In the aftermath of the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision to reverse Roe vs. Wade, abortion has been reignited as the socially and politically charged issue that it is, and likely always will be.
I do not think that adding my voice to the chorus of social media posts, news reports, protest signs, and political statements will put this issue to rest. Part of me wonders if it is even wise to write down my thoughts on a topic such as this. How can I properly express all that is in my mind and heart with the nuance such a divisive and complex topic requires?
Yet, I am compelled by two things: to “love the Lord [my] God with all [my] heart and with all [my] soul and with all [my] mind” and to “love [my] neighbor as [myself]” (Matthew 22:37, 39 NIV). My prayer is that this short glimpse into my mind and heart will reverberate with these two most holy callings.
For you to feel loved by me as you read this, you need to know the space I inhabit. As a new mom to an infant son, I’ve experienced what many women have experienced—a positive pregnancy test, multiple pre-natal checkups and ultrasounds, the marathon that is labour and delivery, and the final push that brought my son from my body into this world. On the other hand, I have not experienced what many women experience—the thought of raising a baby on my own, crippling poverty, sexual assault that results in a pregnancy, or a devastating prenatal diagnosis.
Each woman who has received a positive pregnancy test has her own story, whether ultimately deciding to raise the child, place the child for adoption, or have an abortion. I do not speak for you here, sister, but I hope that we can parse out some of this issue together, even if we land on different sides. So, imagine me offering you a cup of tea, and let’s sit down on my deck and talk.
Loving God
As a disciple of Jesus, my vocation is to love God. Easy, right? Well, it turns out that in the hurricane of life, what it means to love God can easily become unclear, and if not unclear, then sometimes downright difficult.
I won’t go into the biblical theological case for the sanctity of life here, since it has already been addressed by other writers. I agree with Article 14 in the MB Confession of Faith that affirms the sanctity of life—all life—whether wanted or unwanted. From the moment of conception, each person is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), worthy of love, honour, respect, and above all, life.
In her insightful book Love Thy Body, Nancy Pearcey uncovers the logic underlying many critical ethical issues today. There has been a divorce between the body and the person. Simply put, our culture no longer equates being a human with being a person. Personhood comes later—an acquired “skill.” Hence, the embryo is indeed a human but not yet a person until “it” acquires some set of criteria (which no one agrees upon) that move “it” from mere humanhood to personhood, such as self-awareness, self-control, or communication. Let’s follow the logic to its conclusion. If a human is not a person until “it” achieves some arbitrary set of criteria, what groups of people might be made vulnerable by such a claim? One scenario is “after-birth abortion,” or, more honestly, infanticide: newborns are not yet persons as defined above, thus they have no right to life.
A baby changes everything. But I humbly submit that an abortion cannot be an option because of our discipleship to Jesus. God values all life, and I must too, no matter what this does to me.
To love God, I must value all human life, and acknowledge that all human life is indeed personal, regardless of gestational age, gender, race, or ability. And here’s where showing our love for God through discipleship gets sticky: valuing human life like that will not always be easy. Sometimes, it will throw everything we know into upheaval.
Since having my son, my life has drastically changed. On the whole, it has absolutely changed for the better—I love my little boy with a kind of love I didn’t know existed before becoming his mom. He enriches my life immensely, and I am in awe of everything he does. This isn’t to say that there haven’t been difficult times. There has been a stark realization that I am not my own. My time, my sleep, my body, my wants, my career—all these things now have to be sifted through the “mom equation.” What he needs come first, and I come second. Sometimes I think about my life before and I wonder why I didn’t realize how much freedom I had.
A baby changes everything. But I humbly submit that an abortion cannot be an option because of our discipleship to Jesus. God values all life, and I must too, no matter what this does to me. The life of a disciple is one of surrendering one’s own will to Jesus and what he would have us do. Jesus doesn’t pull any punches; there is a cost to discipleship: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35). And maybe, just maybe, in the sacrifice of surrender to the way of Jesus, we might find something even greater than that which we were so desperately trying to hold on to. There is space for holy imagination here.
Loving My Neighbour
Loving God is not complete without loving my neighbour. Just as we are called to value life in all forms, we are also called to love our neighbours, whoever they are.
Neighbour #1 is that person on social media who makes you grit your teeth in anger for their outlandish opinion, whatever side of the political spectrum they happen to occupy. In a world of digital communication, it is so easy to tear into your opponent (whom, I might add, is made in the image of God). My firm belief is that social media is not the place to comment on these complicated, nuanced topics. When you have to look another person in the eye and acknowledge their flesh and blood—their image of God-ness—I pray we will be less inclined to devolve into straw man arguments, personal attacks, and cancellation.
Neighbour #2 is a woman who has had an abortion, recently or years ago. If you are reading this, and this is you, if we were visiting on my deck together, I’d invite you to tell me your story. I would try to ask thoughtful questions, cry with you if that’s what was needed, and look into your eyes, full of the image of God that they are. Our church communities must offer themselves as a place of healing, forgiveness, and restoration, rather than places of judgment and silence. And while some things in the past cannot be changed, we serve a God who is so incredibly good that we are often only scratching the surface of his scandalous mercy.
Neighbour #3 is a woman who is in a difficult situation, for whatever reason, and is contemplating an abortion as a solution to that difficulty. If you are reading this, and this is you, if we were visiting on my deck together, I’d invite you to tell me your story. All of it—whatever it involves. It all starts with taking time to listen, before jumping in with our opinions and arguments. Once we hear another’s story, a key question is “what do you need to carry this baby to term?” Do you need rides to your prenatal appointments? Do you need a place to live? Do you need help finding a new job with a higher income? Do you need help navigating the adoption process? Will you need childcare after the baby is born? Can I pay for your counselling sessions? Can I cook your meals (whatever you are craving—pickles and ice cream are on the table!)? This is where our discipleship requires us to put our money where our mouth is, for “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17).
Loving God is not complete without loving my neighbour. Just as we are called to value life in all forms, we are also called to love our neighbours, whoever they are.
I have not answered all the questions that could be asked, nor have I considered all the data or all the stories. I have likely offended someone—and I hope you can still see the image of God in me. As we interact with our friends, families, and neighbours, and as we engage in the political sphere, may our eyes be invigorated by the Holy Spirit, to see new ways of hearing, helping, and caring for women who are facing difficult circumstances. And maybe, just maybe, we will be surprised by the beauty that comes from the most broken of places.
Written by Stephanie Christianson
Stephanie is Adjunct Faculty Advisor and an instructor at Horizon College and Seminary in Saskatoon, SK (currently on maternity leave). She serves on an advisor for SKMB’s Faith and Life Team.
1 Nancy R. Pearcey. Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2018. Page 14.
2 Nancy R. Pearcey. Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2018. Pages 47-53.
3 Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva. “After-Birth Abortion: Why Should the Baby Live?” Journal of Medial Ethics 39 (2013): 261-63. Quoted in Nancy R. Pearcey. Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2018. Page 57.
