If Jesus were to write a letter to the Pro-Life movement, here’s what I’d hear him say:
“I applaud your pro-life passion. The world has need of you. Your passion for life can lead to the saving of many lives and bring much joy.
However, your time on earth is limited. Your energy is limited. The finances I choose to entrust to you are limited.
Might I suggest that you love the neighbour you have seen before you love the yet-unborn whom you have not seen.
You cannot save all the 16000 children who will today die of hunger, one every five seconds. But you might be able to save one who will die tomorrow. Save one family from heartbreak.
You will not be save all the 21000 children who will die today from preventable disease, malnutrition, unsafe drinking water, and lack of a five-cent vaccine. But you may be able to save one tomorrow
I feel the pain of the aborted embryo, and the pain of the born child. But since you can today: Save some those already born, whose illness and death breaks the heart of their families before you insist that every zygote, every fertilized egg, every embryo is borne to full-term, regardless of the physical, emotional, psychiatric, or financial cost to the mother, despite her desperation, devastation or destitution.
For there is coercion in that, but in me there is no coercion. I invite you. I never compel you. Do likewise.
* * *
Are we to permit mothers to murder their babies? you ask.
I have spoken to you about murder. I am as appalled by the anger which turns your heart away from me as I am by murder. I shrink from your angry rhetoric. I have no part in it.
So we are to permit a holocaust of the unborn?
I have told you how to deal your neighbour’s sin. First, remove the log in your own eyes, deal with the darkness in your own heart, and then you will see more clearly to deal with the speck in your sister’s eye, and the zygote, the fertilised egg (as small as a speck of pepper) in her womb.
I see them. “For my eyes have seen their unformed body; all the days ordained for that zygote, that foetus were written in my book before one of them came to be.” I have entrusted them to their mothers, to whom I have also entrusted conscience. Do not compel her to act in accordance with your moral convictions. And the decision their mothers make , within the laws of the land, is between the mother and me. And my mercy is great.
But for you, return to your first love. Return to me. Deal with your own sin, with the things which cloud your joy and peace. Repent and believe. Come, follow me.
But Jesus, it’s because we follow you that we must stop women slaughtering their babies.
My friend, beware of emotive language. A commitment to precision in language is a commitment to truth. And I AM the truth.
Beware of surges of moral indignation at other people’s sin. Angry accusations do not come from me who commanded you not to judge. Do not bring me gifts which cost you nothing.
YOU follow me. It will take all you have.
Deal with the issues which shake your joy, and dent your peace. Enshrine me as Lord in your hearts. The Kingdom of God is within you.
And what about Wilberforce, who changed the laws of the land, and abolished slavery in the British Empire?
YES! My servant, Wilberforce, who worked through legislative means for 45 long years until he saw the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.
And yet there are more slaves in the world today than at any time in human history, with 27 million in bondage throughout the globe, exploited for manual and sexual labour.
Help the born first, the brother and sisters your eyes can see.
* * *
I know there are heroines in the land. I stand amazed at the love of women who bear their babies through nine months of pregnancy, and then, knowing they cannot mother them well, give them to another woman whose heart aches for them. Eshet Chayil, women of valour.
But—here is the mystery of grace—I love too the women whose heart flails and quails at the thought of nine months of weight gain and sleepless nights; the financial costs of time off work; the steps down on the career ladder; the social and church disgrace; the heart-knitting and then heart-wrenching; the permanent hole in the heart left by the baby, surrendered to the foster-care system, and who knows if her carers will be cruel or kind, who if she will be adopted, and when, and by whom, and if they will be cruel or kind. I see the anguish of the choices, and know that no termination is without anguish, and neither is any adoption.
If you hear my call into the legislative process as Wilberforce did, do so with my kindness in your hearts for both sets of women. Encourage research and development into and subsidies for and easy access to affordable contraception so that 40% of pregnancies in some cities do not end in abortion. After the first few weeks, the life-long anguish of abortion mirrors the life-long anguish of surrendering your baby to foster-care; so ensure pregnant women have financial and psychological support whether for the life-long adventure of mothering their babies, or the perhaps more difficult decision of surrendering them to adoptive mothers.
