Dear Christian, what is our actual goal when it comes to abortion?

As you may know, on October 7th, The Supreme Court let stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate Texas ban. This means that no one gets to decide what puts a woman’s life at risk or in an emergency other than the Texas government. (Read more here).

The Texas abortion ban has withstood multiple legal challenges for more than two years now, including from women who had serious pregnancy complications and have been turned away by doctors.

Similar bans in Georgia, Florida, and even here in Idaho have led to women suffering and even dying from not being able to receive the care they need (Read more about that here).

Is this the kind of world we want? Is this our goal when it comes to abortion?

Here’s a little more data:

Despite overturning Roe and all these bans, the number of abortions in the United States increased in 2023, according to the Guttmacher institute.

Isn’t the goal to decrease abortions and save lives rather than to have them increase?

Here’s a little more data:

7 out of 10 women who have had an abortion in the United States identify as Christian. Within that 70% of women who’ve had abortions that self-identify as a Christian includes Catholics (27%), Protestants (26%), non-denominational (15%), and Orthodox (2%). Further still, among Protestants, more identify as Baptists (33%), Methodist (11%), Presbyterian (10%), or Lutheran (9%). This is according to a survey carried out by Lifeway research, a Christian organization. (Read all about the survey here).

Can we really conclude that promiscuity is the main culprit when it comes to abortion in light of these stats? Are we going to even wrestle with how even those with deep Christian conviction have found themselves in situations where they have had an abortion?

Here’s a little more data:

According to Georgetown Journal on poverty law and policy, around half of the women who get abortions live below the federal poverty level. This is a trend that has increased with time.

While abortion rates nationwide have decreased, abortions are increasingly concentrated among poor women. For example, over half of the women who had an abortion in 2014 lived in poverty—this is a 100 percent increase from the twenty-five percent of people who had an abortion in 1994. The abortion rate has declined forty percent since then. This is particularly stunning given the fact that poorer women are disproportionately impacted by abortion restrictions—even though it is harder for poorer women to obtain an abortion, they still are far more likely to seek one (Read more here.)

Again, what is our goal when it comes to abortion? Why are there not more passionate demands for policies that confront poverty in our country since it is directly linked to abortion?

Did Jesus not say, “I have come to bring good news to the poor?” (Luke 4)

I write this to not only invite us to wrestle with these questions but to also ask my fellow Christians to stop using abortion as a tool of shame towards other Christians who approach the issue differently, especially in light of the data stated above.

It is simply wrong to suggest that Christians who vote differently when it comes to abortion do not care about the unborn.

Many Christians believe that upholding the rights of women and dismantling systems of poverty as well as opposing misogyny and domestic violence, while increasing access to healthcare, reproductive education, and providing things like paid family leave, affordable childcare, and a living wage will save more lives of women and the unborn than bans ever will. Especially in light of how high our infant and maternal mortality rates are here in America.

Many Christians believe that if "pro-life" doesn't also include the life, rights, and wellbeing of women, then it isn't pro-life. It’s just anti-abortion.

As a Christian in the Methodist tradition, equality and women’s rights are central to my religious beliefs. God given free will is also central to my religious beliefs. I do not believe God gives us the right to violate someone else’s free will when it comes to matters of conscience in their own life. Yet, this topic has taken on even deeper significance for me since getting married and walking alongside my wife through two pregnancies in a state like Idaho, which has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

I cannot tell you how terrifying it was to consider the possibility that the person I love most in this world wouldn’t have final say over her life and wellbeing if complications developed that threatened her health yet they didn’t meet the “criteria” of “life threatening” according to Idaho. No, the government would have that final decision. Especially now as a father to a daughter, I just can no longer believe such an extreme stance on this issue is actually life saving, for either the unborn or for women.

I believe approaching this issue through compassion rather than control would have far more life saving outcomes. I believe if we want to have an actual positive impact in reducing abortions, we will work to eliminate poverty, not women’s rights.

Again, many Christians have many different views on this topic, but ask you, please do not shame other Christians for having different perspectives on this complex subject. Make understanding the data together the focus instead. Make understanding the root causes of this issue the goal instead. Make the pursuit of saving lives the focus instead, rather than simply ardently demanding that only one political party is the answer. Make working together the focus instead.

“Whatever you do to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you do unto me.” -Jesus (Matthew 25).

No matter our different opinions on this topic, shaming each other over our opinions is simply counter productive and makes ourselves the focus of this issue rather than those who are experiencing it firsthand.

Please, dear Christian, let love be our reputation.

I will leave you with an example of a friend of mine who was brave enough to share her story publicly of her experience here in Idaho:

Kayla Smith, pregnant with her second child, was horrified to learn at her 19-week ultrasound scan that her baby had a serious and inoperable congenital heart condition. After consulting with a maternal fetal medicine specialist and a pediatric cardiologist, she and her husband learned that their baby was not likely to survive past birth and there were no viable medical interventions available. Kayla's doctors also explained that because Kayla had previously developed preeclampsia during her first pregnancy, she had a heightened risk of developing preeclampsia again if she carried her pregnancy to term.

Devastated by the news but determined to spare their baby from suffering and ensure Kayla's safety and health, Kayla and her husband decided that what she needed was abortion care. But because of Idaho's abortion bans, her doctors could not provide that care for her. Kayla and her family traveled to Washington to obtain an abortion-a trip that cost thousands of dollars and required them to take out a personal loan, as well as receive assistance from friends and family. The financial burden added more stress on top of the grief she was already experiencing.

Kayla is pregnant again now, but she and her husband were so anxious about raising two daughters in a state like Idaho, where their rights to bodily autonomy are not guaranteed or protected, that they have since moved to Washington.

The Center for Reproductive Rights believes Kayla and her family should have been able to access the health care they needed in their home community. They should be able to safely raise daughters in their home state, instead of being forced to relocate out of fear for their futures, lives, and safety. That's why we're suing the state of Idaho, to hold the government accountable for the harms its extreme abortion ban is causing citizens.

Idaho’s maternal mortality rate increased by 121.5% between 2019 and 2022, and Idaho ranked highest in the nation for rates of postpartum depression, according to recent reports (Read more here).

You can read Kayla’s story on the Reprorights Instagram account where it was published here.​

If you’re interested in understanding when abortion became a political issue for many Christians in America and why, you can read more about the history here.​

Thank you for reading. If you found this helpful, you can find the rest of my articles on various topics here. If you'd like to support my work, you can do so here.​

Sincerely,

Rev. Benjamin R. Cremer