Also, Abortion is one of the reddest of herrings in the dialog between Christianity and Progressivism. Here is what I mean by that: Christians agree with Progressives on 9 out of 10 issues, but abortion becomes the obstacle that ropes us back into the Conservative fold, which doesn't make any sense.
Abortion is a tragedy. Nobody is ok with it. When it happens there is no celebration, no peace, only sorrow. That pain is present no matter who you are, liberal or conservative. No woman is cavalier about abortion. I'm not a fan of it, but I have two points on this issue that are winning arguments for Christians like me:
1. Don't be Pro-Life, be Pro-LIVES. Christians value life, we believe it is sacred and that death is pretty much the enemy of everything we think matters in the Universe. But we often get fixated on small life - life in a woman's womb - and become blind to all life - life outside of that womb. If we Christians were really "Pro Life" we wouldn't only care about life in the womb. We would care about the healthcare that mother needs to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. We would care about the daycare that baby will need so that mother and her family are not bankrupted. We would care about the maternity leave that mother is due so she can bond with that baby and get the baby's life off to a good start. We would care about income inequality and the way minority families are devastated by an unequal justice system. We would care about climate change and the poisonous effects of pollution on the lives around the world. We would hesitate to invade and kill the people of other nations, relying firstly on diplomacy and economic tools before bombs and bullets.
My suggestion is this: don't side step the issue of abortion/pro-life with Christians. USE it. "Pro-Life" is too small, "Pro-Lives" is a magnified worldview that consistently applies the Christian conviction that all life matters to other issues, issues you will find that Bernie Sanders is working hard on.
Finally, the key to decreasing the number of abortions in this country is to prevent unwanted pregnancy to begin with. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so to speak. If we are really Pro-Life then we would support the things proven to decrease abortion, like sexual education for teenagers, access to birth control, health-care and free education for kids who have the grades. That is how you seriously decrease the number of abortions, and that is the only serious expression of a Pro-Life agenda.
2. Abortion is a non-issue. Abortion is not an issue that is up for functional discussion in America. The Supreme Court settled its legality in 1973 and anywhere in the US where abortion is restricted the Justice system steps in and ensures that it is permitted - and there is nothing any elected politician can do about it. If abortion law could be reversed, President George W. Bush and the Republican House and Senate would have settled the issue. Period. The fact that abortion is still here even after the most pro-life president and congress in history came to power demonstrates that abortion is something the Republicans raise money and support on, but know they can't do anything about. As a Christian who is Pro-Lives, its time for us to start seeing the bigger picture of all life rather than small life, and to make a difference in the places we can.
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Some interesting parallels.
