Reproductive health is a whole lot bigger than abortion. It’s about prenatal services, safe childbirth, women’s health, and access to contraception. But so many focus exclusively on abortion. So let’s go there, starting with the Bible. Because in the very first book of the Bible, what it says about human life is that it begins at first breath [Genesis 2:7]. Science defines “first breath” around 24 weeks of pregnancy, that’s when lungs are developing and fetal viability is a possibility. In the second book of the Bible, it says a non-viable fetus does not have rights over a fully formed pregnant adult [Exodus 21].
And what does the Bible say about contraception? Nothing. But let’s also acknowledge, the Bible was never meant to be a medical text, and even if it was, it is outdated by some 2000 years of scientific discovery.
The vast majority of Christians of all stripes have long agreed, abortion is more than a moral or political issue, it is a necessary and life-saving medical procedure. A deeply personal and difficult decision, but it’s not meant for the government to make. Today Christian-driven efforts to make access to abortion services and contraception illegal are putting lives and families at risk. What changed can be summed up in one word.
The largest, most conservative and influential Protestant denominations in the U.S., the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), issued multiple resolutions in support of access to abortion care. Before Roe v Wade, in its 1971 resolution, the SBC called for legislation to allow “abortion under such conditions as rape, incest, clear evidence of fetal deformity, and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother.” It reaffirmed access in 1973: “In the best interest of our society, we reject any indiscriminate attitude toward abortion, as contrary to the biblical view…and support the right of expectant mothers to the full range of medical services and personal counseling for the preservation of life and health.” And again in 1981: “It is questionable that Christian love and justice would be served by extremely restrictive laws which do not give conscientious people with proper medical advice the opportunity to choose when they are faced with very grave moral dilemmas related to abortion.”
No need to adjust your glasses, it’s true. SBC leaders viewed abortion as a deeply personal issue that was a complex and difficult moral decision, but morally permissible and not a sin. Some of the biggest names in the modern conservative evangelical movement spoke out in support of abortion access.
Carl F. H. Henry, one of the movement’s founders who became the first editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, would affirm “a woman’s body is not the domain and property of others.” Harold Lindsell, a founding member of the influential evangelical Fuller Theological Seminary, went further, “If there are compelling psychiatric reasons from a Christian point of view, mercy and prudence may favor a therapeutic abortion.” Evangelical heavy weights like Billy Graham, James Dobson, and Jerry Falwell weren’t anti-abortion, either.
Only the Catholic Church has maintained consistent anti-abortion and anti-contraception theology, though in practice, 90% of Catholics use birth control not approved by the Church. The vast majority of Catholics disagree with Church dogma and choose to make their own decisions about what’s best for their family.
How we got to where we are today has nothing to do with abortion.
Modern medicine remains welcome by almost all Christian denominations on other health matters. But when it comes to women, their doctors and abortion care, they are taking the place of God, even when the mother’s life is in grave danger.
What changed to make abortion the issue it is today?
Segregation.
When segregation was outlawed, the tax-exempt status of private Christian schools that held onto segregation practices came under fire by the IRS. This became a “cause” that really fired-up the conservative Christian base. Court battles ensued and when they lost in court, conservative Christian leaders were left to find another “cause” to rally conservative Christians. They landed on abortion. It wasn’t until 1987 that any SBC resolutions called for prohibiting abortion, and even then, they kept the exception “to save the life of the mother.”
That’s radically changed today. While most theologians interpret Psalm’s poetry as God’s intimate knowledge of us, they cite Psalm 139, “You have formed me and know me, you knit me together in my mother’s womb” to mean life begins at conception. They also cite Genesis 1:28b, “Be fruitful and multiply” to ban contraception because all sex acts ought to have the possibility of pregnancy/birth. Yet, the SBC has also now come out against IVF, a widely accepted solution to infertility that helps people “be fruitful“ and have a child.
The current pro-life stance isn’t biblical and it isn’t consistent. Christians have led the way to passing abortion bans with limited exceptions in the majority of states and at least a dozen are total abortion bans. Now multiple state legislatures are banning access to safe and scientifically sound contraception for women. Some 19 million women live in contraception deserts. These laws tell a woman what she can do with her body, but there are no laws that tell a man what he can and cannot do with his body (at least not yet.)
Family planning—the healthy spacing and timing of births—is life-affirming. It’s about family values and the ability to decide if and when to have a child; the ability to space out having children for healthier births and babies; as well as economic stability for the family.
Denying a woman’s right over her own body is also about patriarchy, and an on-going effort to control women, using Christianity as cover. Here’s another inconsistency. Women are frequently powerful biblical characters and women were central to Jesus’s ministry.
Let’s also clear up allegations around late term abortions, defined as at or after 21 weeks. They are only performed when there is a lethal fetal anomaly or threat to the life of the mother; and they barely exist—just 1% of all abortions in the U.S. Of course obstructing access to early abortion care can cause delays. Whether this has led to increased abortions performed later in troubled pregnancies is unknown.
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