A Brethren answer to Abortion Part 5 - What about the health of the mother

Of all the arguments posted for abortion, this is the hardest one to grapple with. It is hard for now we are dealing with two very strong realities, especially as Brethren. We have life on both sides, and a responsibility to care for and help protect both. How would we, as Brethren, answer this question? The best answer is to start with prayer.

Prayer allows us to connect with God, and He will give us the wisdom that only He can provide. He will help us through these hard decisions and questions. Prayer gives us peace, and strength even facing the loss of one or both of his family members. It is a peace that goes beyond the normal day to day life. It is a peace that can only come from God. Still, it does not answer the question.

How does a Brethren grapple with this point? First, prayer is needed. Second, a connection to a local church and church family in the body of faith will provide the strength and encouragement through these moments. This stems back to God Himself, knowing we have full confidence in the truth that He is in control. It is ok to be hurt, and stressed in this event. Sadly, many blame God, and even more regrettably, walk away from Him. While hard to understand in the moment, please understand, God did not cause this. Sin, brought on by mankind's rebellion, caused this. We have free will in making choices. We do not have free will in the consequences of those choices.

Third, go for a second or third opinion. Doctors have been wrong before. Story after story has been told online of many couples who were told their child would have all kinds of health issues and they should abort the baby. The families went forward with the pregnancy and...the baby was normal and healthy. That is not always the case, granted, but it shows doctors are not always correct (if we use the push for covid vaxcinnes as evidence on how wrong doctors were, that number is increased). This is not to disparage all doctors, for there are good ones, but remember, they are only human, and do make mistakes. It is unwise to use this argument to support abortion. This is doing nothing more than politicizing a dark and traumatic time.

For the addressing of our question, let us say the doctor is correct. We have gotten the other opinions. Where do we go? First, realize the baby is most vulnerable. Therefore, a higher level of protection should be put on the baby. Second, we commend ourselves to God, and His plan and purpose. As Jesus prayed, "Not my will but Yours be done".

Second, finding the best doctor in the world (and I know there will be a discussion of insurance, payment, etc., and we might get to that in a future post). This will provide the best support for the mother and baby possible. Third, pray, pray, pray, but realize God is in control. It will be His will, and none other that will be accomplished. Fourth, do not doubt God's love for you and your baby. Fifth, pray and seek for God's will and strength. In the end, this is an extreme position to find oneself in, and the heart and prayer of all Brethren go out to those who are in this position.

Should this very sad place, a reasonable position to force the abortion upon everyone? To calculate the rate of maternal/infant deaths, is tricky, and even professional statisticians struggle to qualify. With that being said, the best we can come up with is anywhere between 22-32 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births. Even with that number, there are, accordingly, safer places to give birth (Japan being one with a better record). Recent records seem to indicate this number is dropping.

Then the subject of personal health is brought in. Smoking, drugs, alcohol, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, physically unhealthy (overweight for example) increase this number. Therefore, the risk and percentage of this kind of situation, while not unheard of, is not huge. We could ask again, do we use this little, but not good, statistic to force the allowance of abortion on all? The greatest cause for abortion is not this instance.

"Is it ok for the mother to die and leave behind the family, than to have the abortion and stay to be with the rest of the family?"

This is a logical question, and the answer goes back to, the infant is the most defenseless. This is still not a very good position to be in, and this post will not solve or answer all the facets or nuances posed. It is, however, meant to draw attention to the protection of the innocent life of the baby, draw a line between this instance and the really bad arguments posted already, and to reject the notion of forcing taxpayer abortion on everyone. That is politicizing and making unrealistic demands. This is an issue that should be between the couple, God, their doctor, and their church family. Not a policy platform. To use this sad but glaringly small percentage, is being dishonest with the record.

There is, yet, one more aspect that is often ignored in this entire discussion that many doctors and even growing numbers are realizing that in the case of the safety of the mother is at risk during birth, a much safer answer is C-Section. It has been shown to be safer for the mother in this instance.

Yes, we want to protect the life of the mother as well. We want to defend all life. There are solutions and options available, and ending with, "Just allow abortion then" is being dishonest to the situation some families find themselves in.