abortion thoughts

I ran into a couple things yesterday that got me thinking about abortion and our current administration. An old episode of West Wing that brought up the global gag rule (I'll explain in a minute). A thoughtful email in my inbox lamenting that many evangelicals have been so excited about Obama they (we) haven't paid enough attention to his abortion record. I am excited about Obama, and in my mind abortion is far from the only important issue, but let's be honest- while he may sincerely work to make abortions more rare, he is also going to make them more available.

In my line of work few things are as villified as the so-called global gag rule. Back in 1984 Reagan cut funding from any international development organization that provided or counseled women to get abortions (even if that org used private, non-government funds for the abortions). Organizations like International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) lost a lot of money. In his first days in office Clinton reversed the gag rule. In his first days in office Bush re-instated the gag rule. And predictably, in his first days in office, Obama reversed the gag rule. (To be clear, under a separate law US government money can not be used to fund abortions in other countries. That hasn't changed. Reversing the gag rule simply means that organizations such as IPPF can once again receive government funds for other activities.)

(If you want a news article on this, click here.)

Need I say that most of my colleagues believe that a great blow for justice has been done- organizations that happen to perform abortions can once again get on with the good work of saving lives. To be honest, I feel quite divided. I feel quite divided over abortion in general. There's no question in my mind that it is a horrible, tragic and wrong act, that it takes a life. But I feel conflicted over whether the government should necessarily be in the business of stopping women from doing it. God has given us the freedom to do evil, and to do evil to others. For years I thought that although the government shouldn't be in the business of stopping people from doing wrong, it should be in the business of stopping people from doing wrong to others, e.g. it's your business if you want to drink yourself to death, but if your drinking harms someone else, in steps the government. So abortion fell for me into that second category of clear harm to someone else, and thus something that the state should stop.

I guess I'm more aware now that God has entrusted the lives of children to their parents, and (as bitter a reality as it is) actually given parents quite a bit of freedom to wreck their children's lives. The state does intervene in cases of gross abuse and neglect- but there is all kinds of abuse and harm that happens to children as a result of their parents' sin that the government is powerless to stop. Is it right? No. Is it fair? No. But what's the anwer- for the government to intervene? I guess I am more convinced now that God has given children to parents as a sacred trust, for good or for evil, and in most cases it's not the job of the government to step in and take over the authority that God has given to parents.

Of course we are called to defend the weak and defenseless- but through changing laws or changing hearts? Maybe the real answer is not for the state to fix all the abuse caused by bad parenting, but rather for we as the people of God, through love, prayer, and relationship, to commit ourselves to (as John the Baptist did) "turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous."

All this leaves me pretty conflicted when it comes to abortion. There is nothing I want more than to see unborn babies protected, and to see them born to loving parents in loving homes. But is it the job of the state to step in and stop a woman from making a life-and-death decisions about the baby God has entrusted to her? I'm not sure. Making abortion illegal (not that I think that will ever again be a real political possibility) might make abortions harder to get, but wouldn't really deal with the root of the problem, which is in the human heart.

So I don't know what to think about Obama and abortion, but I do know that for all his great qualities, he is just a man. He is fallible, he will at times lead us astray, he will do wrong. So here's a great prayer for such a man, from the thoughtful and concerned article I mentioned:

Father of Lights, the time is dark and our eyes are dim. Our kings, ordained for the protection of the weak, expose them to death, yet cry 'hope.' Our people have lost their way and are deceived. Light in the Darkness, we call upon you that we may be undeceived and follow you once more. We humbly and earnestly implore you, not only that the evils in the land be turned back, but that we have the courage to stand against them. Holy Spirit, hear our intercession for the repentance and conversion of those highly placed who do wrong. Renew a right spirit within them. We beg the same mercy for ourselves, who have stood by and called evil good. Assist our prayers, and enable us in all times and places to give you thanks. In the Name of the Trinity, Amen.

P.S. Feel free to let me know your thoughts. And to disagree.