Pondering Abortion on Good Friday

It felt strange to spend a large part of Good Friday studying and debating abortion.  It started from a recent study I have been doing on the “Separation of Church and State” for my Bible Study Group.  One of the hot issues for Catholics and Evangelical Protestants these days is abortion.  That seems to be the single most important issue for many - laymen, clergy, pastors, … - when they decide which politician to vote for.  When a politician supports legalising abortion, he/she is automatically the enemy, no mater what his/her policies on other matters are.  When one comes out claiming to oppose legalised abortion, that one gets the vote even if he is a bigot, cheat, liar, buffoon, instigator of violence and more.  Why is that?  

Then a friend shared a video on which a Catholic priest denounced the current president (2021 version) of the USA because the president supports legalising abortion.  According to the priest, abortion equals murder.  Hence a Catholic must oppose it, otherwise one cannot claim to be a Catholic.  He would refuse to serve the president the Communion. 

I believe abortion is inherently wrong.  However, it is not a completely black and white issue.  What if the pregnancy is the result of rape?  What if the foetus is heavily handicapped, deformed such that it will lead a miserable life even it it survives?  What if the mother’s health, physical or mental, is threatened?  What if the mother is in extreme poverty or otherwise dire situations, and there is no help in sight?  What if …

Is abortion really the same as murder?  Is abortion really the same as murdering a child?  Do they deserve the same penalty?  If abortion is really so bad, why neither Jesus nor the apostles say anything about it in the New Testament, while so many other sins are condemned?  In the Old Testament, the penalty for causing the lost of a foetus is less than that for the murder of a person.  Does that imply the unborn life may not exactly be the same as a fully formed human being?  The Christian teaching and treatment for abortion has evolve over the ages.  Who is to say the current position is the best that we can come up with?  In fact, has the Christian viewpoint been affected by political expediency over the past 50 years?  

Politicians may wish to reduce complex issues to simplistic slogans.  But we should not fall into that trap.  While we hate evil, we should treat people with understanding and compassion.  After all, we would like to be treated that way ourselves, don’t we?  What would our position be if we were the one having to make a decision on an unwanted pregnancy?  

Stepping back a little.  There are so many other sins that we human beings commit: adultery, bigotry, cruelty, discrimination, exploitation, lying, cheating, violence, hatred, jealousy, …  Why is abortion singled out to be seemingly the greatest?  

Jesus Christ died to atone for our sins.  It is proper that we reflect on what we have done wrong, and what Jesus’s death means for us.  It is also proper that we realise what we are continuing to do wrong.  What is the point of faith and confession when we continue to do wrong and not even be aware of it?  What about the good that we don't do nearly enough of, which we are most aware of?