Pro-Life Myths

This is Father Jared Cramer from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven, Michigan, here with today’s edition of Christian Mythbusters, a regular segment I offer to counter some common misconceptions about the Christian faith. The United States Supreme Court has decided to let stand an abortion law in Texas which bans abortion after six weeks and allows any private citizen to sue a doctor or other individual helping someone get an abortion. The Court did agree that abortion providers could sue the state for this law, but as that works is way through the judicial system, abortion in Texas is now effectively banned after six weeks, which is before may women even know they are pregnant. At the same time, we are also awaiting a decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a suit based on a law in Mississippi that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, contrary to prior Supreme Court precedent which has long held the point of viability of the fetus as the point at which abortion can be banned. All of this makes today a good day to break some of the myths out there about what Christians can and cannot believe when it comes to abortion. This is important because much of the so-called “right-to-life movement” rests upon modern political and philosophical arguments and not upon the actual Biblical witness. Now, I want to be clear; abortion is a massively tragic choice that women face. My own denomination, The Episcopal Church, spoke clearly in a 1994 resolution that “all human life is sacred from its inception until death.” At the same time, the resolution was clear that legislation will not address the root cause of abortions. Our church expressed “its unequivocal opposition to any legislative, executive or judicial action on the part of local, state or national governments that abridges the right of a woman to reach an informed decision about the termination of pregnancy or that would limit the access of a woman to safe means of acting on her decision.” The position of my church rests upon an acknowledgement that the biblical witness on the question of abortion reflects a nuance when it comes to the questions of personhood and the sanctity of life. Those who claim that a fetus is the equivalent to a human being from a moral and ethical standpoint cannot make that claim based on Scripture. Exodus 21:22–25, for example, is clear that if violence causes a miscarriage, the penalty is different than if you murder someone. Numbers 5 describes a ritual a woman must go through if she is accused of adultery, where the priest gives her something called “the water of bitterness.” And if she has committed adultery, the water will “make your uterus drop, your womb discharge.” Both of these texts absolutely reflect the patriarchy of the time. In the Exodus text, for example, the husband determines the punishment for the loss of the fetus and there is not any corresponding violent ritual a for a man accused of adultery in the book of Numbers. Thankfully, given the fulfillment of the law through Jesus Christ, we are no longer bound by these commandments. Instead, Jesus told us that love of God and love of neighbor is the principle upon which all laws must rest. So, the question for the Christian is what does love of God and love of neighbor require of us? What does a true respect for the sanctity of life require? First, it requires respecting the sanctity and personhood of every woman. That means that when a woman is faced with a tragic and difficult circumstance, the church should support her , help her make her own informed decision about what is best. And then, after she makes that decision, the church should walk alongside of her. The second thing a Christian should do is advocate for policies that reduce the number of abortions in our country. I mean, let’s be clear, countries with the most restrictive laws on abortion also actually have the highest rates of abortion. Instead it is policies like increased access to healthcare and birth control that actually results in far fewer abortions. For example, a Contraceptive CHOICE project in St. Louis gave women free contraceptive counseling and the contraception of their choice and the average annual abortion rate among participants was .97%—compared with the 4.2%, the rate of sexually active teens. If this court does strike down Roe v. Wade, the lives of women in our country will be put at risk. Abortions laws will immediately take effect that will restrict access, which will increase the danger to women. And Christians will be complicit in the lives lost by this change. Make no mistake, a true value of the sanctity of all life—including the lives of women—means that we must not use laws or courts to strip women of the ability to make this incredibly difficult choice. It’s cruel and the cost will be high. Thanks for being with me. To find out more about my parish, you can go to sjegh.com. Until next time, remember, protest like Jesus, love recklessly, and live your faith out in a community that accepts you but also challenges you to be better tomorrow than you are today.