Thinking About Abortion - Part 1 - The Divisive Issue

Abortion is such a divisive issue I fear it presents the gravest threat to our democracy this country has faced since slavery.  Now many Conservative states are passing laws to try to eliminate abortion.

I don't believe Donald Trump, or most wealthy Republicans, really care much about abortion, or Gay rights, or even immigration one way or another.  When you are wealthy it's not a part of your world.  But opposition to these issues provide a tool the wealthy can use to get elected to pursue the personal and commercial interests they do care about.  Gay rights is no longer an viable issue so President Trump leaned heavily on abortion and immigration to get elected.

To a much greater extent than earlier Presidents in my lifetime, President Trump is oblivious, even disdainful, of the institutions that have allowed our democracy to thrive for 250 years, and serve as an example for the rest of the world that the rule of law and democracy can thrive.  It seems to me we moving toward becoming a dysfunctional and unstable democracy if we do not come to terms with this divisive issue.

I grew up a Christian and considered the ministry when I was around 14.  Although I left institutional Christianity in my late teens I continued to use the teachings of Jesus as my moral compass.  When I arrived in Law School in 1976 I did not even think about whether Government should ban abortion - that it was wrong was ingrained in my emotional view of the world.  It was unquestionable, so government could prohibit it.  

Many people in my class in law school were not of the same view.  No problem for me, they were just wrong.  But Constitutional law class required I read the Roe v. Wade opinion and think about the issues.  It opened my mind to the fact the problem was far more complex than my simple notions from childhood Sunday School.  It didn't change my view immediately but life experience and the more nuanced view of the world that goes with life experience has caused my thinking to evolve in the 33 years since law school. 

This series of blogs will lay out where I am now in my thinking through a series of questions.  My perception is the current media world buries quiet contemplation in an avalanche of gut instinct twitter messages and stories seeking your attention by outraging your emotions rather than inspiring your intellect.  I hope to provide a framework for personal contemplation.

The following blog topics will be:

Part 2 - Since the anti-abortion movement is largely driven by Christians Part 2 will address what the Bible says, or doesn't say that seems to me to be relevant to abortion.

Part 3 will look at the justifications offered by the pro-life movement to allow the government of a country that cherishes freedom to take control of a woman's body and life away from her, and then address the pivotal religious issue of whether a fetus has a soul, a concept from biblical teaching that abortion opponents rely on to justify removing control of the woman's future from her.

Part 4 will address the broader ethics of abortion outside the ethical views of a particular religion.

Part 5 will address some curious correlations relating to abortion and the politics and economics of abortion. 

I hope you will read and consider, and comment if so inspired.