Guest viewpoint: The pain of abortion decision pierces the heart of many women’s souls

The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade unleashed a tsunami of unbridled trauma across the nation.

True, the anti-choice movement or pro-life folks are celebrating that their religious and moral convictions have finally been affirmed by the highest court in the land. Some have said that this is the 50-year moment of vindication of all that they have fought for since Roe became a reality.

I am not, however, so sure that the rest of America feels the same way. The women I have spoken with and who have shared their stories with me see this decision to overturn Roe v. Wade as a catastrophe for American women and all Americans.

At this point one wonders whether religion is even relevant at all. Is the momentum behind this legal and political culture war for a woman’s right to choose her own medical treatment really all about political power? Many women see the Court’s decision as part of a greater regressive movement in American society to turn the clock back not just for women’s rights but also for other Americans and include issues such as gay marriage, contraception and the list goes on.

I was speaking with a woman who said she is pro-life but she herself believes that a woman still has the right to make that choice. She went on to say that her friends all believe that once a woman is pregnant, regardless of how she got pregnant, she must bring that child to full term. In other words whether it was a case of rape or incest or a medical deformity of the fetus that they must not be able to terminate that pregnancy. I did not ask about whether the mother’s life being at risk would be worthy of terminating a pregnancy. Clearly she understands that she does not talk about those issues with her friends.

Now a U.S. district court ruled that the South Carolina law that restricts abortions starting around six weeks of pregnancy will take effect immediately. Most women do not know that they are pregnant before six weeks. So how is a woman supposed to make a true and wise decision regarding her health? This state’s new law is onerous and oppressive and will probably risk lives rather than saving them when women resort to means that are reminiscent of decades ago to terminate a pregnancy.

The other dimension of this issue is that not all religions have the same perspective toward abortion. In Judaism, the ancient sources in Rabbinic literature, abortion was allowed but not, for example, at the cost of losing the mother’s life. Rabbis argued and made laws that said there are other psychological reasons that would lend themselves to justify terminating a pregnancy. The law that says no abortion under any circumstance completely conflicts with Judaism. That is not to say that Judaism, as a system of religious laws, was lenient on allowing for abortion. It was not, but it did prescribe circumstances when it was allowed.

I am sure that other religions have different ideas as well about how to view abortion. My problem is not that such views exist that totally oppose abortion, but, that one particular viewpoint has gained traction and seeped into the political culture of our country and excluded any other religious tradition’s viewpoint. Isn’t that religious chauvinism?

I have no doubt that some people honestly and sincerely believe that abortion is wrong. I have spoken to many who argue passionately and advocate that their position is one of saving lives. They are entitled to their feelings, but are they entitled to impose their religious viewpoint on everyone in our nation?

We have differing views about what is life. We don’t agree when a fetus becomes a viable living being inside the womb. We do not agree on the legitimate reason for terminating the life of a fetus to save the life of the mother. These are just a few examples of major issues and, sadly, one particular viewpoint is dominating the political culture and, therefore, overshadowing every other religious belief.

Pro Choice folks go beyond any one political party or religious faith tradition. The new generations will have to take up the mantle of activism to advocate change in the states that have recently passed regressive legislation to prohibit abortion. The democratic process allows them the same opportunity as pro-life advocates to vote out politicians who support this kind of regressive legislation.

Let’s not forget that the people who are equally sincere and faithful on the pro-choice side are entitled to their feelings and their activism. They see this Supreme Court decision as an act of state-supported slavery of women. The author Margaret Atwood recently wrote:

“Women who cannot make their own decisions about whether or not to have babies are enslaved because the state claims ownership of their bodies and the right to dictate the use to which their bodies must be put. The only similar circumstance for men is conscription into an army. In both cases there is risk to the individual’s life, but an army conscript is at least provided with food, clothing and lodging. Even criminals in prisons have a right to those things. If the state is mandating enforced childbirth, why should it not pay for prenatal care, for the birth itself, for postnatal care, and — for babies who are not sold off to richer families — for the cost of bringing up the child?”

People of faith look to God for direction. They look at their respective religion’s teachings to decide the course of action. We are a religiously pluralistic society and there must be respect for Americans who look to their own faith tradition to make those decisions, even if they do not correspond to the faith tradition of the majority culture.

Atwood continues, “If one chooses to have a baby, that is of course a different matter. The baby is a gift, given by life itself. But to be a gift a thing must be freely given and freely received. A gift can also be rejected. A gift that cannot be rejected is not a gift, but a symptom of tyranny.”

For so many women the Supreme Court decision feels like an act of societal authoritarianism on the individual rights of Americans. All that women have fought for over the last century to achieve equality in every aspect of their lives is threatened, and that is why the pain of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade pierces the heart of so many women’s souls.

Rabbi Brad L. Bloom serves Congregation Beth Yam. He attended the University of Wisconsin and lives on Hilton Head Island.