Post-election now, I want to learn and understand about the extreme passion that surrounds both sides of the abortion issue. I’m excited on one hand to see such passion in the Christian church about an issue, though I sometimes feel it is misguided, but I’m excited to see it and hope to blog and dialog about how we can direct that passion to caring for the lives of women and children in our midst.
This week I went to the library in our neighborhood. There is an extremely high teen pregnancy rate in North Minneapolis (I’ve heard one of the highest in the nation, but I’ll have to confirm that statistic). The point is that I did what I think some teens might do if they are sexually active or had an unexpected pregnancy, I went to the library, looked up abortion and checked out a couple books. There was only one book here geared towards a teenage crowd and it presented it self as an unbiased pro/con look at the issue.
I’m not going to name the book, I’d rather encourage you to try this same experiment (go to your local library, find the books about abortion geared toward teens and read them). But, I’ll share with you my impression of the book I read. And while I reserve the right that my opinion on this issue is still undecided, this was my honest impression of the book at the library that I read.
I felt the book was extremely biased toward the pro-choice movement, or more specifically, it made a case for abortion as simply another form of birth control. While I respect that opinion, the book claimed to be an unbiased pro/con book and it did not do service to the anti-abortion perspective. I’ll include just a few examples.
- The picture they chose to display at the beginning of the “Pro-Life Camp” chapter was one of a protester dressed as Death, scith and all. And though I recognize there are a number of protesters with disturbing scare tactics, it clearly gives a certain impression of this group when you begin to read.
- When talking about the abortion procedure, they give one or two vague sentences about the risks. I don’t expect scare tactics, but they did not make an effort to list statistics or possible outcomes, they simply stated that like any other surgery there are some risks. They mentioned that a women’s uterus could be damaged during the procedure, but didn’t indicate that for some (again they should be giving statistics for this like they did for other sections) women that means they are never able to have children.
- They give one paragraph to the religious views regarding the topic and they state that none of the Christian, Jewish or Muslim scriptures say anything about the topic of abortion. Again, I’m not arguing that they do, but there are plenty of verses that people reference that could at least be mentioned so the reader can draw their own conclusion.
Hi, first time visitor, linked over from Biscotti Brain.
Thank you for sharing this story in such an even handed way. I am encouraged that our country will be moving in a direction we can all agree with, which is reducing the number of abortions in the US. I like your action item and will check out what’s available at my local library.
I think this is the future of the Pro-Life movement. Fully trained and staffed medical and counseling centers across the country centered on empowering women to make choices in a an informed manner with support services provided regardless of the decision.
I am not sure if there are books written on this new wave of pro-life ministry/activism, but it is what I see on the ground.
Here is the link the group of centers I know very well. Check it out. In DuPage County is has grown to be a very admired resource to the community.
http://www.pregnanthelp.com/
Gustave, I fully support the future of the Pro-life movement as you describe it. Though I see it as only once component, I think it’s an important start.
Ariah,
CareNet is an example of a parachurch organization that does exactly what you talk about in your newest post.
Dozens of churches partner in the ministry of CareNet, which is not only Pro-Birth (a very apt distinction you make that is true in many instances), but like I said above, Pro-mother. There are material support programs for mothers who bring their pregnancies to term yet struggle to meet the financial needs. There are groups for women who had abortions and want to discuss that with other women. Several of the women who work at CareNet are single moms themselves. I think CareNet works very hard at being a place where no critique is given to people who are become pregnant. It is actively and strongly sponsored by churches in the Wheaton area.
I see what you are saying though in your other post. I wonder though if perhaps there are some of what we are looking for to happen in the church is happening, just not in the “traditional” church setting and in a parachurch or Church (capital C) setting.
Gustave