{"id":325,"date":"2010-08-05T09:51:36","date_gmt":"2010-08-05T09:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thinplaces\/2010\/08\/the-emotions-of-abortion.html"},"modified":"2010-08-05T09:51:36","modified_gmt":"2010-08-05T09:51:36","slug":"the-emotions-of-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2010\/08\/the-emotions-of-abortion.html","title":{"rendered":"The Emotions of Abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

According to a recent article in the New York Times, The New
\nAbortion Providers<\/a>,
\n“Abortion remains the most common surgical procedure for American women;
\none-third of them will have one by the age of 45.” Although the rate of
\nabortion has held steady for the past few decades (at about 1.2 million per
\nyear), the number of doctors who are being trained in the procedure is rising.
\nAs growing numbers of women join the ranks of obstetrician\/ gynecologists, more
\nand more of these doctors have requested training to terminate pregnancy.
\nAbortion training is mandatory in “about half” of medical schools, up from 12
\npercent in 1995. And these doctors who perform abortions are increasingly
\nseeking to move abortions into hospitals rather than isolated clinics, thus
\nexpanding access to abortion and limiting the stigma (and potential danger) that
\ngoes along with it. <\/p>\n

I could rehearse all the reasons–theological, ethical,
\nlegal, medical, economic–people are opposed to or in favor of abortion. Or I
\ncould tell stories, of my friend, a Christian, who works with women in crisis
\nsituations and often supports their choice to terminate a pregnancy out of
\ncompassion for their desperation. Or the story of another friend who works in a
\nCrisis Pregnancy center and counsels women who have had abortions and remain
\ngrief-stricken years later. Or of my friend whose grandfather was shot dead
\noutside the abortion clinic where he worked. Or of my friend who mourned the
\nloss of the sibling she never had because her mother had aborted a baby with
\ndisabilities. <\/p>\n

Rational arguments aren’t enough. This is an emotional
\nissue, on both sides. Doctors who perform abortions, counselors who advise
\nclients to procure abortions–they aren’t trying to kill babies. They are trying
\nto serve women with compassion. As one doctor in the Times article explains,
\n“Bringing so many unwanted children into the world, or children who wouldn’t be
\nreadily provided for because their mothers were on drugs or who were taken away
\nat birth–well, that just solidified my feeling that I wanted to provide
\nabortions.” For these doctors, counselors, and women, it is a harsh reality
\nthat some children are unplanned and unwanted. And the tragic but necessary
\nchoice, in their mind, is to terminate.<\/p>\n

But on the other side of the equation, pro-life protesters
\nwith signs and slogans outside of Planned Parenthood Clinics aren’t trying to
\ndemonize women or take away women’s rights. They are trying to speak on behalf
\nof the voiceless ones within the womb. As Romesh Ponneru writes, also in the
\nNew York Times (“The Year of the Pro-Life Woman<\/a>“),
\nPro-lifers see their cause “as a plea for justice for a vulnerable group.” <\/p>\n

The complexity of it all, and the hurt of it all, leaves me longing for the kingdom. Longing for the day
\nwhen Jesus is acknowledged by all as Lord of all. Longing for the day when
\nthere won’t be unwanted children, or babies with mothers on drugs, or babies
\nborn into families who already don’t have enough food to go around. Longing for
\nthe day when each individual sees her\/himself as a part of a community,
\ninextricably linked to one another and called to care not only, and not even
\nprimarily, for her\/himself, but for others. Longing for the day when openness
\nto human life in all its diversity is welcomed and valued. <\/p>\n

Jesus talked about what the kingdom of God would look like
\nin the future. But he also invited his disciples to participate in the kingdom
\nhere and now. He talked about the nearness of the kingdom. He even went so far
\nas to say, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful
\nobservation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the
\nkingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21<\/a>). <\/p>\n

The responsibility and privilege of those who follow Jesus
\nis to participate in God’s coming kingdom. When it comes to social issues like
\nabortion, numerous possibilities exist. Some of those are direct advocacy roles
\nin the political spectrum and others are direct counseling and support through
\norganizations such as Crisis Pregnancy or Choice One. But just as Jesus
\ncompared the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, there are ways to participate
\nin God’s kingdom that are less obvious than petitioning lawmakers, and many of
\nthese possibilities would find support across the political spectrum. Providing
\njobs with a living wage or childcare options for women in difficult economic
\nsituations, for instance, might well translate into the choice to welcome
\nanother child into a family. Opening your home to a foster child while a mother
\ngets treatment for addiction… Donating baby food, toys, and (perhaps most
\nimportantly since they are not covered by food stamps) diapers to young mothers
\nin need… Any action that helps eliminate poverty could stem the number of
\nabortions. <\/p>\n

In the United States, every woman has a legal right to
\nterminate her pregnancy. But we have reason to hope that no woman would ever want or need to exercise that right. As more
\nand more doctors are trained to provide abortions, may more and more women and
\nmen work to eliminate the perceived need to end those lives before they have a
\nchance to begin.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to a recent article in the New York Times, The New Abortion Providers, “Abortion remains the most common surgical procedure for American women; one-third of them will have one by the age of 45.” Although the rate of abortion has held steady for the past few decades (at about 1.2 million per year), the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-faith","category-family"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Emotions of Abortion - Thin Places<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2010\/08\/the-emotions-of-abortion.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Emotions of Abortion - Thin Places\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to a recent article in the New York Times, The New Abortion Providers, “Abortion remains the most common surgical procedure for American women; one-third of them will have one by the age of 45.” Although the rate of abortion has held steady for the past few decades (at about 1.2 million per year), the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2010\/08\/the-emotions-of-abortion.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Thin Places\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-08-05T09:51:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"amyjuliabecker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Emotions of Abortion - Thin Places","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2010\/08\/the-emotions-of-abortion.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Emotions of Abortion - Thin Places","og_description":"According to a recent article in the New York Times, The New Abortion Providers, “Abortion remains the most common surgical procedure for American women; 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Two major life experiences have shaped her writing and her faith\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcaring for her mother-in-law as she battled cancer and welcoming her daughter Penny into the world after she was diagnosed at birth with Down syndrome. Both experiences expanded and enriched her understanding of what it means to be human and to receive each and every person as a gift.\u00c2\u00a0 A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, and the forthcoming A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House). Her essays have appeared in First Things, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Century, ChristianityToday.com, and Bloom, among other online venues.","sameAs":["http:\/\/amyjuliabecker.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}