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| Gov. Kay Ivey, Governor of Alabama |
Kay Ivey, Governor of Alabama, just signed the most restrictive anti-abortion bill in the country. According to the New York Times, "The legislation bans abortions at every stage of pregnancy and criminalizes the procedure for doctors, who could be charged with felonies and face up to 99 years in prison." (1)
Gov. Ivey described the legislation in starkly Christian terms, saying "To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God." (2)
According to the Montgomery Advertiser, "The legislation was drafted by Eric Johnston of the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition and framed as an explicit attempt to challenge Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down state bans on abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy." (3)
The web site for the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition, according to the Montgomery Advertiser, is http://chooselifealabama.org/. A cursory glance at the web site shows that they look to The Bible as their authority for decision making, and, presumably, as the basis for this legislation. "The Holy Scriptures as originally given by God, divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy and the only supreme authority in all matters of faith and content.[sic]" (4)
You would expect that the web site for a group whose raison d'être is fighting abortion and whose basis is The Bible would be loaded with quotes from that same Bible supporting their cause. In fact, there is only one quotation from The Bible on their entire web site. It is this:
Let's look more closely at this issue.
The abortion debate is between those who describe themselves as "pro-life" and those who describe themselves as "pro-choice." This is an odd choice of words to describe these two positions. In fact, there is no debate about either life or choice. Everybody agrees that before life begins, the state should not try to control a woman's body. What a woman does with her body should be her choice. And everybody agrees that once life begins, that life has sanctity and deserves the full protection of the state.
You don't believe me? Let me give you two admittedly extreme examples to illustrate how close the two sides are.
Imagine a law that required a woman to submit to the sexual advances of any man. Such a law would, among many other things, result in a number of babies being born who would not otherwise be born. Yet I don't think even the most adamant fundamentalist would argue in favor of such a law, even though the law could be said to "protect the rights of future unborn babies." Everybody would find this law morally repugnant, because it is taking away the woman's right to control her own body. So at least at this extreme, everybody is pro-choice.
At the other extreme, imagine a law saying a three year old child could be killed if doing so protected the life of the mother. I don't think even the most extreme advocate for women's rights would support such a law. The reason is that a three year old child has clearly passed the milestone at which she has become a human being with all the rights of a human being. So at this extreme, everybody is pro-life.
If we look at the debate this way, everybody is both pro-choice and pro-life. The only real difference of opinion is when in the development process "life" begins.
Rather that talking about pro-life versus pro-choice, we would be better off talking about early-lifers versus late-lifers. The so-called pro-life group is really the group that holds that life begins at or even before conception, which is why I call them early-lifers. The so-called pro-choice group is really the group that holds that life begins at birth, which is why I call them late-lifers.
So when does life begin? At or before conception? Or at birth? Since this is a moral question, it cannot be answered scientifically. But it can be answered biblically.
Life, according to The Bible, begins with the first breath. In other words, The Bible takes the late-life position.
For example, "then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. " (Genesis 2:7)
For another example, "Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it." (Isaiah 42:5)
So from the biblical perspective, life begins with the first breath and ends with the last breath. In between those moments, we have a life and we have a soul.
Gov. Ivey described the legislation in starkly Christian terms, saying "To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God." (2)
According to the Montgomery Advertiser, "The legislation was drafted by Eric Johnston of the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition and framed as an explicit attempt to challenge Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down state bans on abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy." (3)
The web site for the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition, according to the Montgomery Advertiser, is http://chooselifealabama.org/. A cursory glance at the web site shows that they look to The Bible as their authority for decision making, and, presumably, as the basis for this legislation. "The Holy Scriptures as originally given by God, divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy and the only supreme authority in all matters of faith and content.[sic]" (4)
You would expect that the web site for a group whose raison d'être is fighting abortion and whose basis is The Bible would be loaded with quotes from that same Bible supporting their cause. In fact, there is only one quotation from The Bible on their entire web site. It is this:
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold togetherYou don't need to be a biblical scholar to realize that this quotation has nothing to do with the debate about abortion. So why would the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition choose as its only biblical reference a quotation that has nothing to do with its cause célèbre? The reason is simple. The Bible doesn't support its cause célèbre. In fact, quite the opposite.
