The Reversal of Roe v. Wade: Mourning or Rejoicing?

The reversal of Roe v Wade has electrified social media, some saying women’s rights have been set back 50 years, others saying the decision is going to save the lives of countless babies. Some of my friends are mourning; others are rejoicing. 

I find myself feeling a bit of both. I am glad Roe v Wade was overturned because I believe abortion is morally wrong; I see it as the taking of human life. But I’m very saddened by the polarization the whole subject of abortion creates. 

My personality is one that typically avoids conflict, so I don’t often speak up on Facebook when controversial subjects are discussed. But I recognize that silence can be misunderstood, too, so I have decided to say something. If you are interested in my opinions, and a few statistics about abortion, read on.

Most of the comments I've read on Facebook center around two things:

1) Women should have the right to choose what happens to their bodies.

2) If you really cared about pre-born babies you'd care more about women and their children after the babies are born.

Point #1: A Woman’s Right to Choose

I am “pro-life,” a term that was adopted years ago to avoid saying “anti-abortion.” Nobody wants to be “anti” anything; we want to be “pro” something. Those who believe abortion should be legal call themselves “pro-choice.” 

I don’t really like those terms. I don’t know anyone who is “pro-death,” which would be the natural opposite of “pro-life.” And because I am “anti-abortion” please don’t assume that I don’t think women have the right to make certain choices about their bodies.

I think women do have choices. For the most part, we can choose to have sex or not have sex. If a woman doesn’t want to become pregnant, she can make the choice to have safer-sex. And there are ways to prevent pregnancy altogether. That’s a choice.

Women have the choice to not raise a child they give birth to. We have the choice to raise children with the help of family or a supportive community. 

Many women may not believe they have a choice, especially women who lack financial resources. There are several government programs to help women, and many communities have crisis pregnancy centers to offer support and resources to women who chose to carry their child to term. Women may have more choices than they realize.

So, yes, I believe women have the right to choose. I just don’t think our choices should include ending the life of someone else.

What About Women Who Are Raped?  Where’s Their Choice?

I can’t begin to understand what it means to be raped, nor can I understand what it would be like to carry a child conceived in rape, so there’s a part of me that feels like I have no right to take a stand on this one. But I know of women who have been raped and have chosen to carry the children so conceived to term, and they do not regret their decision. There are other women who cannot bear the thought of carrying a child conceived in rape or incest, and my heart goes out to them. Yet the child conceived in rape or incest is innocent and deserves a chance to live. 

Statistics from the Guttmacher Institute (from 2004) indicate that less than 0.5 percent of women having abortions said they were doing so because of a rape.1

What About Women Whose Lives Are Threatened by Childbirth?

Even the most stringent anti-abortion laws being proposed by individual states allow for an abortion to save the life of the mother.2 

Point #2: Is it Really About the Babies?

I have seen this quote several times in the last couple of days:

I think she has a point. She’s overstating her point–would we really be willing to pay the taxes required for free childbirth for everyone? Could businesses afford “months and months” of parental leave? So, yeah, she’s overstating things, perhaps employing a bit of hyperbole to make a point. But the general idea is that if we really cared about unborn babies we’d care about born babies, too.

What should the pro-life community do to improve the situation of struggling parents? The abortion rate of women with Medicaid coverage is three times as high as that of other women (according to the National Abortion Federation)3. How do we convince a woman of limited means to add another child to her family? Certainly churches–especially pro-life congregations–could do something. Free childcare services? Financially subsidizing childcare services? That would go a long way.

 

Plus, we could do more to support crisis pregnancy centers that are already doing great work to support mothers, fathers, and babies. What if every pro-life congregation provided volunteers and financial support for these organizations?

 

So, yes, I agree. We need to a better job of backing up our pro-life rhetoric with tangible help and support. But because our society lacks these resources is not a reason to allow women to take the life of their children.

 

I’ve also read some comments on Facebook about men being held responsible–at least financially–for the children they help create. Yeah, let’s do that.

I hope if we find ourselves on opposite sides of this subject we can still be friends. We need each other. We need to work together to enable struggling parents to care for their children. I hope that’s a cause we can all agree on.

1,3  https://abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/

 2 https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-ruling-states-a767801145ad01617100e57410a0a21d

Photo by Tembinkosi Sikupela on Unsplash