abortion: a new way of thinking

I think late-term abortion needs to be legal.

Mostly because 90% of the situations in which late-term abortion would be considered necessary are already traumatic scenarios.

The baby was hoped for:

• carried for the majority of term - and then died in utero and needs to be removed from the uterus for medical reasons.
• something happend that impacted the safety of the mother and a medical procedure that risks the life of the child may be ncessary
• a medical condition to the child - both life threatening and 'merely inconvenient' - that means the parents no longer wish to have this child

Basically, the scenarios in which all but the most fervent anti-abortion proponents would say well, it's not the best situation, but maybe it's necessary are all ones in which there is already enough trauma. And then, onto this, the need to navigate the 'exceptions under which we will consider allowing an abortion' would be added - one more burden that serves no purpose except to make us believe that we've 'stopped evil'.

The legality of late-term abortions would mean that if someone truly doesn't want a pregnancy, they would have ended it much earlier. Because with the legality of abortion at any point in pregnancy comes improved contraception, improved health outcomes for women, less judgement of women facing hard life choices, fewer hurdles and therefore less anxiety when facing an uncertain pregnancy.

I'm not going into the 'she doesn't want the child anymore' option right here, because that's usually related to a serious change in circumstances - most usually relational/financial.

Both could be solved by financially and emotionally supporting mothers, particularly single ones, without qualification for whether they're the right colour or background or social status or personality. Just support mothers, nothing more. And local churches and Christians would be perfectly placed to provide the kind of community and support that such women need. An opportunity to show the love of Christ - and, perhaps (maybe, possibly, if the opportunity provides, but not as a requirement or precursor) share the gospel with her.

politics

Hitching ourselves to political power of any kind is a bad idea, but hitching ourselves to political power that enshrines Christianity as The Right Way To Live is a truly terrible idea. What we have - what we are - should be a choice, not an imperative. Civic Christianity is not at all radical, and while it is safe to hide behind civic religion, it guarantees neither devotion nor piety, merely slavish adherence to the show of things.