I have been an unabashed political junkie this election season. I have watched all three presidential debates as well as the vice-presidential debate. I follow the polls. I have spoken openly to others about whom I support.
One moment of the campaign has given me a lot to think about. It happened prior to any official debate. It occurred during the largely overlooked conversations with Pastor Rick Warren. He asked one candidate a series of questions while the other was off stage in a sound proof room. Then they switched places and answered the same questions. I didn’t catch them live, but since they were available in several places on the Internet, I watched them there.
One question Pastor Warren asked was, “At what point does a baby receive human rights?” Obama answered first.
His answer was guarded, tempered, and nuanced. He talked about how and why he voted on certain legislation. He talked about the issue of abortion in terms of its affects on women, children, and society.
When John McCain was asked the same questions
his answer was short and sweet. “At the moment of conception.” This brought cheers from the audience.
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When I tell people that I am going to be voting for
Barak Obama, many people tell me that there are lots of things they appreciate about him, “…his candor, his integrity, his ability to raise our country in the world’s veiw…” here they pause and I can see what’s coming next, “But he’s pro-choice and the issue of abortion is important to me. I don’t know if I could vote for a pro-choice candidate.”
I do not have a concise answer in these moments. Part of the reason for this is, that on his particular issue, for me there is no concise answer. This has led me to write this: a treatise that addresses the issue of abortion generally and explains why I am still voting for Senator Obama, even though he is pro-choice.
1. There is a difference between how we feel about abortion and what we do about abortion.If we honestly and totally believed that abortion was the murder of innocent babies, we would join the ranks of those picketing or bombing abortion clinics. Or at least we would be writing letters to our representatives. Instead I believe most people who feel comfortable with the pro-life label simply talk among themselves about the issue.
I am against abortion. I wish it were not part of the world. As someone who has gone through invitro-fertilization I have seen pictures of the four cells, clustered together that would, only months later be welcomed as my twins. I have prayed over these images. I have stayed awake at night wondering how anyone could ever not be blown away by the amazing force of life seen up close. Abortion is a result of sin. It is not as God intended the world to be.
But my strong feelings about the wrongness of abortion does not dictate my action. Children let their emotions rule their decision. Adults think, reason, and make the best judgment based on the information and the specifics of a situation. A hard-line stance on the issue of abortion is not honorable, it is myopic, unsympathetic, and simplistic.
2. If all you do is vote for the candidate who says they oppose abortion, then you do not get to have an opinion (at least not one you get to share with me.)If you want to have your say on the issue of abortion, you must be actively working toward making the issue a non-issue.
You get an opinion if you give money to an organization like
Bethany Christian Services. They work to place children in adoptive homes. They also work with children in Foster care.
You get am more weighty opinion if you have adopted children or have volunteered to be foster parents. While these roles do not directly affect a specific abortion, they care for those whom others do not care for. And if you’re willing to make the sacrifices required to adopt or serve as foster parents, then I am willing to listen to what you have to say on the issue of abortion.
This leads me to my final point.
3. The issue of abortion is solvable by Christians.What if the world knew that it could walk up to any Christian and say, “I am thinking of aborting my baby, would you be willing to take it?” And know that the answer would be “yes.”
What if we applied market principles to the issue of abortion? What if the demand for children by Christian far exceeded the number of abortions? What if this is what Christian were known for, not for hating gay people, or supporting our troops, but for wanting to care for those people whom no one else wants to care for? I’m sure that abortions would still happen, but I imagine that they would be reduced by 70-80%
But, you say, “I do not have the resources to support another child. If I had another child it may take away from the attention and care that I can provide to the children I all ready have! I may not be able to send my kids to private school, or take a summer vacation, or save for retirement.” Or for those of you suffering a bit more from the economic collapse might be thinking, “I won’t be able to afford food, or clothes, or rent.”
Beside these being the very questions that people choosing to abort ask themselves, remember I am not suggesting that Christian must adopt (at least not here). All I am suggesting is that talking about abortion is one thing and living a life that works for eliminate the felt need for abortions is another. It is easy to simply vote for whomever Right-to-Life tells you to. It is hard to be looking forward to early retirement and think about using your 401(k) to buy diapers.
In conclusion, I am against abortion. But I am against the delusion that some people take comfort in when they cast their vote for the Right-to-Life candidate. I encourage you to vote for whomever you wish, but if you feel passionate about the issue of abortion, do not convince yourself you have done enough. You have actually done as little as you can. You have only just begun.
If you are interested in adoption please contact Bethany Christian Services at
www.bethany.org.
