some thoughts about the abortion video that’s going viral
A couple of posts back I mentioned a reader’s request that I comment on a particular issue that has her torn up. Here’s the question, in her words:
Image from FOX News
Derek, I have struggled with a story that I heard briefly… It is about a young woman videotaping her abortion. I will admit to being a conservative with liberal views but this is such a personal decision how can this “be a good idea”? I admittedly did not watch the video because emotionally I can not. I am unsure why I chose to write to you but I do not know of anyone else that could comment without making this a political statement.
I researched the story. The video was successful in making some strong statements: 1) That some people can be appallingly narcissistic. 2) That the “right to choice” can easily lead to serial bad-choices. 3) That fringe elements in our nation continue to dominate the conversation.
TRAGIC: The most important thing I have to say about this issue is that abortion is a tragedy. Regardless of anyone’s stance regarding right to life, choice, theology, reproduction, medical ethics, personal choice, medical privacy, or a host of other potentially debatable areas, abortion is always tragic.
Not only is abortion tragic, it’s also something that nobody – not anywhere along the continuum of staking out a position – wants to see happen. Ever. We can’t move forward in a conversation unless we can find a starting place where everyone is able to stand on some kind of common ground, and this is the place that gives us that opportunity.
If we agree that abortion is tragic (and if we also acknowledge the unalterable fact that abortion will not go away simply because we don’t like it) then maybe we can work more diligently on behalf of a world where the collateral and precipitating tragedies are less pervasive.
A world where the abuse of women is no longer tolerated.
A world where relationships are nurtured and commitments are honored.
A world where intimacy finds its best expressions in the context of family.
A world where human beings are valued rather than used and discarded.
A world where the children who are born are loved, nurtured, encouraged, provided for, and supported.
A world where we take responsibility for one another, and where we help carry the burden for families who struggle.
A world where the alternative to abortion is not marginalization, miserable parents, ill-equipped homes, neglect, poverty, abandonment, prejudice, abuse, lack of education, and consignment to a future that perpetuates the cycle…
A world where we take to heart the words of Jesus: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40)
I have to be honest, I believe the answer to the tragedy that is abortion is more likely to be found in solutions to the above bullet points than it is in the kind of polarizing, politicized, self-serving, self-righteous, distorted propaganda produced by those who tend to draw the most attention to the ongoing controversy.
There is one reality that I want everyone to keep in mind when we hear the word abortion: “tragedy”.
There is one value that I pray we all will keep at the core of our agenda moving forward: “compassion”.
There is one word I want to see written on the hearts of all parties – especially those who are considering an abortion: “hope”.
Derek – what an incredible response to a controversial and seemingly untenable debate. I find myself unsure of what to think about it, and your words gave me a new perspective. Thank you for your thoughtful insight.
Dear Derek, I find solace & solutions in your bullet points. Abortion became real to me in the early fifties when my peers were using coat hangers, caustic solutions & back alley “nurses” in their desperation. In the 60ties as a middle school teacher it was an eight grader with an incestuous relation. After Roe vs. Wade, the choice became more agonizing as young mothers were diagnosed with pregnancy & breast cancer at the same time.
Two of these examples can be rare today with proper education and available birth control. And yet, there are politicians, urged on by their constituents, who are opposed to these solutions. Perhaps if laws were enacted putting controls & penalties on males, rather than females……….the eighth grader still haunts me.
Candy! I appreciate your willingness!
To share on facebook you click on the facebook icon at the bottom of the blog, then post it on your page. Or, you can cut and paste the web address (here it is – http://derekmaul.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/some-thoughts-about-the-abortion-video-thats-going-viral/ -) and paste it into your “status”. Or, you can cut and paste the web address, put it in an email, and send it to your mailing list.
I don’t usually go to such lengths to get people to share my work… BUT, if the stupid stuff can be read by thousands of people, then why shouldn’t something that actually makes sense?
