One helpful way to deal with the question of abortion is to begin on the personal level. For me that means to deal with the question, "What does God want of me in this situation?"--this situation of active heterosexual lovemaking. To speak about the right and wrong of abortion in my life once I am already pregnant is like talking about the morality of nuclear war after the missiles are fired--a bit late, and very hard to think clearly. The question of abortion, I think, begins with the question of responsible sexuality.
Our culture has moved from a horror of sexual intercourse as something gross and degrading, an evil mitigated only by its purpose of procreation, to a demand for free sexuality exercised for the pleasure of it and without any connection with childbearing. I believe that both extremes are oppressive to persons, especially to women.
Scripture treats the "knowing" of one another by a man and a woman as both the expression of a unity already achieved and the pledge of a greater one to come. Responsible use of sex in the Christian life builds and deepens the union between two people, bringing them to a greater understanding of the underlying unity of all humanity and to a sense of the wonder and joy of creation.
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