Righteous Abortion: How Conservative Christians Promote What They Claim to Hate
Three aspects of conservative Christianity promote abortion: pro-natalism, an obsession with sexual sin, and an emphasis on righteousness over compassion.
The numbers are in. The most effective way to reduce abortion is to de-stigmatize sexual education, de-mythologize virginity, and invest in broad access to the most effective contraceptives available. In the secular Netherlands, that formula has knocked abortion down to 7 per 1000 women annually, one third the U.S. rate. So why does the Religious Right keep their focus on restrictive laws instead of contraceptive access? Why do they promote person-rights for zygotes, in contradiction to the very essence of personhood? Why do they oppose medically accurate sex ed? Why do they pledge to defund Title X family planning? Because abortion isn't really what interests them. They want purity. They want righteousness. Many want designated breeders. Even those who don't consciously promote more births are subject to the competitive strategies that were baked into the desert religions from the beginning. The world is on the cusp of a contraceptive revolution. Compared to the best birth control available to your parents (the Pill), latest generation long-acting reversible contraceptives, also known as LARCs, drops accidental pregnancy by 10 to 50 fold. Each year one in twelve women on the Pill gets pregnant. Over a lifetime, that's two or three extra pregnancies per woman - unsought children or abortions. With a Mirena IUD or Nexplanon, that drops to one in 500, because a LARC toggles the fertility default to "off." If that wasn't enough, some LARC's also get rid of that messy monthly uncleanness (Leviticus 15:19-24) brought on by Eve's curse. Someone who wanted to prevent abortions would advocate showcasing LARCs in every teen health class in the country. They would make sure that the most effective contraceptives available were available to all. They would be more focused on wise childbearing than on virginity. Those who say they are all about ending abortion, don't--because they aren't. This is Trust Women Week, a week to honor the moral and spiritual wisdom that women invest in our reproductive decisions. Join the virtual march. Listen to Deborah or Deb or Angela or Joy tell her abortion story at the 1 in 3 campaign. If you are ready, tell yours. And spread the word! Valerie Tarico is a psychologist and writer in Seattle, Washington. She is the author of Trusting Doubt: A Former Evangelical Looks at Old Beliefs in a New Light and Deas and Other Imaginings, and the founder of www.WisdomCommons.org. Her articles can be found at Awaypoint.Wordpress.com.
Righteous Abortion: How Conservative Christians Promote What They Claim to Hate | 27 comments (27 topical, 0 hidden)
Righteous Abortion: How Conservative Christians Promote What They Claim to Hate | 27 comments (27 topical, 0 hidden)
|
||||||||||||
|