life??

I'm going to get right at it in this one. Is it Christian to vote for a candidate who is pro-choice? We need to examine the terms first. In college I was told that if I were in a debate I was never to refer to someone as pro-choice but rather pro-abortion. An interesting move, very calculated to try to reframe the debate but it's false. I've yet to meet anyone who calls themselves pro-choice who is also pro-abortion. Let's be honest and let people define their own positions as opposed to building straw men. The fact is nobody wants abortions, they're awful events. 

Many christians say the right-wing pro-life stance is the biblical one. I have a few questions if that's true. First of all what is meant by pro-life? Is it that we should only care for a child while in the womb but not too much after that? (I'm sure pro-lifers would say no but I don't know of many pro-life protests centered around the care of children after being born) Also should pro-life mean babies only? What about the poor, oppressed, widows and outcasts...the ones the Bible repeatedly tells us to look after? The problem with the right-wing position on abortion is it's too limited. Abortion is made illegal but little noise is made about other options. A consistent ethic of life is sorely needed. 

Speaking of ethics, what exactly is the biblical position on ethics? Is it that something is wrong in every single situation? Or is it more that certain things are wrong in most situations but could be  right in others? I think of Biblical stories like Joseph taking away the livelihood of farmers to provide food for a nation in famine. (taking away someone's livelihood is generally a bad thing) Or what about Jesus healing some and not others? It seems God does things based on the situation. So let's apply this to abortion, again nobody wants abortions it's a bad thing. But if in a bad situation (like an unwanted pregnancy) what are the options available to a woman? If right-wingers had their way abortion would be off the table and so would any other option. It seems that if some democrats had their way abortion would be legal but no help would be offered to young mothers and their children in need. (what I mean is the loudest message from Democrats on abortion is that it should be legal, not much else is as loudly proclaimed)

In an ideal world abortion would be unnecessary but so many things are not ideal. We don't always offer the necessary help to mothers in need, we don't always practice responsible parenting or birth control, we make mistakes and get punished instead of finding mercy. The fact is abortions will happen if they're made illegal, they will just be much more dangerous and nobody will have the opportunity to offer other options. The approach we need to take is to work towards measures that decrease abortions. We need to focus on adoption, birth control, education, strengthening families and decreasing poverty. Outlawing abortion and criminalizing women in tough positions is not helpful. As Christians we need to come together and put forth a Biblical option that will move the debate forward. I think focusing on viable alternatives and responsible birth control is a way to do that. So, yes, one can be Christian and vote for a pro-choice candidate.