Some thoughts about Abortion

How do we arrive at an answer to the question, Should abortion be legal? I imagine that many of us respond reflexively, “Absolutely,” or “Never!” Why, or how, can so many of us be so certain, so quickly, to an issue that is fraught with nuance?

If we look for clear boundaries, we probably all agree that when a baby is born, this baby is a person and has all the rights that are endowed to any other person. We can agree that when a sperm cell merges with an egg the result includes the complete suite of genes to become a person. In between these two demarcations are lots of stages that are described in technical terms as a(n): zygote, blastocyte, embryo, fetus, and finally, baby. But these technical terms do not help us in determining at what stage should we confer the rights of personhood, or, when does human life begin?

Here we must rely on our religious beliefs, or spiritual inclinations, because there isn’t any scientific method or technical way to determine when human life begins. A very succinct summary of various religious positions can be found from Factually (link provided below in Resources). The gist of that summary is the answer lies along that continuum from zygote to born baby, including considerations for the health of the pregnant woman (a topic that can’t be separated from this issue and for which there isn’t sufficient space here to adequately consider).

If I demand that my religious beliefs on this issue should be enacted as law, I am infringing on the rights of those who don’t hold these same beliefs. If this country, the US, provides the right to religious freedom, how can we demand that one religious belief should be placed above another? As unfortunate as a situation may be for anyone considering an abortion, the solution to that situation shouldn’t include someone imposing their religious beliefs on that person. This, in fact, seems contrary to the compassion that we might believe, or imagine, for our religious organizations and leaders. Certainly, this seems contrary to our beliefs, and laws, about religious freedom and our right to exercise that freedom in this country.

Resources

Factually: How do different religions view the start of human life?