On CHOICES!

It's taken me much longer to find time to write the last few weeks. There's much going on at the home front as my beloved and I embark into this "winter of life" aka retirement. We are also soon going to be re-locating to a new home after 25 YEARS in our current abode. Being pack-rats--well you can imagine the huge undertaking two middle-aged humans are going to deal with!

There is much going on in the world that I'd like to talk about. The war in Ukraine and the reports coming out of man's inhumanity to man. The extreme cruelty of Russian soldiers brings tears to my eyes and so often in my prayers I ask God why! I am confident that ultimately, He has some reason for allowing this-though admittedly it escapes my finite mind. 

The most recent headlines and much of what is on American minds is the recent release of a draft opinion that would eliminate Roe v. Wade decision on a woman's right to privacy and choice in reproductive health-returning it to individual states.

Before I continue, let me share my personal view as a woman, a mother, and a grandmother of 4-two who are also young women:

First, I don't know anyone on earth who isn't "pro-life" with the possible exception of those who think murder/death is a way of gaining or holding on to power and control or that they know the mind and will of God more and better than anyone else using laws for the purpose of gaining or maintaining political power. LIFE is something our founding fathers spoke of as an "unalienable right" along with liberty and the pursuit of happiness. (Declaration of Independence) 

You should take some time to read it all the way through. It seems some of our current government officials haven't! 

Next, I am "pro-choice" after all isn't that inherent in the word "liberty"? It seems to me that some of our leaders have decided that they know better than I do what it means and what is best for me personally. What comes to mind is all the hullabaloo about masks & vaccinations re: Covid pandemic where "My body-my choice" was the battle cry of those who, seemingly because of political (mis)guidance equated medical advice with threats to their liberty! Their "liberty" came at the expense of my own. To me it felt like "My liberty is more important than your health and safety! Notably, in the US we recently passed the ONE MILLION mark in deaths due to Covid and 25% of the population still hasn't chosen to vaccinate. I personally respect their right to choose... but as for me and my house we choose to take advised (NOT MANDATED) precautions because I am pro-life... my own and that of anyone I come in contact with! IMHO THAT is a pro-life choice!

Because I am pro-choice does NOT mean I am pro-abortion. I love babies! Babies that are wanted, loved and welcomed are the best! I gave birth to four! My next bucket list hope is to be a great-grandma .. but I also want it to be on my grand-daughters (and grandsons) terms. 

Having given birth to four, I know that I didn't know they were coming until minimally 8 weeks later, therefore the laws in some states saying 6 weeks is a bit silly. More obviously is that men, who, for the most part have minimal knowledge of female physiology and reproductive anatomy, are making up this baloney. Women aren't always "regular" in menses, and even pregnancy tests can be wrong. I am not opposed to the procedure being limited to15-16 weeks gestation. I know that is often when movement starts (See here for a medical description and illustrations of development ) Modern medical science has also provide prospective mothers with tools that assist in determining the health of a fetus. When these tools show that a fetus is not considered healthy or otherwise subject to a congenital illness/malformation the option of terminating the pregnancy is often considered. And again it's a matter of CHOICE!

In previous Supreme Court decisions the term "viability" was used as to when abortion would be legal or not. The standard is that abortion should be limited if a fetus is able to survive outside the womb. In today's modern medicine the consensus is that infants that are born very early are not considered to be viable until after 24 weeks gestation. This means that if you give birth to an infant before they are 24 weeks old, their chance of surviving is usually less than 50 percent. Some infants are born before 24 weeks gestation and do survive. Ultimately, this standard is what I believe should be the rule of thumb. I am not an advocate of late term procedures except for the health of the mother... and as with any and all circumstances it's a matter of personal choice! As a former medical professional, it is my understanding that most physicians will not perform an abortion after 12 weeks and the maximum is often 20 weeks.. For some statistics and information on late term abortion and to dispose of the many rumors about "killing babies" see here

OK now you know where I stand personally as well as have a few references going forward from a socio-political standpoint.

So what does God and the Bible say about choices?

