Dear United States Christian,
Recently I posted something in support of being pro Roe v. Wade. And people weren’t happy about it. So unhappy, in fact, it resulted in me being fired from an organization in which I’ve served for 16 years. After all, how could I profess to be a Christian, hold a position of leadership, and be okay with killing babies?
I started this blog post with an intention to use scripture (that post will come soon) to try to make the argument that this issue isn’t as black and white as we try to make it out to be. Or to discuss the history (also coming soon) of abortion and its relationship with the church, but today I really want to discuss the political aspects of this debate.
Some people have boiled this debate down to “You’re okay with killing babies or you’re not.” And to distill this discussion down to one sentence is disingenuous. This issue is so much larger than that statement. Other considerations should be: If Roe v. Wade is overturned, what will be next? If abortion becomes illegal, will that truly resolve the root cause of how we got to this point to begin with, or are we just addressing a symptom? Why does there seem to be a disconnect from being pro life and then actually supporting someone in getting to experience life.
Why is it so hard to remember that the world God intended for us is not the world we currently inhabit? We live in a fallen world, and we are dealing with things that were never part of God’s original design. And that makes things messy.
We live in a country where having a baby costs as much as a new car if you’re uninsured. And a used car even if you are.
We live in a country where the maternal mortality rates are higher than any other wealthy nation.
We live in a country where it costs $20K pear year to send two children to daycare.
We live in a country where people can’t feed themselves, let alone a growing child.
We live in a country where mental healthcare is not considered healthcare, but rather a taboo that shouldn’t be discussed.
We live in a country that would rather teach abstinence than about reproductive cycles or how to get access to birth control.
We live in a country that makes getting birth control for young women incredibly difficult, and they are often made to feel shame, even if the birth control has nothing to do with sex.
We live in a country that’s so intent on controlling women’s bodies that even if a woman wants to surgically prevent pregnancy, they can’t unless they reach a certain age or have a husband’s signature to say it’s okay.
We live in a country where we tout adoption as the magical answer, but don’t address how terrible the foster system is for kids who are already there.
We live in a country that doesn’t actually seem to value life, but just the possibility of it.
Until we can create an environment that is suitable to life after womb, I struggle to debate the morality of abortion in this country according to one religion in an effort to force everyone else in to those moral obligations.
I fear that all too often we forget about the people that are impacted by this argument. All the women that are made to feel shame for a situation that, to them, often feels completely out of their control. Why do women feel like this is the only option in the first place? I truly do not believe that the vast majority of people who have an abortion are doing it because they don’t care about life.
Our job as Christians is to bring heaven to earth. To love people with abandon. To care for those around us who are hurting. To lift up, rather than cut down. But all too often we use these broad brushes to paint ‘black and white’ ‘good vs evil’ and we leave no room for humanity. We all want to be on ‘the right side’ but in a fallen world, the answers aren’t always as clear cut as we’d want them to be.
It would be easy to label someone like me as a ‘crazy left wing’ person that doesn’t care about human life and dismiss me. But that would be a lie, and to those that know me, I think you know that.
What I am is human. I’m flawed, and so are you. I’m trying my best to navigate a fallen world and bring heaven to earth. And to me, that looks like providing support and resources and love to people, even the ones I don’t agree with, even if that means using my tax dollars to help people who are just as broken as I am. And hopefully, in the process, we can talk about Jesus.
Just to be clear, I do stand with upholding the Roe V. Wade decision.
- I stand with Roe v. Wade because I believe the government has no place in these discussions.
- I stand with Roe v. Wade because I believe that this choice should be between a woman, God, and her doctor.
- I stand with Roe v. Wade because of the precedence overturning it could set for future laws.
- I stand with Roe v. Wade because it is not my place to judge.
- I stand with Roe v. Wade because the issue is so much more than distilling it down to killing babies or not.
- I stand with Roe v. Wade because I want to love like Jesus. And I believe that means seeing the woman making an incredibly difficult decision and loving her through it. Either way.
Am I sorry for my position on the matter? No. Do I hate that we live in a society that someone making a statement like mine automatically paints a picture about someone to make them ‘evil’? Yes. I also hate that we live in a world where abortion even has to be discussed, but here we are. My hope is that one day, a statement like mine leads to conversation starters and a way to show the world the love of Jesus instead of anger, fear, and hatred. At the end of the day, God welcomes all people in to his body. All we can do is stand for love, because that’s what Jesus would do.
In love,
Ashley
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