If Abortion equals murder don’t we all have blood on our hands?

A reaction to Tina Henderson’s : Abortion equates to Murder

Don’t you just love Christians? I don’t mean that sarcastically, or just because I am one and I need reassurance. But because I genuinely mean it. I mean the whole notion of a group of people whose ultimate aim is to imitate Christ. To be Christ-like, compassionate, caring, loving and above all forgiving. So again i ask, Don’t you just love Christians?

Well, in theory anyway.

Unfortunately, I find more and more people forgetting about the whole “love thy neighbor” and “judge not” sections and rushing straight to the middle of the square to pick up stones. Take for example, a discussion I had with Ms Henderson, (a very very charming young woman), we spoke about an issue you Americans can’t seem to get enough of, Abortion. (You can view her article here http://blackstarnews.com/news/117/ARTICLE/5846/2009-07-08.html )

Ms Henderson, who believes that abortion equates to murder, said that the Bible served as the “basis ” for her beliefs and that regardless of circumstance she remains true to her principles, and that everyone should remain consistent with what they believe otherwise this leads to contradiction.

Very well put. But before everyone starts nodding their heads and patting each other on the back. I’m going to ask if you’ve read Leviticus 11::9-12? Deuteronomy 22: 5 and lastly Deuteronomy 22: 11. For those that haven’t, the first speaks of eating shrimp and how that is an abomination before God, the second, of how women who wear clothes for men commit, an abomination before God. The last, how garments of different material should not be mixed together. I say this, not to mock, as I am a Christian myself, merely to ask if the same people nodding, follow these rules.

I’m assuming the bulk do not, therefore this is not consistent with the teachings of the Bible, therefore it’s contradictory right? I can hear you saying “But these seem like more trivial rules! Abortion is different! How could you possibly compare the two?” And to that I reply, how do you presume to know God’s yard stick for measuring sin? Aren’t you merely a mortal? Incapable of grasping God’s greatness? Seems to me someone is forgetting their place.

To say that we as a Christians do not pick and choose what to follow in order to justify our own behavior is totally false.

I can almost hear you screaming “But Thou Shalt Not Kill” And I agree wholeheartedly. What a stellar commandment. But before you start waving your flags frantically I must say. If those who have abortions are murderers then one could argue the same about some of us.

There are the soldiers of course, Those who buy blood diamonds, Those who don’t give money to charity, Those who pump gas that others have bled for, Those who contribute to global warming. Do you see where I’m going with this?

You might be shaking your head right about now, thinking I’ve lost it, but really, think about it, people who contribute to global warming, they are killing people, killing us, our future generations. Still think my point is too abstract? More abstract say than a woman’s name you will never know, in a town you will never visit, going into a clinic you will never set foot in?

How does you turning your head away from the current genocide in Sudan make you less of a murderer? Surely if we can interfere in one persons decision over her own body, we can interfere with issues that connect us all globally. Aren’t we all idly watching as murder takes place?

The most sensitive part of the discussion was the rape element. Should a woman who is raped be forced to carry a child to term? Ms. Henderson stuck to her guns (God love her!) and said yes, to assume that one couldn’t overcome a rape was labelling “the average human being weak.” ms Hendserson also pondered whether the person was so “incapable of gathering adequare strength to give love and to raise a child produced from this form of abuse.: adding that she found it an insult to rape victims and the potential of human will to overcome adversity.

Wow. What a statement.

I completely disagree. Although human will can take you so far, to put yourself in the position to pass judgement over someone who has been violated inperhaps the worst way possible is astonishing. Yes, some people can overcome that adversity, and hats off to them, but that by no means makes those who cannot weaker. So, a twelve year old incest victim is weak because she is “incapable of gathering adequate strength” to raise a child forced upon her?

I haven’t even told you the punchline yet. I don’t even necessarily agree with abortion! I don’ t think abortion should be used as a contraceptive device, there are a million and one available before you get to that stage. But unlike Ms Henderson, I am not a legalist. I think that every situation needs to be examined in it’s own right, especially in sensitive situations such as a rape. As a follower of Christ, I believe that is what he did. When he encountered those deemed by society as “unclean” he did not make sweeping, legalist judgements, but rather saw their hearts for what they were and preached forgiveness, compassion and love.

Another difference between Miss Henderson and I, is that I won’t pass judgement on those who do chose abortion. Mainly because I too follow the Bible and don’t want to be contradictory, So I’m going to love my neighbor, try to not judge or throw stones and perhaps most importantly before criticizing others I will look at myself.

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