Another part of the tragedy is the couples who have the resources and the outlook to nurture children and who are aching, crying, praying, for babies or children. How many of the pre-born babies who are aborted would be an answer to the prayers and deep longings of those couples? And many of them would have good lives with those families where they are desperately wanted. I know there are no easy answers or one-size-fits-all solutions, I know there are many reasons women have abortions. But I have to believe that a cultural move toward stronger support of adoption could start enlarging the alternative to “miserable parents, ill-equipped homes, neglect, poverty, and consignment to a future that perpetuates the cycle…”
Beautiful response, Derek. There is no easy answer to the tragedy that is abortion. I am a Nurse Practitioner who strongly believes in the right to choose. I am a woman who had an abortion in her teens and is the happy mother of three wonderful adult children. I am also a Christian who strongly believes that abortion is wrong, in so very many ways, yet it remains a necessary choice for so many woman. Who can argue that one woman’s reason is more just than another’s? The circumstances that bring a woman to make that decision are the essence of the tragedy, and until those are rectified, as you eloquently stated, the tragedy that is abortion will continue.
There is one reality that I want everyone to keep in mind when we hear the word abortion: “tragedy”.
Thoughtful and beautiful, Derek. Thank you.
Derek – what an incredible response to a controversial and seemingly untenable debate. I find myself unsure of what to think about it, and your words gave me a new perspective. Thank you for your thoughtful insight.
Dear Derek, I find solace & solutions in your bullet points. Abortion became real to me in the early fifties when my peers were using coat hangers, caustic solutions & back alley “nurses” in their desperation. In the 60ties as a middle school teacher it was an eight grader with an incestuous relation. After Roe vs. Wade, the choice became more agonizing as young mothers were diagnosed with pregnancy & breast cancer at the same time.
Two of these examples can be rare today with proper education and available birth control. And yet, there are politicians, urged on by their constituents, who are opposed to these solutions. Perhaps if laws were enacted putting controls & penalties on males, rather than females……….the eighth grader still haunts me.
Thanks, Barbara. Your comment is both poignant and on point. I appreciate you sharing – DEREK
Thanks Dan – and Candy, too. Please feel free to share this link. If stupid stuff is going to go viral, maybe good stuff can too!!
. . . and I would do that how? I’ve never shared on FB as I don’t know how. But I am not too old to learn, and would love to share this. 🙂
Candy! I appreciate your willingness!
To share on facebook you click on the facebook icon at the bottom of the blog, then post it on your page. Or, you can cut and paste the web address (here it is – http://derekmaul.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/some-thoughts-about-the-abortion-video-thats-going-viral/ -) and paste it into your “status”. Or, you can cut and paste the web address, put it in an email, and send it to your mailing list.
I don’t usually go to such lengths to get people to share my work… BUT, if the stupid stuff can be read by thousands of people, then why shouldn’t something that actually makes sense?
Peace and blessings – DE REK
Another part of the tragedy is the couples who have the resources and the outlook to nurture children and who are aching, crying, praying, for babies or children. How many of the pre-born babies who are aborted would be an answer to the prayers and deep longings of those couples? And many of them would have good lives with those families where they are desperately wanted. I know there are no easy answers or one-size-fits-all solutions, I know there are many reasons women have abortions. But I have to believe that a cultural move toward stronger support of adoption could start enlarging the alternative to “miserable parents, ill-equipped homes, neglect, poverty, and consignment to a future that perpetuates the cycle…”
thoughtful as always, Karen. Adoption can be a powerful force for good
Beautiful response, Derek. There is no easy answer to the tragedy that is abortion. I am a Nurse Practitioner who strongly believes in the right to choose. I am a woman who had an abortion in her teens and is the happy mother of three wonderful adult children. I am also a Christian who strongly believes that abortion is wrong, in so very many ways, yet it remains a necessary choice for so many woman. Who can argue that one woman’s reason is more just than another’s? The circumstances that bring a woman to make that decision are the essence of the tragedy, and until those are rectified, as you eloquently stated, the tragedy that is abortion will continue.
Thanks for sharing your experience/perspective, Elizabeth.
well said
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