Let me say immediately that there is nothing Christian about allowing women to die from illegal backstreet abortions. Nothing Christian about removing the basic right of a woman to control her own body. Nothing Christian about wanting to criminalize female equality. This needs to be emphasized because inMay, it was leaked that the U.S. Supreme Court has provisionally voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the iconic 1973 ruling that legalized abortion. Judge Samuel Alito apparently wrote in February that, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have inflamed debate and deepened division.” He was supported by four other Republicanappointed justices – ClarenceThomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. It took very little time for Canadian politicians and activists to take up the fight, empowered by the big brother to the south. There’s a chapter in my last book, The Rebel Christ, entitled, “Life Begins at … Being Really, Really Angry About Abortion” and, while I realize that the optics scream otherwise, please know that the war on women’s reproductive choice isn’t at all Christian. Until relatively recently, the evangelical church had a far more nuanced and moderate position on the issue. As late as 1971, the Southern Baptist Convention − the largest Protestant church in North America − voted to, “work for legislation that will allow the possibility of abortion under such conditions as rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity, and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother.” In 1968, Christianity Today, the most influential magazine in the evangelical world, stated that abortion had always to be considered in the light of “individual health, family welfare, and social responsibility.” Both positions would be considered heresy today. The Roman Catholic Church has beenmore consistently opposed to abortion, but also objects to birth control, divorce and women’s ordination. With all due respect, it’s difficult to regard this anachronistically patriarchal institution that was so slow and reluctant to admit systemic sexual abuse of children, as a qualified commentator on the subject. But what of scripture itself? The central point is that any ancient text, even one that is central to a religious faith and certainly crucial to my life and beliefs, has to be understood and interpreted in context and with understanding. So, for example, when opponents of abortion quote Jeremiah − “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” – they should grasp a few realities. First, this was written around 2,700 years ago. Second, the text is speaking more of a single person, “a prophet to the nations,” thanmaking a sweeping comment about the beginning of life. Or Psalm 139, “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together inmy mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” This is poetry and metaphor − a beautiful testimony to God’s love, but not a guide to human biology. The very idea is un-biblical. The New Testament has Elizabeth − the mother of John the Baptist, meeting Mary − mother of Jesus, and “the child leaped in her womb.” Again, a lyrical description of an event that shaped history, but not scientific and not supposed to be. If we’re to take a literalist approach to the Bible, we’re in all sorts of trouble. By the way, it sometimes supports abortion, something the Christian right doesn’t like to mention. This is all very important to stress, nomatter what your religion or lack of it. And on that point, Islam, Judaism and Christianity have taught historically that life begins not at conception, but at the first breath. Other faiths have taught something similar. What does run through scripture, if we read it through the light-filled prism of Gospel love and empathy, is care for the marginalized and powerless. And it’s poor and racialized women in particular who will suffer if the extremists have their way. This isn’t about life and never has been. It’s about control. Of women, freedom and progress. As a Christian, I knowwhere I have to stand. This really is an issue that we in Canada have settled. God keep it so. Opinion with Michael Coren CSANews | SUMMER 2022 | 13
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