It's no secret that the Catholic doctrine is pro-life. But I'm pro-choice. In a way, this makes me an outsider of my own faith. How can I be a "true" Catholic if I'm pro-choice?
I was pro-life, once. I opened up an old journal I once tried to fill cover-to-cover with very-Christian poems, including a pro-life verse. A family member once made me picket on the corner of an intersection, holding pro-life signs in the name of "community service." During this time in my life, I went to a private Catholic high school, where the school would host guest speakers that spoke about abortion. These guest speakers would bombard our eyes with photos of aborted fetuses and bloody body parts, coupled with emotional stories of fetuses who survived the procedure and opened their mouths in silent screams of pain. And no one in their right mind wants to see a baby in pain, so who can blame my developing brain to becoming emotionally attached to this narrative?
But for the picture of a bloody, miniature body part, there is a picture of a woman dead from a botched abortion. I don't want to post one here, but Google "Gerri Santoro" if you don't believe me. Fair warning, it's a graphic photo of a graphic situation.
So, over time, I inched away from the emotional narrative and really thought about where I stood on the debate spectrum. Was I really pro-life, as I had been taught? Weren't the pro-choicers evil baby killers who wanted to destroy new life as a form of birth control? Could I be pro-choice and still be a good person, a good Christian?
After a long time of careful consideration and thought, I realized I aligned with the pro-choice side of the debate. And I have my reasons, listed below.
1.) Pro-choice does not equal pro-abortion.
I do not agree with abortion. I personally think it is a scary procedure. I have never had one and I do not want one. But you know what else is scary? Not having control of your own life. And that is what many women face when they are pregnant against their will. I am pro-choice, meaning I support the woman's right to choose. These choices include abortion, adoption, and keeping the baby.
Need another example? I personally do not like guns, but I support the second amendment. I do not need to personally like or approve of an action, but I can respect someone else's right to that action.
The goings-on of another woman's womb is none of my business. I will support her choice, whatever it may be. But that does not mean I will like it. But here's the thing - my opinion does not matter when it comes to someone else's body.
2.) Romans 14:13.
"Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister."
This verse seems pretty straightforward to me. I will not judge someone's decision to have an abortion, or put their baby up for adoption, or whatever else they choose. Whatever choice they make is between them, their doctor, their deity of choice, and whomever else they want to include in the decision-making. While on one hand, this verse may be interpreted as a caution against leading another to sin (stumbling block), this verse may also be interpreted as a caution against obstructing someone's path (obstacle). I will not be an obstacle to someone else's choices just because I disagree with them.
Speaking of the Bible, it never states when life is actually started. While the Catholic doctrine states that life is "from womb to tomb," the Bible itself continuously states that life begins with the breath of the Holy Spirit, the breath of life. From this perspective, a fetus would stop being a parasite (of the scientific definition) and start its life when it takes its first breath outside of the womb.
3.) Life VS. choice is a relatively new argument.
This debate did not become politicized until the 60s and 70s. But abortion has been around for centuries. Mainly, it seems to be a tactic by politicians to gain voters on both sides of the issue.
4.) Illegal abortion does not mean no abortion.
If abortion were to be made illegal tomorrow, it would not magically disappear. Abortion as an act would revert to how it was done in the early twentieth century, when women had to go to dingy back alleys, dirty basements, or disgusting apartments to get the procedure done. Women died from these unsanitary practices. If abortion were to be made illegal tomorrow, sanitary standards would be a thing of the past and more women would be dying than ever before. And supporting this "collateral" does not sound very pro-life to me. I want a woman who chooses abortion to have the sanitary environment available, so she would be safer than if she had gone to the dirty alley. If she's going to make the decision, she deserves to be safe.
5.) Humanity's free will.
Christianity is built on the belief that God gave humanity free will. He knew full well that the human race would be a sinful one, and yet He chose to give humanity the freedom to choose anyway. That sounds pretty pro-choice to me.
It baffles me that the word "pro-life" is only used in the context of abortion. Many of the "pro-life" crowd also seem to be "pro-war" (in my experience). If someone is really pro-life, wouldn't they be fighting to get people to stop smoking and drinking, since the body is a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19)? The same question and citation goes for a healthier food supply, a healthier planet, and an end to various genocides and injustices. The pro-life movement had the opportunity to really bring forth a great movement to improve life, and yet it is a movement dedicated to judging and condemning others over something that is never explicitly mentioned in the Bible.
And that is why I am pro-choice. Because otherwise, to me, it seems counterproductive.
No comments:
Post a Comment