Objective: This review aims to summarize key facets of the Pro Choice and Pro Life perspectives and outline a resolution pathway that minimizes abortion. Main Results: Approximately 1.3 billion abortions occurred worldwide from 1990 through 2014. In the United States, more than 61 million abortions were performed between 1973 and 2017. The Pro Choice perspective posits that: 1) A fetus is not a person; therefore, a person is not harmed. 2) Forced childbearing includes significant health and psychological risks to the mother and can exacerbate poverty. Since a person is not harmed and the mother is benefited, abortion is a moral good. From a Judeo-Christian, Pro Life perspective: 1) God creates every person in his image and has a pre-conception life plan for them. 2) God commanded us to be fruitful and multiply and identified children as a blessing. Hence, abortion harms a person and is rebellion against God. Conclusion: In working toward a solution, agape love, which is sacrificial and giving, not selfish or condemning, is a good starting point. In that light, the Judeo-Christian community can begin bridging the chasm between the Pro Life and Pro Choice communities by sharing truth in love and helping to meet the material and emotional needs of pregnant women who see no alternative to abortion. Proactive, unconditional love provides the foundation for making the womb a sanctuary for life.
References
[1]
Flanagan, C. (2019) Losing the Rare in “Safe, Legal and Rare”. The Atlantic. December 6, 2019.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/the-brilliance-of-safe-legal-and-rare/603151/
[2]
Abortion Statistics—United States Data and Trends 1973-2017. National Right to Life. https://nrlc.org/uploads/factsheets/FS01AbortionintheUS.pdf
[3]
Induced Abortion in the United States—Fact Sheet. Guttmacher Institute, September 2017.
https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/factsheet/fb_induced_abortion.pdf
[4]
Jatlaoui, T.C., et al. (2019) Abortion Surveillance—United States, 2016. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 68, 1-41.
https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1
[5]
Sedgh, G., Bearak, J., Singh, S., Bankole, A., Popinchalk, A., Ganatra, B., Rossier, C., Gerdts, C., et al. (2016) Abortion Incidence between 1990 and 2014: Global, Regional and Subregional Levels and Trends. The Lancet, 388, 258-267.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30380-4
[6]
Mifiprex® (Mifepristone) Highlights of Prescribing Information. U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2016/020687s020lbl.pdf
[7]
Watson, K. (2019) The Art of Medicine: Abortion as a Moral Good. The Lancet, 393, 1196-1197. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30581-1
[8]
The 42nd Annual National Prayer Breakfast (1994) Congressional Record, 140.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-1994-05-02/html/CREC-1994-05-02-pt1-PgS16.htm
[9]
The Holy Bible (1984) New International Version (NIV) 1984. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
[10]
The Holy Bible (2011) New International Version 2011. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
[11]
Hamilton, B.E., Martin, J.A., Osterman, M.J.K. and Rossen, L.M. (2019) Births: Provisional Data for 2018. Vital Statistics Surveillance Report, Report No. 7.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr-007-508.pdf
[12]
Reproductive Health: Pregnancy-Related Deaths. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-relatedmortality.htm
[13]
Jatlaoui, T.C., et al. (2018) Abortion Surveillance—United States, 2015. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), 67, 1-45.
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/ss/ss6713a1.htm
https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6713a1