September 18, 2024
A woman’s right to reproductive freedom is being championed by politicians, Planned Parenthood, The Brigid Alliance, Reproductive Freedom for All (formally NARAL), the National Abortion Federation, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Democratic Socialists of America, the Democratic Party, Republicans for Choice, Party for Socialism and Liberation, The Libertarian Party, the Green Party of the U. S., Joy of Satan Ministries and many other political, professional and religious organizations.
However, while many groups are carrying the banner of “reproductive freedom,” who profits from women having a choice as to whether they want to have an abortion?
First, does the woman who wishes to end her pregnancy before her child’s birth profit from an abortion?
There are three potential consequences for a woman who has an abortion.
(1) There are possible physical consequences that result from having an abortion. The National Library of Medicine explains, “Future childbearing and pregnancy such as secondary infertility, ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion and stillbirth, complications of pregnancy and preterm birth, small for gestational age, and low birthweight risk, breast cancer, and even premature death” are the possible consequences of abortion.
(2) There is also the possibility of mental health disorders. In 2011 the British Journal of Psychiatry discovered that out of 164,000 women who had an abortion 81 percent were more likely to experience mental health issues including:
- 34% more likely to develop an anxiety disorder
- 37% more likely to experience depression
- 110% more likely to abuse alcohol
- 155% more likely to commit suicide
- 200% more likely to abuse marijuana
(3) There is the risk of having spiritual issues. Believing that life begins with conception, the taking of a child’s life yet unborn, still can be considered nothing but a violation of the sixth commandment. Since the Bible teaches the importance of the sanctity of life, it is likely that once that reality captures a woman’s heart there is heartache, guilt and shame. In Proverbs 6 God’s Word specifically states that there are six things that God hates and one of them is “hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17). What could be more innocent than an unborn child?
So, the woman who chooses to exercise her rights by having an abortion does not really profit, because the consequences are likely far more grievous than she ever imagined.
Fortunately, there is God’s grace and forgiveness for the woman who has had an abortion. There is no reason for a woman who has made that grave mistake to walk around haunted by the grey ghost of guilt. Jesus came to forgive all of us of our sins no matter how heinous they may be.
Second, does the man who had an intimate relationship with the woman who chooses to abort her baby profit from the experience?
From a legal standpoint, the man responsible for the pregnancy may not have to suffer any accountability or penalties for his actions, but his consequences will come as surely as the night follows the day.
Men who seek to be masculine, virile and dominant become nothing more than the “hollow men” mentioned by T. S. Eliot in his poem by the same name. Eliot describes post-WWI as a desolate world populated by empty, defeated people. It is the sorry state of European culture after WWI. That could very well depict the mental and emotional state of the men who are responsible for the pregnancy, but who often hide in the shadows during the abortion.
In an article published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops we find these words:Abortion leaves indelible footprints in the texture of masculinity, in the recesses of a man’s heart, and in his reproductive history. A father is a father forever, even of a dead unborn child. In the aftermath of abortion, the real choice for men is whether to accept this biological reality, grieve the loss and seek forgiveness, or to continue denying what is inwardly known and swell the ranks of the hollowed men. Irrespective of the law, both man and woman co-created the pregnancy, and both will live with the aftermath, regardless of how some may try to celebrate “choice”.
So, the man involved in the pregnancy does not profit from an abortion, even though he may think he is immune from any culpability.
Third, does the physical or medical professionals profit from performing an abortion? I suppose we could say that there would be some monetary profit for helping a woman gain herreproductive rights. But what about the Hippocratic oath? It specifically states: “Moreover, I will give no sort of medicine to any pregnant woman, with a view to destroy the child, I will comport myself and use my knowledge in a godly manner.”
Breaking a vow diminishes an individual and makes him small and untrustworthy, especially for the one who holds the honored profession of “physician.” So, the medical professional who performs an abortion does not profit from doing so.
Fourth, does society profit when a child is aborted? Tim Tebow would have been aborted if his mother had listened to the advice of her doctor, but he became a great football player and has become involved in helping the needy in third-world countries and is an unashamed Christian.
Andrea Bocelli’s mother was advised to abort him because she knew he would be born with disabilities. She decided to have her baby, and even though he was born with congenital glaucoma, her choice gave the world one whose singing voice has blessed and thrilled audiences all over the world.
Ethel Waters’ mother was only a young teenager when she was raped, but she did not have an abortion. Although Waters was raised in poverty, she surmounted her challenges, became a great singer and actor and was a frequent soloist for Billy Graham’s crusades.
There is no telling how many children could have lived to bless the world, if they had only been given the chance to live. Bill Gaither wrote a popular children’s song reflecting what could have been if only the aborted children could have had a chance to live:
I am a promise, I am a possibility
I am a promise with a capital “P”
I can be anything, anything God wants me to be
I am a promise, I am a possibility
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learnin’, well, to hear God’s voice
And I am tryin’ to make the right choice
I am a promise to be anything God wants me to be.
A woman’s right to reproductive health overlooks the rights of a precious child with potentiality this world will never know.
In essence, common sense would indicate that no one really profits from a woman’s reproductive rights.
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Gerald Harris is a retired pastor and journalist who served as editor of The Christian Index for nearly two decades. You can reach him at gharris@loveliftedmehigher.org.