* * *
You are a Christian, child, and if you walk with me, my spirit within you will sanctify your intelligence and turn it to wisdom. Never let the great and wonderful adventure of following me be hijacked by powerful religious-political lobbies into political positions which favour powerful parties. Never let following me be reduced to single political positions—being against abortion or against gay marriage, issues I never mentioned.
Following me is the adventure of your lifetime, and the way of following me are as diverse as star differs from star in splendour. As no two of you have the same iris, or the same fingerprints or the same DNA, so no two of you will follow me in exactly the same way.
How are you to follow me? Not by being against other people and their choices, but by loving me whole-heartedly, and loving your neighbour as yourself.
You’re game?
Good. So am I.
Come, let’s dance.
Image Credit: An embryo, 5 weeks gestation.
Read my new memoir: Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India (US) or UK.
Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anitamathiaswriter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anita.mathias/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnitaMathias1
My book of essays: Wandering Between Two Worlds (US) or UK
Romans 1: 28-32 “Futhermore,since they did not think it worth while to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness,evil, greed and depravity. The are full of envy, MURDER, strife, deceit, and malice. They are …God-haters,…they invent ways of doing evil, they are senseless,faithless, heartless,ruthless. ALTHOUGH THEY KNOW GOD’S RIGHTEOUS DECREE THAT THOSE WHO DO SUCH THINGS DESERVE DEATH, THEY NOT ONLY CONTINUE TO DO THESE VERY THINGS, BUT APPROVE OF THOSE WHO PRACTISE THEM.”
Luke 17:3 “If your brother sins, rebuke him.” (This is not judging!)
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another…” (This is not judging!)
2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (not judging!)
– Anita, I see nothing in the bible to support your supposition that Jesus supports murder, either of the born, or the as yet unborn. Jesus endorses the 6th commandment not to murder in the sermon on the mount (Matt 5:21).
Revelation 22:18 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophesy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. Ad if anyone takes words away from this book of prophesy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
If a non-Christian supports abortion, either by having one or “approving of those who practise them” (Rom 1:32) they need to repent of this sin which will separate them from God for all eternity (as will all sins, not just murder/abortion.)
If someone who considers themselves a Christian approves of abortion, the need to ask whether they are truely saved, born again, whether God has really given them a new heart… Abortion may be evidence that they are a false convert;
Matthew 7:20ff ” By their fruit you will recognise them. Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,but only he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven.”
Thank you for all these Bible verses. Nowhere am I suggesting that Jesus or I support murder. And yes, we will be known by our FRUIT, not our political positions. Thanks
Thank you for publishing a iew contrary to your own.
I do not hold any political position. I see good and bad in all (UK) political parties and am a typical floating voter.
Abortion is morally murder even if not so in UK law.
Interesting that the state of Ohio is considering requesting execution of Ariel Castro for kicking to death 5 unborn babies whilst in the womb… I don’t see why medically/surgically induced killing is any different…
Why did you delete my carefully considered comment which took me hours to write? c.90% of my reply to your post was direct bible quotes, so I was not talking rubbish of my own inventon, but God’s word, which I let speak for itself!
I was polite in my writing, and hurled no abuse at you, nor anyone else.
We cannot know God’s mind on ANYTHING without his Word, given through the bible, so I was hoping your readers would look at the verses I quoted and understand something of what God has to say. He certainly does not endorse us living our lives as we see fit if that is disobedient to his Word.
I am Apolitical!
You are correct that believers must be committed to precision in language. Such as the fact that Jesus said those who are angry with a BROTHER are on the same level as murderers. Similarly, you also have to incorporate Amos 5:15, “hate evil, love good.”
Any disussion about judging or not judging also needs to be precise. Such as incorporating 1 Cor. 5 into it. Or Matt 18. If there is no “judging” then there would be no reason for Jesus give instructions relating to kicking someone out of the body of Christ. As individualistic as our culture is, Scripture does not picture sin as something between me and God. The community is always involved.
We are straying a bit from the subject of my post, but the way I see it, ultimately God decides if our actions are “sinful” or not. The church community get to decide if they want us in it or not. Blessings, Anita
Hi Anita, I have tweeted this to my 300 followers who hopefully will do the same. I found this a thoughtful and intelligent piece on what is for many a very emotive subject. Thankyou so much not only for this wonderful post but also for having the foresight to cut through the emotion and asking the questions so sadly missing in many of life’s challenges today; What would Jesus do?
