Abortion and Human Freedom

by Groff Schroeder

Abortion may be the most divisive issue in modern politics, but abortion is anything but new. Numerous societies, including the Romans and Greeks, practiced not only abortion, but infanticide. Spontaneous abortions, colloquially called "miscarriage" and "stillbirth," have all but certainly occurred since the dawn of the human species. So why is abortion controversial?

A 2018 Pew Research Center suggests about 58% of Americans believe abortion should be "legal in all or most cases," and about 37% of Americans believe that abortion should be "illegal in all or most cases." The same research suggests about 25% of Americans believe abortion should be "legal in all cases," and about 15% of Americans believe that abortion should be "illegal in all cases" - apparently even if the pregnancy has defects "incompatible with life," even if both mother and pregnancy will die, even if the father is a close family member or rapist, and even, all of the above. If abortion were "illegal in all cases" even spontaneous abortions would be criminal acts potentially punishable by arrest and imprisonment.

Abortion supporters objectively understand that the harsh realities of every day obstetrics often forces extremely difficult choices and complex triage stemming from genetic or physical defects in the pregnancy, direct threats to the mother's (and thus pregnancy's) life or health, and challenging familial, societal, and medical situations. Embryological science shows that breathing movements don't begin until the end of the first trimester, and that the development of the fetal heart is only completed during birth with the closure of the ductus arteriosus, ductus venosus, and the foramen ovale. Finally, basic ethics suggests that women should not be treated like livestock with others controlling their reproductive processes - and that society should not give rapists the power to have children by any woman they choose.

In contrast, those opposed to abortion subjectively believe that "life begins at conception," and that anything that interferes with the development of a pregnancy - even birth control - constitutes a "murder" universally prohibited by God. Most opponents cite the Christian Bible as the reason for their opposition to abortion, which directly addresses the termination of numerous pregnancies. In Hosea 9:14 and 13:16, miscarriages, infanticide, and "women with child" being "ripped up" are punishments for rebelling against God. In Exodus 21:22-23, it appears a person who caused the loss of a pregnancy receives a fine and faces "eye for an eye, tooth for tooth" justice. Although it does not specifically address induced abortion, the Bible does appear to define when life begins in Genesis 2:7, stating that a "breath" creates a "living soul."

Supporters of abortion appear to rely upon political, legislative, and judicial processes to defend everyone's freedom to privately make their own ethical, sexual, religious, and reproductive decisions without government involvement, and with little or no interference from anyone. In contrast, opponents of abortion appear to be unethically manipulating America's political, legislative, and judicial processes in pursuit of an unconstitutional and oxymoronic "religious freedom" to force everyone follow their sexual, religious, and reproductive mandates under penalty of law - with little or no justification for their beliefs.

If you or your loved one were pregnant, which version of freedom would you prefer?

 Published March 6, 2019 in the Colorado Springs Independent with the quotation below.

“I hate abortions, but just could not make that choice for someone else.”

Barbara Bush