August 27, 2012

Planned Parenthood

Some people think it’s admirable for a man to support a woman’s right to choose, but I have to wonder if it is a cop out. Instead of letting the woman make the choice, I see it as burdening the woman to take all the responsibility for the decisions that are made. Essentially a man can easily shirk all his responsibility on the abortion issue by simply saying it’s a woman’s right to chose. I see shades of Adam in the Garden of Eden saying, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Gen 3:12 NIV)

1 comment:

Steve Corey said...

Gail;

-----I love fresh takes, simple perspectives, having all the flavors of reality. As simple as this take is, I’ve never imagined it. It carries the subtle taste of weakness which permeates what being human is. Of course women are capable of making decisions. Still, decisions taint easily by pressures of needs and desires and imaginings stirring in the secret places of the heart. These biases obviate and twist, or else merely eclipse real and sometimes very central to the issue facts. One of the critically important reasons for fellowship in the Lord is to have at hand sources of less or no personal biases who return facts into plain sight, untwist them, and restore the sensation of their relevance. I can imagine only a few issues of life more deeply personal than pregnancy is to a woman. That leaves the choice of abortion incredibly prone to bias. I think you are so right about man stepping up to his responsibility in the decision because he is so much less personally touched by the pregnancy.
-----I don’t mean all women fail to recognize the fact that conception is the beginning of an individual human life. Those who cherish and want their child certainly do recognize this and begin protecting that baby like does momma bear. Not all bias is bad. But when this newly conceived individual is liable to interfere with reputation or work or budget or fun, it quickly ceases to be another individual human being; being rid of it never seems to be killing it; and the purpose for its riddance becomes some imaginary future travesty it would wreak upon life if born. All the while the DNA formed at conception is truly that of a human; the processes set into motion by conception truly are those of life; he or she is truly killed when aborted; and he or she had definitely not committed any crime God requires man to punish by death.
-----I’ve been blasted in the past for stating the case so plainly. Many women are extremely vulnerable to the emotional effects of viewing abortion so plainly. I sympathize with their difficulties, although I stand accused of insensitivity. But my sensitivity I give the best I can first to the truth, then to others. The truth is that I am twisted and tainted in my own ways, having issues to do with things extremely personal to the male side of humanity. I am in need of feminine perspectives. So together, we both sides of human sexuality can go through confession of our own faults with courage bolstered by each other, such that neither thinks more highly than we ought to think of our own challenges and problems and failures, but each can rest repaired by the Lord’s grace in the light of His truth as lovingly restored by one for the other.
-----Thank you, Gail. You’ve sparked in me a whole new perspective on the relationship between men and women.

Love you all,
Steve Corey