I am not a woman--although the chemotherapy that I've received to combat cancer has allowed me to see things from a more feminine perspective than ever before--Call me Tiresias! Even without the (temporary, I hope) hormonal shift in my body, I'm quite sure I would still share the acute disappointment of good women and good men everywhere regarding the almost inevitable demise of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision of the Supreme Court which made abortion legal.
If the draft leak is an indication of the Court's decision regarding abortion, which seems highly likely, we will awake to an even more divided nation. Most Americans will regret the decision, some vociferously, some with resignation, while a significant minority, represented by the Republican Party, will chortle in their joy.
The coming together of angry fist-swingers marching in the streets with triumphant fist-swingers prancing in the streets will result in a wild, aleatory, Smug and Bitter Swing Dance indeed. Just the salve our bloodied Ol' Uncle Sam needs.
I suppose I could preach to the choir. If I did, I would certainly point out that abortion has been protected for nearly fifty years and precedent should be respected; I would also certainly add, that if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, poor women (surprise!) would be the most affected.
But I don't want to preach to the choir, I don't want to preach at all. I would rather present myself as a kindly, avuncular speaker at, say, a pro-life church. My main message: the idea that abortion is murder is not as sound as some may think. Why?
First, I'd like to make it clear that I'm no rabbi; far from it. Some of the details I present might be wrong, but I think the gist of my argument is well within Jewish teaching.
Second, Abortion is widely available world-wide; if abortion were murder, this would mean that the majority of liberal democracies condone murder. Are women who consider abortion potential murderers? This view, I think, is an extreme one. There must be valid arguments that tone down this murderous rhetoric. This is the subject of this little essay.
2. A Jewish Perspective
In the Kabbalah, according to mystical tradition, there are ten sefirot, or divine manifestations; the last sefir is called Malkuth or 'kingship.' It is a hidden divine manifestation; its presence in the phenomenal world is called Shekinah, the presence of God in the world, said to be a feminine manifestation. (The Arab cognate is Sekinna; I once had a female patient by that name.)
When the Shekinah and the fetus meet at birth, the fetus then, and only then, becomes a full human being. Before then, the fetus is viewed as part of the mother's body. Abortion then, always a difficult decision, is not murder.
The mythology here is both beautiful and profound.
3. A secular, scientific view
'Shekinah' from a secular perspective, can be replaced by the word, 'environment'. It is true, as anti-abortionists claim, that both the embryo and fetus contain a full set of human chromosomes, but genes are far from everything. Who can imagine a human being that is not the product of the interplay between genes and the environment? Can genes in the womb learn to love? Can genes in a lab ever learn to say "I" without the guidance of humans? Has anyone heard a glob in a petri dish say, 'Cogito, Ergo Sum?' Fetuses, genes in a womb, constitute a living being, but not a human being. Abortion, whether caused by human intervention or Mother Nature, is, therefore, not murder. It is the elimination of live tissue, but not the elimination of a human being.
Some aspects of theology, especially Christian theology, take things far too literally. For instance, according to Catholic doctrine, most forms of birth control are forbidden. God created sex, according to this view, as a means to create children; let no one, therefore tamper with nature. But couldn't God have given sex more than one purpose? What about communication, intimacy, love, pleasure? The mouth, after all, has more than one purpose--One can talk, eat and kiss with it, for instance. Trying to limit sex to the sole purpose of reproduction, is, I think, way too restrictive--another example of taking things too literally.
I don't like abortion, but I don't like a lot of things, e.g. beef, body building, pizza. This does not mean I advocate turning one person's don't likes into federal law.
I hope I have demonstrated that abortion is not murder. Opposing abortion is one thing, but calling fetuses children and calling abortion providers murderers is something quite another. We must never forget that the most important rule of religion is some version of loving your neighbor as yourself. Such gross exaggerations encourage disrespect for those with a different opinion.
There is enough suffering in the world. Adding to it by fanatical opposition to abortion is of no help. Abortion will always be with us. It is humane to assure that abortions are done safely and supportively.
No woman should be forced to carry a pregnancy against her will. In addition, abortion is about fourteen times less dangerous than pregnancy; not to mention, many times less expensive as well. It is ironic that Republicans, who advocate limited social spending, also support the abolition of legal abortion, the expense of forcing women to bear unwanted babies notwithstanding.
Illegal abortion guarantees that many women will die; who will be the murderers then?
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