Abortion

It’s been an interesting week. Two days ago, I randomly decided to google abortion statistics. The 4th link, from unabashedly pro-life site Abort73, had one fact listed that has been heavy on my heart since I read it:

There are 770 abortions for every 1,000 live births in NYC (CDC).*

Whoa. Hold on, now what? That’s saying that every time the 1,000th baby gets born in New York City, 770 pregnancies/babies have been aborted? I can’t wrap my mind around that.

Moving Beyond the Statistics

So while I by no means have come to terms with that number, I have found that it has had one effect on me – it breaks my notions about the topic, as well as breaking my heart. It makes me weep while I commute. It makes me realize that a merely political stance on the topic is not a place I want to be in. I don’t want to be able to produce eloquent reasoning about the topic, to change people passionate about the topic (i.e. very much passionate about a right to choice, but not actually intending to have an abortion themselves). There has to be more.

So what’s this “more”, then?

Keep in mind these are my initial thoughts about the topic, be gentle on me =).

This “more” is about sacrifice. It’s about love, and courage. It’s going WAY past the notions that prayer (the sort of blanket prayer with no specifics, just asking God to end abortion in the U.S.) and voting for the pro-life candidate are going to magically change the hearts and minds of the people. The problem with these two solutions is neither offer a “better way” for the desperation of some seeking an abortion.

Here’s what I suggest, ranked in order of importance to me. I’m not advocating you agree with me, but here’s what God has placed on my heart:

• 1. Adoption - Perhaps because I feel called to it, God has impressed this answer to me over and over. I was reflecting on it earlier today, how close the words Abortion and Adoption are to one another and while not defined as antonyms, form direct opposites when viewed in light of children. I am starting to see more clearly how the adoption of an unwanted child is a redemption of the abortion of an unwanted child.

  To abort the pregnancy of a person is one of the most ultimate forms of rejection – rejection of the person completely, to the extent that they no longer live. No other answer to abortion is as extreme in the opposite direction as adoption. To adopt a child is the ultimate form of acceptance, to take a person who is not your family or your own child, and treat them as if they were, for the rest of their lives.

  I realize there are many roadblocks to why adoption isn’t the best answer – it’s prohibitively expensive for the adopter (a recent email I saw from a friend pegged the price through a particular agency between $20,500 and $35,000, depending on the circumstances), adoption law is very messy and can wear heavily on all involved, etc, etc. Not to mention, it’s clear the number of unwanted babies greatly exceed the number of people willing to adopt.

  Fortunately for me, these roadblocks aren’t the destruction of my hope, or my own calling. My responsibility extends to what God has entrusted me to. Right now (as in, like, today), that responsibility means praying and seeking a mother who doesn’t want or can’t care for her baby and would otherwise abort it, and adopting it. Yes it’s only one, and that’s a drop in the pond. But it has to start somewhere, and for me, this is my place.

• 2. Prayer - I know several paragraphs ago that I didn’t see generalized prayer and voting as the solutions to the issue. Though I would whole-heartedly agree that both of these things do help, especially given the small amount of sacrifice involved with each.

  But what I mean when I say prayer is much more specific, putting myself in a place where I can see God work, and be much more involved. It means going to abortion clinics and just praying for the unborn, and perhaps even pleading with the mothers who would enter the clinic. It means finding ways to serve and minister to people who struggle with the decision of aborting or keeping their baby, and falling on God to change their hearts.

  Put succintly, its the type of prayer that puts you in a place where God has reign to ask you to sacrifice in some way. For me, that could be adoption. For you, it could be any number of things. (a few examples: volunteering at organizations that offer counseling to mothers, accepting ridicule and shaming at those who disagree with your actions or beliefs, supporting others financially or emotionally through the adoption process either on the adopter or the mother’s side.)

• 3. Awareness - I hate the word “awareness”. It’s usually applied to something that most people are fairly aware of already (did you know that February was National National Awareness Month Awareness Month? Epic list of all awareness-themed months, for the whole year!).

  I will list it though, because I do believe that a part of what needs to happen is that the people around me also become passionate about the topic. A real part of the problem with this topic is that the people who are aborted never have any say in the matter. While other social issues around the world typically deal with people who are less able to speak for themselves (usually the poor, victims of war, racism, etc.), there often arises an advocate personally affected by the injustice to speak for their brethren.

  This will never be the case with abortion. It’s not the type of thing where an unborn child will ever be able to hold a rally in D.C. and speak for all the other unborn children.

  So this third reason, Awareness, is really the reason for this post. I’m personally of the belief that God is the one who breaks a person’s heart on this topic, and I believe that when the facts about the topic are laid bare (the numbers of abortions, the methodologies, etc.), a person will be more receptive to being against the act.

  Look for more posts about this topic. If you know of any good agencies or organizations for linking adopters and women considering abortion, let me know. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please read the following information below. If you don’t, feel free to skip it as it contains info about what types of comments and discussions I will engage, and which I will delete.

  [Few ground rules for discussion. Fail to acknowledge them, and I promise your comment gets deleted.

  1. I'm not here to discuss whether abortion should be legal or not, or whether it is moral by the Bible or any other standard. I've come to an answer on this question (obviously) and debating these questions in the comments is a waste of time. God changes peoples hearts, and comments on blogs do not. I've tried to make it clear the purpose of the post isn't to try and sway your heart, only to let you know what I plan to do. If you'd like a theological explanation of how I feel about abortion, the Abort73's website has a fairly short discussion of the topic.

  2. I'm not going to discuss the issue of "what about rape, incest, health risk to mother or child". While it is a valid question, the VAST VAST majority of abortions have nothing to do with this question, if 770 babies are being aborted per 1,000 live births in NYC. I consider this question nearly exactly the same as asking a pacifist, "well what would you do if a person broke in and tried to murder your family, would you fight back then?" Sure, it happens, but its simply not the norm.

  3. If you can't behave by these two simple rules, I'll just lock the comments. If you want to discuss it further or in a more personal manner than in blog comments, email or facebook-message me. eric and henderson at g and mail dot com. Take out the and's and the at.

  4. If you can't help yourself and have to make this political, comment on this post, which addresses the topic very well. Britt is teh smart.]

  * Sourced from the CDC – Link to report, from 2002. Specific link to said info can be found by going to that report, and doing a Find (Ctrl- or Apple-F) for the phrase “776 per 1,000 in NYC”, without quotes.

  October 14th, 2008 in JesusGodBible!!1, re: Eric