I’m Christian and Pro-Choice, But Not for the Obvious Reasons
For a long time I would not call myself pro-choice because, one way or another, it meant supporting the killing of unborn babies. Even now, I am uncomfortable admitting that I am in support of abortion, which sounds weightier than saying I am pro-choice. Here’s the thing though, I have always been pro-choice.
Pro-choice, meaning I am in support of women having the legal right to choose whether they want to keep a pregnancy or not. However, it is not for all the obvious reasons.
Yes, I believe women should have bodily autonomy; I believe men should not have the kind of power they do over women’s bodies, but my reason for being pro-choice is something else. I am pro-choice because of my belief that eliminating women’s ability to choose tampers with their God-given right: their free will.
By insisting that women cannot terminate their pregnancies, we tamper with that unique divine gift, which we all have. We impede their ability to choose their own fates and decide at their own discretion. And whether we realize it or not, we play God — even implying through our moralistic insistence — that we are better at being God than the God who gave us free will.
I hear you if you say you are fighting for the rights of the unborn child — someone does need to fight for the marginalized and voiceless. But at what cost? Because if two wrongs don’t make a right, then it’s just as wrong to override a woman’s right to protect that of her unborn child.
Assuming there was a widely available option for unwanted fetuses to be incubated outside their mother’s womb, we could advocate better for unborn babies. If that were the case, women who do not want babies would have no need of putting their bodies (and lives) through the demands of pregnancy and childcare. Maybe we would even have an entire population of women who are excellent mothers since the women who have babies would be only those who want them. In the absence of that, however, we are in dire straits. As such, we must be careful with how we decide because whatever we choose will affect someone.
When we tamper with women’s free will, we weaken their sense of moral responsibility, making them less willing [to consider keeping their unborn child or its wellbeing]. By so doing, we are more likely to drive women to unsafe and aggressive behaviors, not to mention unsafe options of abortion.
I suspect that some people will defend their pro-life stance with the argument that free will includes their ability to choose whether to own a gun or not, and they are right. However, there is a difference between the consequences of gun ownership and abortion.
While abortion takes the life of an unformed person, guns take much more. Guns severe a lifetime of connections, causing excruciating grief that can last a lifetime. Think about it: a psychopathic person on a killing spree does not just kill people; they kill ambition, hopes, and laughter that could have resulted from a surprise birthday party or some other get-together. They leave in their wake pain that is made sharper by the torments of the life that could have been, whereas the impact of abortions are far less severe.
My point is we need to respect every woman’s sense of agency.
We need to leave women to choose their own actions and trust that they are at peace with their choices, whatever they are.
