Pro-Life in a Morally Complicated World
Okay, after reading several blogs, social media comments, and even watching some videos, it is clear that many people are very upset with N.T. Wright over his statements about “Is abortion ever justified” on the ANTWA podcast.
Let me say several things.
First, avoid watching snippets or clips of the show designed to make you angry; instead, watch the whole episode - even if you disagree at the end. Tom was trying to empathize with people facing some very hard decisions, even while he is committed to the Christian principle of the goodness of life. Don’t take the clickbait designed merely for the reinforcement of tribal boundaries.
Second, please remember too that on ANTWA, we have 7-10 minutes to answer some very tricky questions on difficult theological and pastoral issues. So we don’t have the opportunity to say everything about everything and provide all the qualifications and nuances that you’d make when addressing a difficult issue at length. So keep in mind the podcast genre, the Q&A format, and time limitations.
Third, disagreement is fine! If you think Tom and I are wrong on this issue or any other, that’s okay. We don’t take exception to that, it is all part of the commentary and critique that happens when someone offers an opinion on a contested topic. What I find strange is the need for the woke religious right to somehow “cancel” Tom over this subject. I’m sure in the future we’ll revisit this topic again on ANTWA and offer a deeper dive into the issue, which might assuage many of the concerns raised.
Fourth, if you’re American, please understand that the abortion issue has not defined the rest of the world the same way it has defined America. In America, Roe vs. Wade was symbolic of who is in charge, which is why the debate was politically toxic, religiously freighted, and culturally divisive. But that’s just not true elsewhere. Christians in the UK, Australia, Canada, and NZ are not “one issue voters” on abortion. While abortion is a big ethical issue in terms of Christian advocacy, state law, and culture, it is nowhere as big of an issue as in the USA.
Fifth, the reality is that the world is not black and white. The world is fraught with moral ambiguity, where you face competing goods, lesser evils, and often have to make your way through places where Bible verses cannot find you. For instance, terminating an ectopic pregnancy is generally not considered an “abortion” because there is no way for the infant or mother to survive. Ectopic pregnancies are normally exempt from abortion limitations for that reason. Or, consider mothers diagnosed with cancer during a pregnancy, where the cancer treatment will kill the infant in utero, but the mother will die if she is not given treatment. Some ethical conundrums don’t have a Bible verse answer, you need to morally reason from within the resources of the Christian tradition.
Sixth, if I may riff on some Tom Holland, the pro and anti-abortion debate is really an in-house Christian debate about competing Christian ideas. Yes, Christians have historically opposed abortion and infanticide, quite unanimously in the early church. In rhetorical terms, the Old Testament even links child sacrifice to Moloch worship. However, Christianity has since its earliest days also been a pro-woman religion. The idea that women should have agency and control over their own bodies is premised on the notion of women’s equality with men, a conviction borne of texts like Gen 1:27 (man and woman are both in the image of God), and Gal 3:28 (man and woman equal in Christ). As such, the abortion debate is a conflict between two Christian goods, a defense of the voiceless and vulnerable including babies, and the right of women rather than men to decide what happens to women’s bodies.
In case you are wondering about my view, I’ve made it clear that I am comprehensively pro-life as I’m written on this many times, including here and here and here. And I try to keep abreast of Australia’s foremost prolife advocate is Dr. Joanna Howe, who very much leads the charge on abortion when it comes to law in Australia.
For me, to be pro-life means I believe in protecting the voiceless and vulnerable from death, deprivation, and oppression. That includes an aging grandmother in a Dutch nursing home, a gay teenager in an Iranian prison, a political prisoner on death row in China, a Syrian refugee in a concentration camp on Manus Island, and yes, a baby in its mother’s womb. It is why I also support free healthcare for pregnant women, paid maternity and paternity leave for parents, why I oppose cannabis commercialization, and why I oppose the legalization of handguns and semi-automatic weapons.
I have also begun getting ready for the next big battle which is infanticide, and believe me, that battle is coming. See my video here.
But even I know that pro-life means wrestling with tragic situations and sometimes we do have to choose the life and health of the mother. That is not to give carte blanche to people who say, “Abortion now, any time in pregnancy, for any reason, without apology.” I believe in choosing life! But sometimes, in a politically divided world, “Safe, legal and rare” is the best option at the time, which even Australian Catholic Prime Minister Tony Abbott once said.
The best reading on this topic I’ve enjoyed is Michael Gorman’s excellent book Abortion and the Early Church and Francis Beckwith on Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice.
But friends, tell me your thoughts!
Top defense! I cam across articles condemning you and Tom before I was even aware of the recent episode. I found them to be so snarky and sneering as though they had finally caught old Tom out for what they suspected he always was. As you say disagreeing is different and perhaps some extra words could have been said. People need to exercise a hermeneutic of trust (a Tom Wright phrase) sometimes.
I thought Dr. Wright's words were nuanced, pastoral, and demonstrated a deep love and concern for both the mother and the unborn. Thank you for writing this.