My newsfeed is filled with #Prolife comments and memes. People all over the country are rightly outraged by a bill signed into law on Jan 22 that permits late term abortions up to the day of a baby‘s birth. It also removes from the Penal Code consequences for those who commit violent acts against pregnant women that end in the death of her unborn child. Even some in the pro-choice camp have a hard time defending such an extreme position. People are lamenting how did this happen, how does New York abort more children than it allowed to be born?
Between 2012 and 2014, 285,127 abortions were committed while only 237,499 children were born. People are horrified. They are posting pictures of their unborn children next to pictures of their now born children, they are posting stories about their difficult fetal diagnoses and how they chose life, they are questioning what kind of a society we have become and how did we get here? An estimated 125,000 children are murdered through abortion every day worldwide. Christians are weeping. Some are becoming vocal about their pro- life views and encouraging others to do so as well.
There is a call to band together and not worry about offending. We must take seriously our responsibility to stand for what is right, to stand for what is good, to stand for love and life. I couldn’t agree more, but before we try to remove the splinter from the eye of New York, we should first make sure there is not a plank in our own.
1. Pregnancy is the result of heterosexual intercourse, not failed contraception.
Pregnancy means the reproductive system has worked in the way in which it was designed. Women do not get pregnant on their own, nor are they in control of if/when they ovulate no matter what contraceptive they use.
Men, however, DO control their sperm. Other than the normal nocturnal emissions that boys experience in puberty, I’ve never heard of a spontaneous ejaculation without imagined or real sexual stimulation. Perhaps there is a medical diagnosis for spontaneous ejaculation, but that would be something to correct with medication. Ovulation has nothing to do with sexual stimulation. It is a sign of a healthy body.
Contraception shuts down a healthy reproductive system by attempting to keep the woman from ovulating among other things. The ovaries are designed to ovulate, and despite the grand efforts of humans to stop the woman from ovulating, sometimes her body overrides the meds.
If a woman becomes pregnant, she needs to know that her partner is supportive, not disappointed that their SHARED fertility has WORKED LIKE IT IS SUPPOSED TO. If a couple is having sex, they need to have a response ready, and it’s not “how did that happen?” Don’t be ridiculous. For the next 9 months 90% of the work will be on her. She needs to know her man is there for her. Perhaps there would be fewer women walking into abortion clinics if the fathers of their unborn children would step up and be the protector and provider God has made them to be.
2. “Unplanned pregnancy” means that I wasn’t expecting it, but God was.
The term ‘unplanned pregnancy’ simply means that the mother was not actively seeking to get pregnant. When I first found out I was having a baby I was terrified. I had only been married for two years, was not finished with college, and had just landed the job of my dreams. I wasn’t ready to be a mother and I thought I had taken precautions against conceiving. When I saw the positive pregnancy test, I thought, “Nobody knows about this. I could take care of it and no one will ever know.” I immediately recognized this lie for what it was, and I called my husband to tell him that we were going to be parents.
Fast forward 16 years and I am the mother of a remarkable young man. He is funny, talented, compassionate, faithful, and smart. I am honored to be his mother. All my children have taught me things about love that I would never understand had I not been their mother. Each one of them is unique and beautiful and I love them to pieces. God certainly knew what he was doing when he blessed me with my kids. Even though my first son wasn’t technically planned, please refer to #1. Pregnancy is the result of heterosexual intercourse, not failed contraception. I am married and sexually active, therefore pregnancy is always a possibility whether I actively want it or not. There is no contraceptive that is 100% effective. The only 100% effective way to avoid pregnancy is abstinence.
3. More contraception does not equal fewer abortions.
Contraception facilitates the kinds of relationships and attitudes that are likely to lead to abortion. Contraception helps sever the connection between love and life. Babies become an accident of intercourse, a burden, and using contraception is seen as responsible.
We simply could not have had the sexual revolution until reliable contraception was invented. Only then could we deceive ourselves into thinking that we can have all the sex we want, and no baby will come. Those who have not been enlightened by faith fare the worst, but the sad thing is that many in the Church believe this lie too.
Christians talk about moral purity and waiting for sex until marriage which doesn’t usually happen when we are honest about the statistics. We talk about the beauty of family and value of life, but when it comes to married sex, pretty much anything goes if husband and wife agree.
When challenged, we say things like, “Who gave you permission to tell me what I do in my bedroom? That is between me and my husband thank you very much.” But sin has a way of affecting the entire body of Christ, and I believe that BECAUSE many Christians have bought into the lie that contraception is good, which lends itself to the idea that sex has nothing to do with babies; we are HELPING ADVANCE this culture of death.
Did you know that some contraceptives change the lining of the uterus to keep a fertilized egg from implantation? That’s abortion. When faced with this truth, I discovered the plank that was blinding me. When God took the scales from my eyes, I recognized how I had contributed to the culture of death and I grieved.
Kyrie Eleison! Lord have mercy.
