Abortion is arguably one of the most heated debates in America right now. With the Supreme Court currently considering a case that would overturn Roe v. Wade, tensions are rising. We have the privilege of sharing the truth of life with love and respect to those for abortion. Consider Ephesians 4:15:
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”
Rather than leading with anger, the key to sharing pro-life views is to prepare for the inevitable conversations surrounding the pros and cons of abortion. Studies suggest that 60% of information presented to someone is forgotten, so truth and compassion must shine through memorably in the discussion. We want to leave all conversations as Christians, having made the other person feel loved, valued and heard. And this especially applies to abortion because it’s so personal for many people. Abortion proponents typically believe a fetus is not a human; therefore, abortion isn’t murder. Because of that, losing abortion rights recognizably creates fear about the loss of women’s equality that this country has fought so hard to preserve. But, specific, healthy conversations can reframe it entirely. Here are a few abortion pros and cons and how we can approach each one as followers of Christ and advocates for life.
Often, the debate on abortion’s pros and cons tends to center solely around birth. And while every child certainly deserves to live outside of the womb – that’s not all the pro-life movement is about. Instead, being pro-life encompasses many amazing ministries and support for women, babies and families. This includes things like:
Additionally, if the tax dollars (1.5 billion) given to abortion are instead redirected to post-birth resources, it would significantly relieve the financial burden of parenting or adoption. The pro-life movement could take those already-allocated resources and fill the desire for abortion with love and support for families, whether Roe is overturned or not.
The idea that overpopulation is solved by abortion has flaws in a few ways. For one – the U.S. has enough capacity to feed twice the amount of people it currently does. Additionally, if foreign countries tweak agricultural processes, they won’t need the food exports that the U.S. provides. So agricultural resources will not be scarce if abortions cease to exist.
Another challenge to this argument is lower birth rates lead to higher economic consumption and output. This means that even if abortions continue or even increase, carbon emissions will remain consistent. In fact, studies show that couples with no children can produce even more harmful emissions, so children can actually be thought to benefit the issue at hand rather than exaggerate it.
But even considering the points above, let’s assume a higher birth rate negatively impacts overpopulation. Would we take the lives of those out of the womb to improve life for the rest of us? Of course not. And since the pro-life movement believes a child is alive before birth, there is no difference in comparing the two.
Plus, with all the environmental, physical and emotional toll on our current culture – why wouldn’t we want more fresh minds coming together to help solve those issues? The gift of life is not obstructive, as some may say. It’s a breath of fresh air for our hurting world.
We’ve all seen protestors with a symbolic hanger, indicating a time before Roe v. Wade when abortions were self-performed. Understandably, the concept of reverting back to the idea of that method strikes fear. But the statement, “banning abortion doesn’t reduce abortions, just illegal ones,” is not entirely true. In a study that reviewed women denied abortions because of gestational age limits, two-thirds carried their pregnancy to term. A similar focus group in multiple other countries revealed nearly the same results.
In addition, the year abortion was legalized in the U.S. (1973), more women died from legal abortions than illegal abortions: 19 died from a back-alley abortion, and 25 died from a “safe” abortion.
Regardless, though most women will carry the child to term rather than attempting to illegally abort, the goal is to eliminate the need for it entirely. Women shouldn’t have to dread motherhood or adoption and risk their lives to avoid it. As mentioned in point #1 – we must support women and families beyond birth and cultivate a positive and supportive experience.
Some advocate that the difference between birth control and abortion is minimal. About half of the women receiving abortions have undergone one or more abortions previously, which can indicate their reliance on it as contraception. But the reason they are not the same is simple: life is defined as constant growth. Egg and sperm will remain dormant forever if they do not meet. However, the process after fertilization leads to life outside the womb when uninterrupted.
Since growth begins at fertilization and ends at death, why would life in the womb be any different than another stage of life (i.e., toddler vs. teenager vs. adult)? Because dependency varies between life stages, it doesn’t mean value should. Therefore, personhood status should begin at fertilization rather than a blurred line somewhere between viability and birth. This would invalidate the concept that abortion is another form of contraception.
Perhaps the most common case for abortion is that it’s “my body, my choice.” At first glance, it’s not too hard to understand why someone who supports this statement believes they’re defending women’s rights. After all, those rights are objectively crucial to our society, and women should have bodily autonomy. But what the pro-life movement believes in isn’t about taking away those rights. Instead, it’s about drawing a line when it takes another’s life. Consider when a pregnant mother is killed. It’s considered in some places to be a double homicide because there is a second life to account for.
We champion equality for all, regardless of their stage in life, dependency, gender, race, or needs. It’s about indiscriminate value for every human life. And just as in any other social equality movement, advocates must speak up for the victims of prejudice so that hearts may soften. Since preborn children cannot defend their rights, pro-lifers are dedicated to magnifying the injustice of abortion for children in the womb and those negatively impacted by abortion.
We are fighting for more rights. Not less.
Each life is granted inherent value by the God who delicately crafted them in their mother’s womb. Christ was the ultimate advocate, always standing up for the vulnerable or those seen as less than. Abortion is no exception – it breaks His heart because it breaks ours. Pro-lifers have a unique opportunity as tensions rise around us to stand up for what’s right. We get to dive into the pros and cons of abortion to deepen our understanding and preparation. We can shine light into a broken world, showing people that there is hope. And we can do it together.
The post Abortion Pros and Cons: 5 Pro-Life Arguments appeared first on Focus on the Family.
Continue reading...
