Revisiting the Abortion Issue

Although the question of abortion in the U.S. seemed settled in the 1973 Roe v Wade decision, with conservatism gaining more visibility since the Trump election, the issue of abortion has again become a contentious issue.  It is posed as a Yes or No question and both sides are highly emotionally charged so it is difficult to engage in rational discussions of the issue.

Much of the objection to abortion revolves around the question of ‘when is the fetus to be considered a human being?’ . . . is it as soon as the egg and sperm come together? . . . or is it with the first detectable heartbeat? . . . or is it when the fetus is viable—able to survive on its own outside the mother’s womb?  Law and science alone can’t give a definitive answer.

Another important issue at the core of the debate is ‘who has the right to make the decision concerning the use of a woman’s body?’  The woman? . . . the medical profession? . . . the Church? . . . the government?  The answer to that seems obvious—it is the woman. 

If we give careful consideration to that question, we see it as being influenced by the long-standing patriarchal perspective—a system of society or government controlled by men—wherein women have no voice, and all aspects of their lives are under the control of men.    That attitude can still be seen in the unwillingness to allow women to make their own choices.

More than a yes or no answer to abortion is needed.  Rather, what is needed is a deeper respect for life in general . . . unprotected sex can yield babies and babies are more than just today’s inconvenience.  We are all part of the flow of life and babies are the future generation.  Seen in those terms, abortion should never be a frivolous matter.  Women, being the carrier of life, hold a heavy responsibility . . . yet there are circumstances that can justify a choice to abort. Girls need be educated to protect their life-giving privilege and only in dire circumstances choose to eliminate a developing life in their body—but it is and must be their right to choose.

Let me bring up a point involving males that also concerns the ‘taking of life’.  There is a commandment ‘Thou shall not kill’ . . . all of civilization agrees that killing is wrong.  Yet since the beginning of time there have been wars—and they are even glorified in many ways.  It is almost exclusively men who initiate war and men who engage in war.  The world, having developed under patriarchy, has made no outcry—until recently—that war is immoral. 

The point I make here is two-fold: 1) men have not been restricted by law or Church to not engage in the killing of war, they have always been free to choose how to use their bodies; and 2) under a patriarchal system women’s freedom had been controlled by men. Historically, their freedom of movement was curtailed (needing male approval); their freedom to be educated, to choose professions, to own property, to vote, was withheld etc. Slowly women have fought to be free of male control and make their own choices—the abortion issue is part of that fight.  

I want my position to be clear on this issue.  I oppose abortion as simply a way to ‘solve the problem’ of an unplanned pregnancy; I believe it is a moral issue and should be resorted to only in a real crisis, but I recognize that there are circumstances that justify it.  This is a decision that only the one directly concerned can make—as are all moral decisions.  This conflict is a gender-freedom issue.  The long-standing patriarchal control strives to take away woman’s authority in this very sensitive matter—we again and still fight for our freedom.  

I do believe there should be reasonable legal limits to the time allowed in which to abort and a limit to humane methods used, but ultimately the decision pro or con regarding a woman’s choice should be in the hands of the woman concerned.  

What is Long-Term Vision?

series: Long-Term Vision #2

What is long-term vision? It is seeing beyond just now.  It is looking back with appreciation for the creative inventiveness that brought all we have into being—from the utensils we eat with to the automobiles that transport us.  And it is looking ahead to what can be—a world of peaceful unity where all people are respected.  To that end, it is asking ourselves ‘what can I do today to make this day a gift of love?’ It is an attitude toward what life is about . . . being a part of the human race which is moving toward some unseen unknown destiny with hopeful anticipation . . . it is awareness of belonging to something beyond self.

We are part of God’s great experiment to bring forth a species with reflective awareness having the freedom to make of this world whatever we choose for it to be.

My book The Stations*is of the spiritual journey of an artist; on page 204 he says to the nun who is his spiritual director:  “Regardless of whether on not there is ‘a God out there’, all that is good and desirable is contained in the idea of God.  The world’s wisdom literature tells of how we can be . . . must be in order to survive.  As intelligent beings we have reflective awareness and the freedom to choose to make life anything we collectively want it to be.  We have made it a hell through selfishness—failing to see beyond our immediate wants. 

