This election has brought about endless things to argue about, and we have done a really good job at it. But pro-life vs. pro-choice always seems to be one of the most controversial, even in a “normal” election year when we don’t have all of the extra dramatic play.
I’m a Christian, and I say that both proudly and confidently.
I would also consider myself pro-choice.
And I hope that there are other people who believe that these two can co-exist.
Because pro-choice, despite popular and uneducated opinion, doesn’t mean that you support killing babies. It doesn’t mean that you think it’s okay to get pregnant and then take away an innocent life for no reason at all.
It’s in the title. Choice.
It means understanding that life doesn’t always portray black and white, a binary look at all decisions. It means understanding the gray. The in-between. It means understanding that it’s situational, that it’s the most personal decision based on your own situation.
It means taking into play things other then accidental pregnancies.
Rape. Incest. Medical Tragedies. Emergencies.
It means that a woman has a choice. It means that the government can’t tell her what she can or cannot do with her body. Someone in a free country with freedom to her body? Maybe it’s just me, but that makes sense.
Because I think that being a Christian is something a little bit more than religion. I think that it doesn’t mean black and white, it doesn't mean, “I believe this, so I have to believe this, too.” Rather, I think the whole of it is more about trying to understand, trying to understand the decisions that people make for the reasons that they make them, and loving them whether you agree or not.
Because I think being a Christian is so much more complex than being able to throw yourself into an issue, and not take into consideration the other side. Not being able to express compassion. Not being able to respectfully disagree. Not being able to not judge others for the choices they make.
I’m a Christian and I’m pro-choice.
And while I have never had a personal connection to the issue, I feel for those who have, because it must have been the toughest choice of their life.
They had it, though. That choice.