Let's start at "In the beginning" and Genesis.

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”  (Ge 2:15–17). Here is the very first CHOICE God presented to the first man. DON'T EAT FROM THIS TREE OR YOU WILL DIE!  Well we Bible readers know how that turned out! Bad choice and mankind has been held accountable ever since. As Paul reminds us we're ALL sinners! (Ro. 6:23)

Another choice is presented by Moses...

19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life,(Dt 30:19).  Decision time for Israel for sure. Again, we know from Scripture that despite these words, the nation often chose otherwise.

And yet another example: 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Jos 24:15)

And there it is-a choice as to which god, if any, one will serve. 

One last choice we are given: to receive ,believe and accept the Gospel that Jesus taught or to reject it. That's why we are compelled to share the Gospel! To present a CHOICE-not to shove our concept of morality and righteousness down everyone's throat. To do so is like making us just like Iran or the Taliban--a theocratic as opposed to democratic republic which is also contrary to our Constitution.

As a Jesus-follower raised in Jewish tradition I often say I am "doubly chosen"... yes God chose me as much as I chose Him! God gave us free will. If He hadn't done that we'd be merely puppets. He wanted us to CHOOSE to obey Him out of love. (See here for discussion of free will)

Free will: a few quotes with references from some of my research:

The simplest argument for the existence of free will is observation of how we use words. We praise, blame, command, counsel, exhort and moralize to each other. Doing these things to robots is absurd. We do not hold machines morally responsible for what they do, no matter how complicated the machines are. If there is no free will, all moral meaning disappears from language—and from life. (Kreeft, P., & Tacelli, R. K. (1994). Handbook of Christian apologetics: hundreds of answers to crucial questions (p. 137). IVP Academic.)

C. S. Lewis had one of the simplest and clearest ways of expressing the doctrine of human free will and moral responsibility that is implied in the Genesis 3 account of our “free fall.” He said, “If there are other intelligent beings on other planets, it is not necessary to suppose that they have fallen like us.”

The next question is: Why did God give us free will and allow us to misuse it? The question is misleading. One gives a polish to a table, or a pony to a schoolboy, but one does not give three sides to a triangle or free will to a human being. Free will is part of our essence. There can be no human being without it. The alternative to free will is not being a human but an animal or a machine. (Kreeft, P., & Tacelli, R. K. (1994). Handbook of Christian apologetics: hundreds of answers to crucial questions (pp. 137–138). IVP Academic.)

God has no policeman to pass around and grab us by the neck and say you must read your Bible, or you must go to Church, or you must give to Missions. When God created man, He made man superior to all other creatures. He gave man the power and privilege of CHOICE. Up to now the Lord respects that privilege. He will not force us. With that privilege of Choice, goes the terrible responsibility of abiding by the results or consequences of our choices. (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 1204). Bible Communications, Inc.)

In 1973 The Supreme Court ruled that by a "right of privacy" a woman has autonomy over her body. In the draft opinion just released, a different Court is saying that's not the case. Noting that 1/3 of the current make-up of the court was in essence gerrymandered by then Leader McConnel who changed the rules to get to this make-up causes me concern... as it should you! It was political and had nothing to do with anything but seating a court who would do the political bidding of those who seated them. 

To limit, reverse or otherwise change this precedent is not going to stop abortion. If you're well-off it won't affect you at all. If you're a poor woman with no means to get to a state that permits abortion this opinion says great... you will "increase the domestic supply of adoptable infants" ... forgetting that there are currently over 100,000 children waiting already. Consider also that the most restrictive state laws are in the poorest states! Ultimately-just like during the prohibition of alcohol didn't stop consumption of alcohol, limiting and/or prohibition will not stop abortion. It will however, endanger the lives of those least equipped to deal with an unwanted pregnancy and seek dangerous and possibly life-ending alternatives.

As John Kerry stated during his bid for the presidency - and one that gets to the heart of all of the above: The decision to remain pregnant or terminate a pregnancy should be between a woman, her doctor and her God!