Abortion Part Two – A Call to Believers

(I would recommend reading this post first if you haven’t already, it frames my initial thoughts and actions on this topic.)

This post is alittle bit different than the last. Originally I felt the need to speak only of my intentions and discoveries, without any encumberance of argument and discussion about the topic of abortion.

This time, I’m speaking to those of you who consider yourselves pro-life as well as a follower of Christ. I would encourage those of you who don’t consider yourself both of those things to read along as I hope you will find this post to be encouraging and thought-provoking.

The pro-life movement’s ultimate goal is to bring about the end of abortion. Typically, this would entail a ban at the governmental level on abortion procedures. This goal is basically the sum of various groups who hold abortion to be wrong, be they Christian or otherwise. I see the issue differently:

The end of abortion in the U.S., or even the world, is not the ultimate goal for me. The glorification of God through the actions, faith, and changed hearts of people on earth is.

This doesn’t mean I don’t support banning abortion. I certainly do and given the chance to vote I would support a ban of the procedure all together. Abortion is a sin, and it grieves the heart of God when it happens. But it just isn’t that simple, and its definitely not the only thing that is wicked in the eyes of God. There are a multitude of other sins that are entangled with the act of an abortion that extend way beyond the actual death of a baby. As I understand it, two large parts of that fall on the body of Christ:

1. We haven’t provided an alternative to abortion for women who feel trapped by one or more of the following:
- the demands of their parents for an abortion
- the financial obligations of raising a child
- the weak men who were certainly happy to share in the responsibility of “making” the baby but not in raising it, and tell the mother they will abandon them if they don’t abort it.

I place the blame for this on the church, not the government. For you larger churches with bigger budgets, where is the free daycare, job training, education, and counseling for women shunned by their boyfriends or families? For you smaller churches and house churches, do your members not have a spare bedroom? To save a life, would it really be so crazy for a woman and her child to stay with you for a time, even a year? Would it be messy? Definitely. Would you get manipulated, used, taken advantage of? Very possibly. Yes it would be a sacrifice. Yes it would stretch you to the point of breaking.

But imagine the fruit of such a sacrifice. Imagine the love and acceptance poured in to the lives of the mother and child. Imagine what hope and joy could come from such an action. God would effectively be re-writing history for that entire family. Cutting off a legacy of rejection and shame and replacing it with a blessing of life and fruitfulness.

2. Worse than even that, we pile shame on both those who have sex before marriage and even more shame on those who would consider having an abortion. Now hear my heart on this, don’t misunderstand. Do you think shaming someone really prevents abortion? Was shame what drew your heart to Christ? Was Jesus’ ministry such that shame from Christians is what changed people’s hearts? There is a time and place for conviction, but a woman on the verge of aborting her baby is NOT IT.

If the church continues to have this attitude that pre-marital sex and abortion are too henious to be discussed, we remain irrelevant on this topic and never will have the opportunities to minister to women as described in the paragraphs above, as women will not consider the church a safe place to even discuss it.

I do not wish to mis-characterize the actions and hearts of many pro-life believers. There are many people who DO care, and are pouring their lives, hearts, and fortunes out for those who would consider abortion. There are hotlines, counselours, homes for mothers to live in for free with their baby, etc, etc. But in general, even among committed followers of Christ, there is a callousness and a lack of passion or emotion on the topic. Worse than that, there is generally complete inaction and inertia.

Some of you may feel I’m being too hard on the church, and that ultimately people will do what they want, and that personal responsibility still has a place in this topic. And you’re right, and that’s the balance in the topic for me. Men and women who casually have unprotected sex and then abort the child without more than a moment’s thought… I agree that abortion in this case is simply wrong, and should not be an option. But I have trouble with a form of compassion that would begin and end with the child, and not consider the entire picture, as I tried to make clear above.

So what am I asking of you, believers?

1. Bow your heart in prayer to God on this topic. I believe I have said what God would will me to on this issue, and I beg that you consider it. If you have never deeply considered it, please ask God to reveal more of his heart to you.

2. Find your place to serve, be it prayer or more. Everyone has different gifts, and there are places for all. Some of you are called simply to minister to the hearts of women considering this or recovering from it. I know some of you have a simple and Godly kindness and mercy about you that I simply don’t understand, but I bless God that he gives us those like you. We need all gifts.

3. Share with me any organizations or churches or groups that do what I described above, and do it well. As I mentioned, I know the entirety of Christians in America do not neglect these issues. I would love to be in contact with those who are miles ahead of what I said above.

Thank you for reading. I hope my heart and conviction was not mis-understood. I welcome your comments on this one, whatever they may be.