Imagine a society where a mother’s choices are not limited, bur rather there are so many choices that abortion is one of the least desired options to her.
As people of faith engage, we can create that society. Will it be easy? No! But the end result will ultimately be worth the blood, sweat and tears required to obtain it.
A little over a year ago I awoke with such vivid thoughts in my head.
For years I have struggled with the life vs. choice debate. I believe in life and protecting the most vulnerable of our society that cannot defend themselves. God created life, and it is a precious commodity. I know that evolution says life came from non-life, but one of the most basic principles of biology is that life comes from life. If you find life in the wild, you can be assured that that life came from another life. Life just doesn’t come from “spontaneous generation” or life from non-life. Because of this fact, I hold life as sacred, something unique and special. Something to cherish and protect.
From a Judeo-Christian point of view, I see something profound in the creation story. In this story it says that God “formed a person from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” I picture the God of the universe bending over pulling the dust together, adding a little water for it to stick together. Then he carefully sculpts a being in that mud so that it looks like a man. When he is done, it looks so real, but it has no life. Then he bends over puts his mouth over this sculpting’s mouth and nose and breathes… And voila, Adam is alive.1
On the other hand, when God created humans on this earth, he created them and put them in a garden. But, in the garden, there was an opportunity to choose something other than what He thought to be the best. He instructed them, but they were given the ability to exercise their “choice”, and they did. They chose to go against His instructions.
Whether you believe the story or not, the Judeo-Christian God from this story, is one that gives “choice”. Much to my chagrin, Christianity does have a history where force has been used to gain compliance. However, that is not the example set by God from the outset of human existence.
According to the Genesis story, the choice they made eventually led to murder in the first generation of their children in the incident of Cain and Abel. It also led to all the discord, pain, wars and inhumanity that we see in our world today. However, God was responsible for allowing them to choose.
These two views hold both life and choice as sacred gifts that God gave to his creation. On the one side, you see him forming the man and breathing into him the breath of life. It was intimate and personal. On the other hand, he doesn’t stop them from making a choice that will lead to the loss of life, … many lives and pain.
The interesting part here is that he chose to let man “choose”, and that was more important than to preserve a pristine and “healthy” environment. However, God lays out a plan to redeem them through the Messiah.
From the Christian viewpoint, He cared enough to take the pain on Himself, at the cross, to allow humanity to make choices even if those choices were against His wishes. So, in my opinion, He values choice even over preservation of life. However, He has built into every one of His beings the instinct for preserving life.
But, this brings us to a serious question. How do we incorporate both values in the question of mothers and life versus choice?
As I pondered this in the early morning hours, a light began to dawn on me. The idea of choice is subtle, but what is being presented as choice is only a single choice. However, is it possible that there are more choices to a mother than just abortion and keeping a child for which she is not prepared? What happens if we give mothers counseling with real options? What if they have many, real choices? What happens if expectant mothers can make choices without being driven by fear?
Who in the world is the most compassionate of all people? I am a firm believer that it is a mother. If mothers are given options, real options, they will choose to preserve life, both their own life and their child’s life. If they are fearful for their own survival and have no options, they might choose to end a life. But, that is not their natural response.
I want to create a place that provides choices for those moms.
1Illistruation presented by Pastor Walt Groff, Gracepoint Adventist Church, GraceIsThePoint.org.