I actually had that title written across the top of my page when someone sent me an article with a similar title that actually does an amazing job of helping us to think through what it means to care for the born and unborn alike. And since I have been told more than once this week that my lack of a uterus gives me no right to speak on this topic, I defer to someone with both a uterus and who has been in the place of considering an abortion in her life. Please read this!
However, my lack of a uterus does not deprive of another organ that also plays a role into EVERY PREGNANCY. Not being able to carry a child in the womb does not make this ‘not my issue.’ The reason there are so many women in these impossible situations is because there are men who are not taking their responsibilities seriously. Today, I had a friend complaining that the father of her children had just gotten another woman pregnant, his fourth, while still refusing to pay child support for any of them. This should enrage us as much as abortion being legal, because they are woven together. Sexual ethic and pregnancy are two sides of the same coin. PLEASE stop calling this a women’s issue, it is a human issue. Until we treat it as a human issue we will not be able to get past sinful solutions to sinful problems.
At this point you may think: so what can I do? How do we work against a culture where LIFE as: what is best for me and CHOICE as: how to avoid complications. We work against it by choosing to be responsible; living not for the quality of our life, but for the quality of those who depend on us. WE SERVE. I am happy to be able to use my church as a picture of what taking on responsibility looks like.
In my small church, we have numerous families who are working hard to raise children to be responsible and to care for others. We have four families who take in foster children, loving those who have not been taking care of. We have four families who have adopted children, some from other countries, in an effort to provide a loving family for kids who were lacking. We have a mom who goes into middle and high schools and educates kids on sex. We have a mom who counsels women in unplanned pregnancies. We have a couple who teaches parenting classes to new families. We have numerous families who dedicated their time to housing homeless families through Family Promise. We have families who have taken in single moms to give them a place to live while they figure out the next step for their lives. THIS IS THE SOLUTION: serving those in crisis while modeling service to the next generation. But this is not enough. We need everyone playing a role, doing their part, and looking for how they can be a part of the solution.*
*An easy way, for those who don’t know where to start, is to financially support those who have dedicated their lives to supporting others. As a church, we support Pregnancy Choices, a crisis pregnancy resource center here in Mount Vernon. On October 15, they are having a fundraiser (with speaker Abby Johnson) which I encourage you to attend and support.