstances at the time. Therefore, seeing as the infant's death did not call for a "life for a life" but harm to the mother would have, there is more value placed on the child-bearer and not the child. In Judaism, breath is synonymous with life. Therefore, in Jewish tradition, life begins at first breath. For this reason, many Jewish circles are incredibly pro-choice and believe that the mother has the wisdom to make the best choice for them, their body and their family. Here is a statement released by the Women's Rabbinic Network in response to heartbeat bills that came out in 2019, “The ability God gave to women to carry potential life comes with power and responsibility, and we trust women to carry out the blessings and questions that come with this extraordinary capacity…legislation which diminishes women's right to choose thereby questions women's ability to be moral, ethical, loving, and thoughtful about life and its potential.” 

Within Christianity, it was generally considered that abortion wasn't ideal, but pre-quickening abortions were deemed acceptable. The quickening refers to when the mother first felt the baby move, which typically happens in the second trimester. This means the use of abortifacients, or herbal methods could be used before the quickening to cause a miscarriage, without it being seen as a bog moral or spiritual issue. It was seen as a more private, family issue that wasn't as widely debated. However, in 1869 Pope Pius 9th, declared babies life from conception. Since this decree happened after the reformation it was largely seen as a Catholic issue, and the protestant view went largely unchanged. In fact, in 1971, 1974 and 1976, the Southern Baptist Convention passed policies that affirmed a women's right to an abortion and that the government should play a limited role. Protestants saw abortion as a Catholic Issue It wasn't until nearly a decade after the Roe v. Wade decision that this conversation became highly religious and political.  

So how did evangelical Christians go from believing this was a Catholic issue, to becoming synonymous with the pro-life movement? The answer is rooted in racism. In the repeal of Jim Crowe laws and the de-segregation of schools, there was a town in Mississippi where nearly every white student left the public school system to join privatized religious segregation academies (that were tax-exempt). This lead to the supreme court case Green V. Connally, which dictated that tax-exempt institutions could not discriminate based on race. This outraged many white evangelicals, including people like Jerry Falwell. In the wake of this case, Paul Weyrich, a conservative political activist, was seeking to grow and solidify the republican voting base and saw an opportunity to unify, the previously divided Christian voters. Christians were divided on issues such as sexism, racism, homophobia, limited government and the role of free speech. In 1978, five years after Roe V. Wade, Weyrich saw an opportunity to unite white evangelicals around abortion. A year later the Moral Majority, a conservative Christian political group, was formed. It was through the Moral Majority, and the efforts of Weyrich to unify voters on the topic of abortion, that Reagan was elected. Since this election the ties between evangelical Christians and the republican have grown immensely.  

How can we create shalom (comprehensive community wellbeing)?  

Pro-life and pro-choice is a false dichotomy. Let's take a second to look at what the two platforms generally stand for.  

• Pro-Life 

  • opposed to abortion 

  • view the start of life at conception 

  • the focus is on the infant 

• Pro-Choice 

  • in favor of the legalization of abortion 

  • pro bodily autonomy and access to safe abortions 

  • the focus in on the child-bearer  

The Bible says nothing explicitly about abortion, though there are passages that have been interpreted on either side. So we see yet another issue, where this comes down to faith interpretation. As mentioned earlier, the pro-choice movement could use Ex. 21:22-23 as biblical proof. On the other side, the pro-life movement could use Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV), "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."  

Many people, tend to believe a spectrum of things that could fall under either group. It isn't quite as simple as pro-life or pro-choice. But because we have created such divisive language separating us by belief, we demonize the other side instead of having productive conversations about faith, morality or public policy. What would it look like to live in a society where we are concerned about the health and wellbeing of the parent and child before and after birth? Many people seeking abortions site financial concerns as the motivating factor for an abortion. Giving birth to and raising a child has become unbearably expensive. What would it look like to live in a world where pregnant individuals could feel supported throughout their pregnancy and on their parenting journey. I believe that God, as seen throughout scriptures is deeply "pro-life" and "pro-choice" the two terms don't need to be mutually exclusive. God created the entire universe, full of various species, and I believe in a God who wants a world where all of humanity can thrive. And I believe in a God that gave us free-will, and doesn't force any of our decisions. Our call is to love, above all else. So how do we care for the expecting, the parents and the children of our world? How do we create a place where all are safe and able to thrive? What does it look like for each of us, wherever we fall on this issue, to love well and to serve the very evident needs within our community?  

Resources:

Oh, God! Podcast - Pro-Life and Pro-Choice 

• USA Today - Jews, outraged by restrictive abortion laws, are invoking the Hebrew Bible in the debate 

• Temple Shalom - Between Our Souls and Our Breath 

• A Revisionist History of Abortion, Part 1 - Stuff Mom Never Told You  

• A Revisionist History of Abortion, Part 2 - Stuff Mom Never Told You  

• Pro-life, Pro-choice (Re-Release) with Rachel Held Evans - The Liturgists 

• NPR - 'Throughline' Traces Evangelicals' History On The Abortion Issue 

• Abolishing Abortion: The History of the Pro-Life Movement in Americ 

Discussion Questions:

1. If you feel comfortable sharing, where do you fall on this issue? How is this informed by your faith? 

2. How do we create a place where all are safe and able to thrive?  

3. What does it look like for each of us, wherever we fall on this issue, to love well and to serve the very evident needs within our community?