Pro Life vs. Pro Choice

Way before I became a Christian, there was never a question about how I felt about the abortion issue.  And when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter Corey, there was an instantaneous connection.  She was not an insignificant conglomeration of multiplying cells.  She was my daughter; forever mine and forever cherished.  To me, the truth was undeniable: life begins at conception.  This wasn’t a Christian belief.  It was pure and raw instinct.  And thank GOD, I never had to face that agonizing decision. 

There are so many women that find themselves in impossible circumstances.  Teenage pregnancy, incest, rape; the list goes on and on.   And when one lands in that dark hole and faces a decision to either have the baby or terminate the pregnancy, do I have an opinion about what she might choose? 

If it is a teenage pregnancy, I would hope that she would choose life over the alternative.  I would hope that some loving and childless couple would get the opportunity to raise this beautiful bundle of joy.  Of course, I would choose LIFE!   

But in more impossible circumstances, where a woman is a victim of a violent crime?  NO, I just can’t imagine making that judgment call.  It is not my life, I am not involved in those painful set of complicated circumstances and it is none of my business.  I can’t begin to know the anguish involved in having to make that choice. 

As a child, I was a victim of incest and I can’t fathom going through a pregnancy with my father’s child in my belly.  That is purely unthinkable!  And because I know and understand the life-long trauma of incest, I can’t imagine that any governing body has the right to dictate choice and behavior in these kinds of circumstances.  With incest, and with rape, to raise above the fray and choose to move forward with your pregnancy; well, that situation is for those few who have amazing support and/or divine understanding. 

So am PRO LIFE across the boards?  How could I be?  Because I know that there are hundreds of thousands of women who face circumstances of which I just described; women who have been victims of rape or incest; women who find themselves abandoned, alone, without resources, without hope and without understanding of the LORD’S grace and love. 

I would hope that instead of judging them, I would pray for them.  I would ask our dear LORD to raise them up, heal them, comfort them, and lead them.  But should a governmental mandate make that decision?  That is a really callous call to make, isn’t it? 

That is why I can’t base my vote on PRO LIFE alone.  Because if I am not completely convinced that it is the governments right to tell a rape or incest victim that they have only one choice to make, then why would I expect my candidate to do so? 

I wish this was clear cut in my mind. Maybe it is faulty judgment; maybe it is lack of faith or maybe it is my rebelliousness.  All I know is, I would follow HIS laws, because the LORD is my Savior.  However, if someone doesn’t know HIS laws, then how can I expect a woman who doesn’t know the LORD to follow that path in such dire circumstances?   

I am being honest about my position as a Christian, and as always, I ask for the LORD’S guidance.  But I know that HE has seen me through hell.  And with HIS grace, I have come out the other side.  I can only pray that for those who make this life-defining decision, that HE will do the same for each and every one of HIS beloved creatures.   All I can do is lift up my prayers for those who are suffering.

In love,
Kristin