And here are some statistics concerning abortion.
I don't mean to sound preachy here. But if we are to care for the "least of these" outside of the womb, I think this also applies to those still inside the womb. This DOES NOT mean there is no reconciliation for an abortion. Where there is repentance, there is ALWAYS forgiveness. But the abortion issue begins with a culture that has decided the method can and will be used 95% of the time as a form of birth control. Here are some thoughts I posted earlier on an online Lutheran forum:
Here's the prevailing "wisdom" of my contemporaries (please excuse possible lewd, crude, and offensive language):
Speaking from the men side, since I don't engage in recreational sex talk with women, girls.
"Had sex with ____ again last night."
"Oh? Did you use protection?"
"Nah, better without the rubbers."
"What if she gets pregnant?"
"She's on the pill."
"Not 100% you know."
"Whatever, I'll take her straight to planned parenthood then (chuckles)."
I cannot tell you how many times I've had some version of this conversation. It usually leads to me shaking my head and walking away and sometimes the person telling me not to judge. THANKFULLY I will say that those contemporaries of mine (high school classmates) who have gotten pregnant have made the "choice" to KEEP the baby and get married. So far, so good. Granted, has not been much time, but thankfully LIFE was chosen.
The prevailing mindset is that abortion is birth control. The president and his supporters on this issue want to make the exception the rule. No way Jose, I say. The prevailing practice, from what I've witnessed thus far, is that life is the way to go. Thank a gracious God for that. But there has to be a way that we can engage culture on a level that doesn't just say, "Well I'm personally against it but I don't wanna tell others what to do with their bodies..." Cop out. As someone who has gone home with tears in my eyes after Chicago or New York visits because of the "least of these" trying to take refuge in the harshest of conditions, I cannot stand by and say "well I'm personally against poverty but hey I don't want to invade other peoples lives." Nonsense that would be. Abortion is a cultural issue, not an individuals rights issue. It is the greatest of lies to tell women this is some right they have as a sense of empowerment. Shame on the culture that put women down and abused them for so long that abortion would be seen as some sort of leverage or control that they wield.
The stats and facts remain that over 95% of abortions are birth control methods. Did we really just allow over 47.5 million lives to be ended to because 2.5 million of those cases have been due to other issues (rape, incest, health of the mother)? Does that make those issues insignificant? Absolutely not. But I cannot see the justification for abortion based on a small minority. Clearly women do not come to such a decision easily. There has got to be a way to engage a culture which sees the method of abortion as by and large birth control, but hides behind the extraneous circumstances.
Women have far too much to be proud of and to offer to need something like abortion to use as leverage. What we need to do is put down the signs, put down the bull horns, and grab the hand of a girl or woman who wants to have an abortion and tell her there is a way out--to life. And we need to grab the shoulders of the men who think they can just knock up girls and "take her to planned parenthood" to "fix" the situation, and teach them to be MEN and not little boys with no sense of responsibility. The president has called for a "new era of responsibility," I agree, let's start with teaching men and women the responsibility of sex and parenthood.
Every time I hear of a classmate who gets pregnant and talk about it with others they say something like "Wow, I couldn't stay if I were that guy" or "I wouldn't keep it, that would ruin my life." I always respond that that man or woman is a hero in a society gone mad. And I pray they see life through together.
Speaking from the men side, since I don't engage in recreational sex talk with women, girls.
"Had sex with ____ again last night."
"Oh? Did you use protection?"
"Nah, better without the rubbers."
"What if she gets pregnant?"
"She's on the pill."
"Not 100% you know."
"Whatever, I'll take her straight to planned parenthood then (chuckles)."
I cannot tell you how many times I've had some version of this conversation. It usually leads to me shaking my head and walking away and sometimes the person telling me not to judge. THANKFULLY I will say that those contemporaries of mine (high school classmates) who have gotten pregnant have made the "choice" to KEEP the baby and get married. So far, so good. Granted, has not been much time, but thankfully LIFE was chosen.
The prevailing mindset is that abortion is birth control. The president and his supporters on this issue want to make the exception the rule. No way Jose, I say. The prevailing practice, from what I've witnessed thus far, is that life is the way to go. Thank a gracious God for that. But there has to be a way that we can engage culture on a level that doesn't just say, "Well I'm personally against it but I don't wanna tell others what to do with their bodies..." Cop out. As someone who has gone home with tears in my eyes after Chicago or New York visits because of the "least of these" trying to take refuge in the harshest of conditions, I cannot stand by and say "well I'm personally against poverty but hey I don't want to invade other peoples lives." Nonsense that would be. Abortion is a cultural issue, not an individuals rights issue. It is the greatest of lies to tell women this is some right they have as a sense of empowerment. Shame on the culture that put women down and abused them for so long that abortion would be seen as some sort of leverage or control that they wield.
The stats and facts remain that over 95% of abortions are birth control methods. Did we really just allow over 47.5 million lives to be ended to because 2.5 million of those cases have been due to other issues (rape, incest, health of the mother)? Does that make those issues insignificant? Absolutely not. But I cannot see the justification for abortion based on a small minority. Clearly women do not come to such a decision easily. There has got to be a way to engage a culture which sees the method of abortion as by and large birth control, but hides behind the extraneous circumstances.
Women have far too much to be proud of and to offer to need something like abortion to use as leverage. What we need to do is put down the signs, put down the bull horns, and grab the hand of a girl or woman who wants to have an abortion and tell her there is a way out--to life. And we need to grab the shoulders of the men who think they can just knock up girls and "take her to planned parenthood" to "fix" the situation, and teach them to be MEN and not little boys with no sense of responsibility. The president has called for a "new era of responsibility," I agree, let's start with teaching men and women the responsibility of sex and parenthood.
Every time I hear of a classmate who gets pregnant and talk about it with others they say something like "Wow, I couldn't stay if I were that guy" or "I wouldn't keep it, that would ruin my life." I always respond that that man or woman is a hero in a society gone mad. And I pray they see life through together.
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