In that respect, abortion can be a golden ticket that allows many people to bypass any need for civic engagement. Why be involved or knowledgeable about the issues when you can just pick the pro-life candidate? I know this because I used to be one of those people. I used to hold pro-life ideals in such high esteem that, practically speaking, nothing else mattered by comparison. I gave my money, my time, my prayers, and my political allegiances to the person who championed the pro-life movement.
So what changed? A lot of things, which I'll outline below. Before I do, I feel compelled to state this: I believe abortion rights are a women's issue, and that our society does not need another white male voice joining the cacophony on this topic. However, I also recognize that the pro-life movement and the evangelical right are dominated by white male voices, and this is my effort and endeavor to speak truth into those minds. Beyond that, I'll gladly take a seat to my feminine superiors on this subject.
The Role of Faith
My journey into the pro-choice camp was marked by a few key realizations. Although it's no secret that I have complicated feelings about religion in general now, I began this transition before my departure from the church. After a great deal of studying, I realized that the actual scriptural support for the pro-life movement is flimsy at best, or nonexistent at worst.
Simply put, there is no biblical prohibition on abortion. None. Instead, there are a variety of vaguely sentimental verses like Psalm 139:13-16 that are instead spun into anti-abortion arguments. Jeremiah 1:5 is another classic example of this -- a poetic phrase about god's knowledge has become molded into a theology all its own through a great deal of extrapolation and interpretation. In reality, Jeremiah 1:5 could just as easily be manipulated into an argument against contraception. And truth be told, the entire anti-abortion argument can be boiled down into those two words -- extrapolation and interpretation. Church leaders have cherry-picked a few romantic sentences from the scripture and stitched them together into a theology that just doesn't exist without the church propping it up.
Once I realized this, I saw the naked truth of the matter: the pro-life movement is not a matter of pure theology, but instead, it's a matter of orthodoxy and social dynamics. Church attendees are pro-life because pastors are pro-life. Pastors are pro-life because the leaders above them are pro-life. There is a kind of social trend, an unspoken agreement, that Christians must be pro-life. We call that orthodoxy, and it is hollow of any substantive theological power. It's no different than the many churches that have forbidden drumsets from the stage, or prohibited women from wearing pants in the sanctuary. The pro-life movement is not underpinned by the bible -- it's largely just an agreement among the white men in power. Many people are pro-life for social reasons, not spiritual reasons.
After walking away from the hulking machinery that is religious thought, I began to search for my own truth. Deductively speaking, abortion is either murder, or it's not. If it's murder, it must be outlawed. If it's not murder, then any intrusion into abortion rights are a major breach of a woman's bodily autonomy. Abortion is either an egregious destruction of life, or one of mankind's greatest technological achievements. It either kills a person, or allows women the capacity to totally control their own reproductive choices.
I believe that the foremost question that must be answered regarding abortion is this: where does life begin? More specifically, where does a distinct and separate life begin? After all, a mole on your nose or a tumor may be living cells, but they are not distinct. They are... you. So when does a fetus become a person in its own right? We can search for these answers, but only after recognizing that the bible will not and cannot provide them. And that's okay.
In my own journey, I became acquainted with a very lively debate about where life ends. For a long time, death was defined as the cessation of a heartbeat. However, medical advances have allowed us to keep humans alive with no functioning heart at all. But is that life? Emerging voices have called for death to be defined as a cessation of brain activity. Your heart is just a muscular pump, but your brain is you. When you are brain dead, you are just dead.
Without a doubt, the exploration of life's beginnings and endings can be murky and complex. The most important part of this is acknowledging that these definitions are not gifted to us from a god or a divine being. There's a lot more to be said on the science regarding defining life, but the point remains clear. Many people in the pro-life movement have mistakenly assumed that their beliefs are backed by scripture, so they've sought no other opinion. They've ended their search for answers. In light of the reality of the bible, that seems rather lazy.
I am still on my own journey to figure out where life begins, what life is, and what happens at its conclusion. In the mean time, I will advocate for women to have access to resources that grant them greater control over their bodies. I will also value their voices and remain vigilant for movements that aim to harm women whether intentionally or by happenstance. Lastly, I would like to share one more insight regarding my change of heart.
As the saying goes, you are what you eat. However, I think that applies to the information you consume as well as the food you devour. One of the habits that has most molded my perspective has been changing where I get my information from. I began to follow news blogs written by female voices and other websites owned by minorities. I sought diversity in my media diet just like anyone should in their nutritional diet. I turned away from the raucous echo chamber that reassured me that all my opinions were already airtight, and that truly changed everything.
I don't have all the answers, and I probably never will. However, I have opened myself up to a slew of new truths and possibilities. I have liberated myself from the arrogant presumptions of my former life, and I want to encourage everyone to do the same. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this topic! Comment, email, message... Let me know where you stand and most importantly, why you believe your truths to be real.
