Countering the Call to Criminalize Women for an Abortion

Pregnancy help organizations cannot both openly advocate for criminalizing women and remain safe harbors for them.

Rescue is exactly what the pregnancy help movement is all about, not through political power or legal enforcement, but by engaging directly in the dynamics of individual lives.

We often rescue a mother facing an unintended pregnancy from the fear she now feels, as her life has changed in an instant. We rescue by helping her see the truth about the life within, often through an ultrasound of her baby. We rescue by helping meet relational and material needs that can overwhelm and create obstacles to saying "yes" to her child's future. We do this with material assistance and connecting her with resources she may not otherwise know were available. These are the legal, and sometimes only, means that can help dissuade her from an abortion she doesn’t want.

National or local laws may openly allow for abortion or be largely ineffectual in preventing it. In either instance, pregnancy help organizations have offered a successful way to rescue many who would otherwise have been led to slaughter. Not all, for sure, but many. Our movement has helped millions of moms make the courageous choice to rescue their own baby from a life-ending decision.

The Danger of Criminalizing Women

Some abortion opponents, though guided by a desire to rescue, aggressively focus on the political and legislative realm. Among these are self-described "abolitionists" who specifically direct their energies toward the immediate, absolute abolition of abortion, pursued by leveraging the power of government to criminalize every aspect of abortion. These “immediatists” support the call for criminalizing women who would feel coerced or are forced into an abortion.

At Heartbeat, their vision is to make abortion unwanted today and unthinkable for future generations. And their method matters. Their Heartbeat principles affirm that all services are personal, confidential, and nonjudgmental. Such a principle is essential to safeguard our invitation for women to explore life-affirming choices without fear of condemnation or retribution.

Pregnancy help is a compassionate outreach to women who would otherwise feel unable to consider any option other than abortion. Pregnancy help organizations cannot both openly advocate for criminalizing women and remain safe harbors for them. Political advocacy for criminalization will almost certainly undercut our efforts to offer effective and compassionate care.

Jesus’ Example of Compassion

Jesus responded with compassion and not condemnation when presented with or orchestrating interactions with women who were actively in sin. Even though the acts involved would have been criminal, either in civil or religious courts of that day, and leaders of the time approached Him calling for justice, Jesus extended grace and mercy.

• In John 4, Jesus made Himself accessible to the woman at the well even though she was socially outcast for violating the covenant of marriage. He did not convict her of her marital status (or lack thereof) but extended the living water of salvation to her.

• In Luke 8: 40-50, a woman with the issue of blood violated Jewish law but touched Jesus’ garment. Rather than condemning her, He healed her and praised her faith.

• In John 8, a woman caught in adultery faced death by law. Jesus did not condemn her but showed mercy, even defending her against those ready to stone her.

The Battlefield of Life

The political and cultural war on life that excuses and promotes abortion requires a myriad of prophetic and practical responses. Amid war, the battlefield still tragically produces casualties even as political and diplomatic processes may be underway elsewhere. There is a need for medics and ministers alike serving the victims. Pregnancy help is like a corps of medics bringing care and comfort to those wounded by the battle. The battlefield between the culture of death and the culture of life will cause casualties until the value for the sanctity of life carries the day.

Even then, having a law that abolishes abortion will not abolish wounded women and men.

Presently, 21 countries prohibit abortions outright. Abortions still occur in these countries through travel, underground services, or failure to enforce existing law. The life-saving mission of pregnancy help is practically necessary regardless of the legal status of abortion.

Compassion Over Condemnation

Abortion should be abolished because it destroys at least one created in the image of God and wounds at least one other (the mother). All those leading the pro-life movement long for the day when abortion is not just illegal, but unthinkable—when every woman is surrounded by support and every life is protected by love. But that vision cannot be realized through condemnation alone.

Compassion, not punishment, is the path that leads women in unplanned pregnancies to healing, restoration, and life. Pregnancy help is where that path begins, offering hope in place of fear, support in place of shame, and life in place of death.

This article was originally written by Pregnancy Help News.

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