The Big A
Well, it certainly didn't take long. After hearing his first case this week, Justice Alito (and Justice Roberts) have to be aware of the stir their appointments are causing in places like South Dakota. This week, legislators there passed a ban on virtually all abortions. Pro-life supporters have clearly stated that the law is designed as a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.
I have mixed feelings about this. I have been, and still am, generally pro-life. But a couple of things trouble me about the political agenda of this movement. First, my sense of the Biblical support for this position isn't as strong as it once was. In one corner, there's texts like Jeremiah 1 and Psalm 139, which clearly talk about the unborn child as having personhood (though when and where that begins is certainly not completely clear). But Exodus 21:22 also treats the unborn child as possibly less than a person, saying that an act which causes the death of a fetus can be remedied with a cash payment. Certainly, Scripture leans toward a pro-life view of unborn children, but I'm not sure it's black and white.
Secondly, I'm concerned by the means the pro-life movement is using: primarily legislation and the judicial system. If you believe abortion is murder, any means of stopping it may be acceptable. But to me, this approach grows out of a conservative frame of mind, where any act is no more or less than an individual moral decision. If we pass a law, than those who have abortion will then be punished appropriately. It's all stick, no carrot. The more liberal pro-life approach has seen it as an individual decision shaped and influenced by social factors. That is to say, an argument can be made that with a society that treated mothers and children more kindly, especially single mothers and/or those in poverty, abortions would naturally fall. Or that the various economic and political factors that make marriage difficult (again, most notably for poor people) could be addressed in this effort as well. In short, we don't address the real reasons why women get abortions, only say that they shouldn't do so--that they're being naughty. In essence, this seems like a response that is very UN-Christlike, since it shows little compassion for the difficulties that many women face. (I'm not forgetting the children here, but there are two people involved--both sides seem to forget one of that pair). Do all churches do this? No. But that's what concerns me most about that law.
What I wouldn't give for a more holistic, non-partisan response to this issue. But that's difficult to find these days.