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”
Rather than leading with anger, the key to sharing pro-life views is to prepare for the inevitable conversations surrounding the pros and cons of abortion. Studies suggest that 60% of information presented to someone is forgotten, so truth and compassion must shine through memorably in the discussion. We want to leave all conversations as Christians, having made the other person feel loved, valued and heard. And this especially applies to abortion because it’s so personal for many people. Abortion proponents typically believe a fetus is not a human; therefore, abortion isn’t murder. Because of that, losing abortion rights recognizably creates fear about the loss of women’s equality that this country has fought so hard to preserve. But, specific, healthy conversations can reframe it entirely. Here are a few abortion pros and cons and how we can approach each one as followers of Christ and advocates for life.
Pro #1: "Pro-Life Just Means Pro-Birth"
Often, the debate on abortion’s pros and cons tends to center solely around birth. And while every child certainly deserves to live outside of the womb – that’s not all the pro-life movement is about. Instead, being pro-life encompasses many amazing ministries and support for women, babies and families. This includes things like:
- Parenting education
- Housing
- Mentoring
- Special needs
- Prison ministry
- Elder care
- Foster care
- Adoption
- Baby supplies
- Post-abortive care (physical and emotional abortion complications effect one-third of women)
- Equality and race (the history of abortion is steeped with dark issues, including eugenics)
Additionally, if the tax dollars (1.5 billion) given to abortion are instead redirected to post-birth resources, it would significantly relieve the financial burden of parenting or adoption. The pro-life movement could take those already-allocated resources and fill the desire for abortion with love and support for families, whether Roe is overturned or not.
Pro #2: "Abortion Solves Overpopulation"
The idea that overpopulation is solved by abortion has flaws in a few ways. For one – the U.S. has enough capacity to feed twice the amount of people it currently does. Additionally, if foreign countries tweak agricultural processes, they won’t need the food exports that the U.S. provides. So agricultural resources will not be scarce if abortions cease to exist.
Another challenge to this argument is lower birth rates lead to higher economic consumption and output. This means that even if abortions continue or even increase, carbon emissions will remain consistent. In fact, studies show that couples with no children can produce even more harmful emissions, so children can actually be thought to benefit the issue at hand rather than exaggerate it.
But even considering the points above, let’s assume a higher birth rate negatively impacts overpopulation. Would we take the lives of those out of the womb to improve life for the rest of us? Of course not. And since the pro-life movement believes a child is alive before birth, there is no difference in comparing the two.
Plus, with all the environmental, physical and emotional toll on our current culture – why wouldn’t we want more fresh minds coming together to help solve those issues? The gift of life is not obstructive, as some may say. It’s a breath of fresh air for our hurting world.
Pro #3: "Banning Abortion Only Reduces the Number of Safe Abortions"
We’ve all seen protestors with a symbolic hanger, indicating a time before Roe v. Wade when abortions were self-performed. Understandably, the concept of reverting back to the idea of that method strikes fear. But the statement, “banning abortion doesn’t reduce abortions, just illegal ones,” is not entirely true. In a study that reviewed women denied abortions because of gestational age limits, two-thirds carried their pregnancy to term. A similar focus group in multiple other countries revealed nearly the same results.
In addition, the year abortion was legalized in the U.S. (1973), more women died from legal abortions than illegal abortions: 19 died from a back-alley abortion, and 25 died from a “safe” abortion.
Regardless, though most women will carry the child to term rather than attempting to illegally abort, the goal is to eliminate the need for it entirely. Women shouldn’t have to dread motherhood or adoption and risk their lives to avoid it. As mentioned in point #1 – we must support women and families beyond birth and cultivate a positive and supportive experience.
Pro #4: "Abortion is Contraception"
Some advocate that the difference between birth control and abortion is minimal. About half of the women receiving abortions have undergone one or more abortions previously, which can indicate their reliance on it as contraception. But the reason they are not the same is simple: life is defined as constant growth. Egg and sperm will remain dormant forever if they do not meet. However, the process after fertilization leads to life outside the womb when uninterrupted.
Since growth begins at fertilization and ends at death, why would life in the womb be any different than another stage of life (i.e., toddler vs. teenager vs. adult)? Because dependency varies between life stages, it doesn’t mean value should. Therefore, personhood status should begin at fertilization rather than a blurred line somewhere between viability and birth. This would invalidate the concept that abortion is another form of contraception.
Pro #5: "My Body, My Choice"
Perhaps the most common case for abortion is that it’s “my body, my choice.” At first glance, it’s not too hard to understand why someone who supports this statement believes they’re defending women’s rights. After all, those rights are objectively crucial to our society, and women should have bodily autonomy. But what the pro-life movement believes in isn’t about taking away those rights. Instead, it’s about drawing a line when it takes another’s life. Consider when a pregnant mother is killed. It’s considered in some places to be a double homicide because there is a second life to account for.
We champion equality for all, regardless of their stage in life, dependency, gender, race, or needs. It’s about indiscriminate value for every human life. And just as in any other social equality movement, advocates must speak up for the victims of prejudice so that hearts may soften. Since preborn children cannot defend their rights, pro-lifers are dedicated to magnifying the injustice of abortion for children in the womb and those negatively impacted by abortion.
We are fighting for more rights. Not less.
Each life is granted inherent value by the God who delicately crafted them in their mother’s womb. Christ was the ultimate advocate, always standing up for the vulnerable or those seen as less than. Abortion is no exception – it breaks His heart because it breaks ours. Pro-lifers have a unique opportunity as tensions rise around us to stand up for what’s right. We get to dive into the pros and cons of abortion to deepen our understanding and preparation. We can shine light into a broken world, showing people that there is hope. And we can do it together.
The post Abortion Pros and Cons: 5 Pro-Life Arguments appeared first on Focus on the Family.
Continue reading...
