Amid all the Noise

I’ve been thinking about the recent Supreme Court opinion upholding the federal ban on one method of abortion. Though I’ve tried to keep our blog free of divisive subject matter, I can’t help but distill my thoughts to writing and solicit your thoughts in return.

I stopped everything the day Carhart II came down and read Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion before going to bed. This is the first Supreme Court decision in 34 years to place limits on abortion! Editorials from both sides of the issue poured out across the country, some denouncing and some defending. Others questioned what all the fuss was about, since the federal law only speaks to one method of late term abortion (intact D&E). Pro-life advocates praised the Court’s reference to the depression and regret many women experience after-the-fact. State legislatures across the nation picked up on this and immediately got moving with legislation requiring abortion clinics to provide the option of ultrasound before women go through with abortion. Many women forgo abortion once the eyes confirm what the heart already knows; this is true now more than ever before, given advances in technology.

In the midst of it all, it was difficult for me to articulate my thoughts. A few weeks have gone by, enough time to absorb and reflect. I have concluded that statistics, legal arguments, public debate and political action are necessary and proper. However, they can obfuscate and complicate the matter if we forget the tiny life in the center of this rancorous debate. This innocent life does not get to choose the conditions for her creation, be they amorous or traumatic. She does not get to choose whether she is wanted or unwanted. And she does not get to choose her “quality of life." But by virtue of merely existing, she does get to choose life.

As Anu said in her latest post, infra, “Shhh…God is speaking.” Amid all the noise, He speaks in a "still small voice" (1 Kings 19:12). Through a silent party, He speaks volumes!