Thank you, Michael. I am glad you like it. I did write it in prayer, as otherwise it’s hard to write about pro-life/pro-choice issues without becoming emotional, & getting all entangled…
Yes! this is a great post, I shall definitely come back and read this again, it sheds a new light on this difficult topic.
Hi Anita – I’m not sure what I make of this, but it’s got me thinking! Just wanted to let you know I was here for now 🙂 Love Graham
Thanks so much for visiting, Graham. While I have never, and would/will never have an abortion, I believe most of us Christians are called to be pro-life in the sense of supporting those in danger of death from disease and starvation. While we can present our views on when a foetus becomes a person in God’s eyes, it must be grace, grace, grace towards those who choose to terminate their pregnancies, which I believe is rarely done lightly or without anguish.
This is beautifully written Anita. Beautiful. Well spoken indeed as LA said. God bless you.
Thanks so much,Lynda. Blessings on your new book. So excited by the topic!
Thanks, LA. As Donald Miller writes, http://storylineblog.com/2013/04/22/talking-points-for-the-pro-life-movement/ some women on the edge, or fallen off it, simply cannot afford to have a child, (or lose the work time to pregnancy because they are already overwhelmed with debt and family responsibilities). Support for them must form part of our pro-life/choice dialogue.
I used to volunteer my time as an adopted child to two different organizations…Catholic Charities talking to birth moms about the beauty of adoption and Planned Parenthood to act as a body shield for the women coming in for birth control on Saturdays. And yes, I said a human shield because the *Christian* protesters threw rocks, bottles, cans and filthy garbage at these poor women. PP never did abortions on Saturday in case the woman had to be transported to the hospital with complications yet the protesters didn’t care about that. I have scars on my back from broken bottles and rocks throw by followers of Jesus at women trying to do the responsible and affordable thing…get birth control from somewhere that didn’t require insurance and was inexpensive. I’m not sure the Jesus you speak of in your post would have condoned that behavior.
Ouch. Terrible! I like Don Miller’s post
http://storylineblog.com/2013/04/22/talking-points-for-the-pro-life-movement/
I quote
2. Lose the Self-Righteous Tone: There are people who have taken up the pro-life issue to get a personal feeling of self-righteousness. Tragically, this is an issue in which they can feel like a humanitarian without having to lift a finger. But the self-righteous tone must go. It only offends people and creates a stronger opposition.
3. We Cannot Demonize the Opposition: Demonizing people who are pro-choice (slightly more than 50% of the population) will win nobody.
4. Acknowledge the Issue is Complicated: For the average pro-choice person, abortion is about women’s equality and women’s rights. While you and I may understand the issue from the perspective of the unborn, pro-choice people see the issue from the perspective of a woman’s right to choose. This isn’t an issue in which most people think about rationally. It becomes like a coin in that it’s nearly impossible to see both sides at the same time. ”
He is a good, cool, rational thinker on this terribly emotive subject. I almost didn’t publish my post when I looked a foetal images the night before it went live!
Well, it was an excellent and timely post. It *is* complicated…and yes, he is right, I see it from the perspective that I cannot impose my morality upon my diverse and secular society and then in the same breath say I respect other people’s religions and viewpoints. I either respect them or I don’t. I am fiercely pro-life when it comes to my own womb, but will just as fiercely protect another woman’s right to choose that for herself. Of course, I will strongly advocate for adoption if given the opportunity and have on many occasions. Like Don Miller said, feeling self righteous and throwing broken bottles at women getting birth control is no way to have a conversation. And prayer…I feel the need to pray deeply for the women who feel trapped in the decision and for those that perish.
Well spoken!! I find it interesting from a practical sense that the #1 faith against abortion for *any* reason is the same faith that won’t even have a conversation about contraception. Women, especially impoverished ones need more options, not less. Not too amazing is the fact that giving women the right and ability to control their reproduction also gives them a voice and lifts them from subjugation. In every country where women have reproductive rights, they also have the vote, can own property and can travel without issue. Reproductive rights and inequality of women go hand-in-hand…no surprise, but worth mentioning.