Seder Nashim

A Matter Of Religion

I can’t find the exact quote, but I remember Andy Rooney saying: “From January to November, abortion should be prohibited; in December, it should be mandatory.” I later learned that he considered abortion to be murder, while saying he had more in common with supporters of reproductive rights.

I understand how people can feel that human life begins at conception. I don’t share that belief, and I think it’s wrong to force that belief on others. Hey, if you don’t approve of abortion, then don’t have one.

Of course, that’s an oversimplification.  A friend once told me that if you take the position that abortion is murder, then it follows that all abortions be prohibited. It’s a straightforward, logical consistency.  But it just doesn’t sing to me.

I’m much more concerned with women’s bodily autonomy. I don’t need strangers intruding on my own intimate decisions. I am horrified that a rape victim would be forced to carry her attacker’s baby. I am horrified that some hospitals withhold treatment for miscarriage victims until they develop sepsis or worse.  I am horrified that desperate women die from unsafe abortions.

That’s not to say I’m comfortable with all decisions to have an abortion.  My own pro-choice wife once said that sex selection abortions should be forbidden. (That might not be the exact sentiment she expressed, but it’s in the ballpark.) I find that to be quite compelling, but I don’t feel right imposing that by law.

However, the restriction of women’s choices is not what really animates me. I might feel differently if I were a woman, but that’s where I am.

I see this as primarily an issue of the government forcing a particular religion on nonbelievers, which is extremely dangerous – and not only for the nonbelievers.  I’ve been told that when the lamb sits down with the lion, the lion has dinner. The faithful should worry about being on the wrong side of a schism.

I’ve heard it explained that this is not actually a matter of religion, but of science. This does not track at all with my experience.  I once had a discussion with a colleague about all this, and the first words out of his mouth were “I’m Catholic!” My wife once gave a talk on the issue to her Toastmasters chapter, and she was scolded for not mentioning the bible at all.  Jesus this!  Satan that!  Not a matter of religion?

I’m a member of a minority religion that has suffered centuries of persecution. Forced baptisms, autos-da-fe, pogroms, disputations, censorship of our liturgy, mandatory sermons, expulsions, genocide. I’m quite wary of some Christians telling me what to do.  I’m sure many other Christians feel the same way.