Hello,
The evangelical community’s rhetoric around abortion is so often manipulative and reliant on shaming vulnerable populations of women who are making perhaps the most difficult decision they have ever made. Before you write this off entirely, let me be clear in saying that I believe that a fetus is a person and that abortion is a deeply tragic thing.
However, this conversation is lacking essential nuance and we simply will not make progress if we continue to discuss abortion in such a black-and-white way. As a native Texan, I am particularly grieved by Senate Bill 8, the recent legislation passed by Texas which “deputizes private individuals to sue anyone who performs [an abortion] or aids and abets it,” according to The New York Times.
This legislation actively seeks to harm, shame and isolate women and girls who desperately need empathy and love. It also allows private citizens to punish doctors, friends or even Uber drivers of the patient seeking an abortion. Senate Bill 8, veiled under the sympathetic rhetoric of “saving our children,” holds no space for forgiveness or compassion, which are central tenets of the Christian faith.
What does this mean for Texas? In a state already torn apart by division from the COVID-19 crisis and the 2020 election, the recent legislation is intentionally furthering division by giving citizens a clear and legal path toward vindictive punishment of their neighbors.
Best,
Eleanor Galbreath
Sophomore intercultural studies major
To the Editor,
I write with great joy to see a law that protects the unborn! This has been a hard fought victory since Roe v. Wade—but, I feel that it is not enough. To use an inaccurate analogy: we have saved those beautiful unborn babies from being tossed off a cliff. Now, I do not know what you will do with a newly saved unborn, but leaving them alone on top of the cliff is the last thing to do.
While we walk away smiling that another life is saved, we leave said baby unprepared for life and vulnerable to the ravenous elements of the world. We save them from the frying pan but leave them dangling above the fire. I hope you can see why I feel that this law is simply not enough and must only be the initiating act.
Surely, Texas will by no means stop here. Developing a reformed welfare system for those struggling to make a living, while supporting a new life, will be the next law. Reforming food stamps and providing a strong, yet affordable, child care system is just around the corner.
Creating good neighborhoods and schools for these babies to be educated and developed into the Americans they deserve to be, unhindered by poverty, are on the minds of all Texas state lawmakers. Yet, often in the fight against abortion: the fight for human living is often forgotten, misunderstood or labeled “socialist,” leaving many roasting above the fire.
Why is one more legislated and moral than the other? Does one’s Imago Dei lessen after birth or do we ignore it while they struggle through poverty? Why do we politically fight for one aspect of Imago Dei and not the full being? If we focus only on this battle of birth, we lose the war on living well for God.
Sincerely,
Nevin Slaughter
Junior mathematics major
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