“Peter once said ‘if God didn’t exist we’d have to invent him’.   For the most part, we live life using only short-term vision geared to what we personally want at a given time.  We can learn to develop long-term vision and see that everything in life is interconnected to everything else and there is no such thing as singular acts in isolation. What each does effects others and our accumulated acts of selfishness finally create a living hell.  If we hold to the idea of God—the goodness and love and totality that a God represents—we can create a better world and save ourselves from our selfishness.  Only the idea of a God is big enough to embrace it all. So even when I can’t affirm that a God exists out there somewhere, I keep knowing that only God—or the idea of a God—can transform this hell into a better world.  Maybe acting as though we believe in God—even if we don’t accept an ‘out there’ reality—will call God into being.”

Just as we have advanced technologically, intellectually, scientifically and medically, when we look carefully we can see progress in our ability to advance toward rightness.  To accomplish that requires long-term vision.

                                                                                                    *The Stations by B. Sabonis-Chafee
                                                                                                     available on Amazon books

Our World

About a year ago my friend Jane, unknowingly, presented me with a challenge as she gave me a little ‘world pin’.  She is part of a group about which I know only that they have created and distribute this lovely little lapel pin of planet earth with its oceans and continents.  In our conversation she casually said, “Just what is the world? . . . the world, the earth, the planet, is it all the same?”  I think I responded with something like “well not exactly”. 

I went on to expound (yes, I do do that!) about Teilhard de Chardin and his explanation of the formation of the earth’s layers that evolved over an incalculable span of time; first there coalesced the Barysphere and Lithosphere—the metal core and rocky crust; next, those layers were overlaid with the Atmosphere and Hydrosphere—air and water; which were the necessary precursors for the Biosphere—all life forms.  Over eons of time, an array of vegetation and animal life slowly appeared, advancing in form from simple to complex.  Teilhard defined that as the ‘law of complexity-consciousness’, which drives evolution to ever reach for greater intricacy and more freedom by complexifying nervous systems and increasing consciousness.  The process ultimately brought forth the rational and reflective creature—the human species.  This wasn’t just ‘another species’ but the very axis and arrow of evolution, adding a new layer to the planet.  That layer, Teilhard named the Noosphere—the thinking layer.  With thought and freedom, human choices have shaped the emerging world in which we live: a world of buildings, roads and machines; a world of languages, music and arts; a world of laws, institutions and philosophies . . .

Evolution is on-going change.  Only humans have the ability to initiate change, both within the self and in the world they inhabit.  It is imperative that we awaken to the power humanity has to determine the destiny of this awesome interacting system—our world.

Our planet is an object in a solar system that orbits the sun in harmony with other planets—Jupiter, Mars, Venus, etc.  At the planetary level it is but one of many similar objects.  It differs however, because of being surrounded by continually re-circulating air and water, thus providing what is necessary to support life.  The interaction of these elements is a unique process, fully integrated with the myriad life forms animating our earth.  Just as the Biosphere changed the planet into the living earth (fondly referred to as ‘Mother Earth’), the newest layer, the Noosphere, changed it into the world of thought and action we occupy.

Over the past year my thoughts kept returning to the challenge of that question, ‘are they the same?’  I now realize I found the question so significant because it points to the basic God/human interaction—together we co-create the world.

When I speak of God, I’m not referring to a remote Being far away in the heavens who counts sins and grants favors.  Knowledge of the nature of God is of a dimension beyond human comprehension.  When I speak of God I mean that dynamic Mystery beyond my understanding that brought order out of chaos.  I look at the known evidence of life and the magnificent balance of the uncountable elements necessary for the universe to exist—yet there it is and here we are!  So I say, “Thank you, Mystery God” and I think of the wonder of human consciousness that can seek Truth, Justice and Love and can express love, compassion . . . and hope.

The evolutionary process is still unfolding; the God contribution has been set before us, ours is underway as we explore our capacity for both good and evil.  We’re given this playground free and clear, no strings attached.  Our ultimate challenge is for the human family to learn to act cooperatively in supporting the preservation of our common home.  We can make it flourish as it was meant to, or we can destroy it by our collective violence, greed and selfish choices, so reducing it to a dead planet left empty in its orbit around the sun.

So my friend’s question about ‘sameness’ can be answered both yes and no.  Either word refers to the same whole unit, but the world comes into being thru the God/human interaction.  We’ve been given planet-earth, flourishing with life and potential; and too, we’ve been called to consciousness and freedom to do with it what we will.  Ultimately ‘our world’ is our answer to Mystery God.