Seeing Gray: Abortion

Abortion being the sensitive issue it is, involves heavy emotion, and sometimes Christians do not act very Christ-like in their treatment of Pro-Choice individuals. This perturbs me. I remember as a small boy going to a picketing/demonstrative event where I, along with hundreds of others, held signs that said "Abortion is murder." I remember vividly people shouting at the pro-choice people on the other side of the street saying they were murderers and the judgment of God would be upon them. I remember, developing animosity inside towards the "other people" and the "sinners" and "murderers" across the road. Since I can remember, the issue has been 'us' verses 'them.' Obviously, not everyone is this way, but it was my experience and is the mindset that I come across most often. I think this does a serious dis-service to the vision of ending abortion.

To be more clear, my issue is this: Christians talk, and talk, and talk about how pro-life they are, and how much they wish Roe V. Wade over-turned, and how much God hates it, and how you must vote for a pro-life candidate if you're a real Christian, but at the end of the day, the number of Christians (I am speaking only from my exposure) actually working to help young woman, to educate them (sexual education?), to provide alternatives for them, to love them, to treat them as humans made in the image of God, to offer hope, etc., is significantly lower than volume of the clamoring voices. Have you noticed the same? I would not say voting for a pro-life candidate is saying much about a person's involvement. Essentially I am saying there is an uproar about the issue among the "right", but very little movement. Please know that in incriminating these clamoring voices, I incriminate myself.

Where I might see gray is in this: with the Bush administration i believe, if I am not mistaken, there was at one point a Republican President, Senate, House of Reps., and with that I am unaware of any legislation set up to eliminate abortions. Funds may have been diverted, partial birth abortion banned, or what have you, but the overturning of Roe v. Wade was not contended seriously in the Supreme Court. I may be showing ignorance here. If it did happen, I am unaware, and I admit being wrong. Nonetheless, if abortion is here to stay (and it appears it is) why shouldn't we work to make abortion at least safe and rare? That is the questions we are asking. I am not suggesting simply giving in to the culture of death we find ourselves in, but I am suggesting that we at least start reaching for obtainable goals that can be agreed upon at this point until further progress can be made.