When I heard that Roe v. Wade was struck down, I sat speechless. It really was hard to accept that anything logical, sensible, or true could come out of North American politics.
I know that’s cynical, God forgive and help me, but we’re talking about a society that listens to Hollywood celebrities on issues of morality, and desecrates church buildings in what are called, “peaceful protests.” We live in a time where women … or men (I’m honestly not sure) dress as the Virgin Mary and enact abortions on the Christ Child, laughing and screaming as they parade down streets in the name of women’s rights.
We live in a time where children are taken to parades that have men wearing nothing more than a sock and high heels, in the name of tolerance and inclusivity. We live in a time where parents are imprisoned for stopping doctors from giving their minor children hormonal treatment to “change genders” and criminals are left free to run the country.
So, yes, I was speechless. I gave thanks to God, and a rush of hope flooded my heart, knowing that, in the U.S. at least, there are senators and governors who have already closed down killing clinics. Some evils do wear themselves out, and while the ruling does not stop abortions, it is a major win that, I think, deserves much celebration.
Some things are a bit too much for me to take, or to talk about rationally, perhaps. I get wide-eyed when someone argues that there is any reason why a baby should be decapitated or burnt to death in its mother’s womb. That these kinds of conversations need to exist leaves me confused. But then, the past couple of years have only confirmed how easily people are led and misled by media propaganda and repeated phrases. We are a people weakened by sin and fear, and therefore logic, reason, and truth are the bitter vegetables we refuse to eat. And thus, abortion exists.
Many of us who rejoice at this ruling will be challenged by people speaking in the name of compassion, and it’s easy to feel like we shouldn’t be so quick in our joy, that perhaps there is more to think about. “This will not stop abortions, it will only make them unsafe for women,” they say. “Women need access to healthcare.”
Killing a baby is not health care, and we are not obligated to make baby-killing safe for anyone, just as people were not obligated to keep slave trading safe and legal, even if it meant the collapse of a plantation.
Some will say that killing a child is permissible because it helps a woman in legitimate need. Maybe the woman is poor, maybe the woman has horrible parents, maybe the woman has an abusive partner, or was raped (0.085 per cent of abortions).
A mother’s pretending that killing her child is understandable, and paying for it to happen, doesn’t take away any of those problems. It solves nothing. After the abortion, she will still be poor, but will now suffer the loss of her child. She will still have horrible parents and an abusive partner. She will still have been raped by a monster.
If killing her unborn child is allowed because it would ease her suffering, then killing her born child to ease suffering is inevitable, and excusable. (The abhorrent truth though, is that more than 90 per cent of abortions are for no reason at all. And if that is allowed and defended, then killing a born child for any reason is inevitable and excusable.)
Abortion will not ease suffering. A mother will be in the exact same position she was in when she discovered she was pregnant, the only difference being that, statistically, and so very obviously, she will now have the long-term anguish of knowing that someone was paid to end the life of her child who otherwise could have been a joy, comfort, and healing balm.
We, as Christians, are obligated to care about the sufferings of others, and to help them in the ways we can. But we cannot use compassion to justify madness.
We can help women in need without murder. We can raise our children so that they respect sexuality and the proper roles of men and women. We can teach our sons that women are treasures, and their bodies are something sacred. Our daughters can be taught the same about men.
This – children understanding the meaning, purpose, and beauty of marriage and human sexuality – will change our nation. And maybe one day soon, please God, Canada will take a step towards logic, sense, and truth.