- Colossians 1:16-17 (5)
Let's look more closely at this issue.
The abortion debate is between those who describe themselves as "pro-life" and those who describe themselves as "pro-choice." This is an odd choice of words to describe these two positions. In fact, there is no debate about either life or choice. Everybody agrees that before life begins, the state should not try to control a woman's body. What a woman does with her body should be her choice. And everybody agrees that once life begins, that life has sanctity and deserves the full protection of the state.
You don't believe me? Let me give you two admittedly extreme examples to illustrate how close the two sides are.
Imagine a law that required a woman to submit to the sexual advances of any man. Such a law would, among many other things, result in a number of babies being born who would not otherwise be born. Yet I don't think even the most adamant fundamentalist would argue in favor of such a law, even though the law could be said to "protect the rights of future unborn babies." Everybody would find this law morally repugnant, because it is taking away the woman's right to control her own body. So at least at this extreme, everybody is pro-choice.
At the other extreme, imagine a law saying a three year old child could be killed if doing so protected the life of the mother. I don't think even the most extreme advocate for women's rights would support such a law. The reason is that a three year old child has clearly passed the milestone at which she has become a human being with all the rights of a human being. So at this extreme, everybody is pro-life.
If we look at the debate this way, everybody is both pro-choice and pro-life. The only real difference of opinion is when in the development process "life" begins.
Rather that talking about pro-life versus pro-choice, we would be better off talking about early-lifers versus late-lifers. The so-called pro-life group is really the group that holds that life begins at or even before conception, which is why I call them early-lifers. The so-called pro-choice group is really the group that holds that life begins at birth, which is why I call them late-lifers.
So when does life begin? At or before conception? Or at birth? Since this is a moral question, it cannot be answered scientifically. But it can be answered biblically.
Life, according to The Bible, begins with the first breath. In other words, The Bible takes the late-life position.
For example, "then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. " (Genesis 2:7)
For another example, "Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it." (Isaiah 42:5)
So from the biblical perspective, life begins with the first breath and ends with the last breath. In between those moments, we have a life and we have a soul.
I'm not arguing that the early-life position is wrong. It is a just an opinion. As is the late-life position. I am saying that those who claim that the early-life position is biblical suffer from what can only be described as biblical illiteracy. The early-life position is not supported by The Bible. From The Bible's perspective, life and breath are intimately connected. When God is ready for us to live, God breathes life into us. When God is ready for us to die, God takes that breath away from us.
So we can all agree with Governor Ivey when she says, "every life is precious and ... every life is a sacred gift from God." There is no debate about this. The only debate is about when that life begins.
The Bible tells us that that life begins once a baby has breathed her first breath. At that time, the State of Alabama should protect and support that baby's life with all of the resources that state can muster. Before that time, the state is obligated to protect the right of every woman to control her own body as she sees fit.
A win/win plan based on the teachings of The Bible. The real teachings of The Bible. Who can argue with that? Even in Alabama.
(1) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/abortion-law-alabama.html
(2) (https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/05/15/gov-kay-ivey-signs-near-total-abortion-ban-into-law/3686395002/)
(3) https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/05/14/alabama-abortion-bill-vote-details-rape-incest-amendment/3668318002/
(4) http://chooselifealabama.org/about/what-we-believe
(5) http://chooselifealabama.org/homecontact-info
A win/win plan based on the teachings of The Bible. The real teachings of The Bible. Who can argue with that? Even in Alabama.
(1) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/abortion-law-alabama.html
(2) (https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/05/15/gov-kay-ivey-signs-near-total-abortion-ban-into-law/3686395002/)
(3) https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2019/05/14/alabama-abortion-bill-vote-details-rape-incest-amendment/3668318002/
(4) http://chooselifealabama.org/about/what-we-believe
(5) http://chooselifealabama.org/homecontact-info
Much of this blog was originally published in 2013. It has been updated here to reflect recent events.
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A PDF version of this blog is available here:
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