Anne Rice on Abortion
Perhaps you've heard of Anne Rice - perhaps not. Rice is a best-selling American author and former atheist who in 1998 returned to the Roman Catholicism of her childhood. Best known for her for gothic works, which include titles such as Interview with the Vampire, The Queen of the Damned, and The Witching Hour, Rice now states, "In 2002, I consecrated my work to Jesus Christ. " She has completed two books in her Christ the Lord series: Out of Egypt and The Road to Cana.
Now, Mrs. Rice has entered the political discussion with her personal endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President.
Understand that I have no problem with Christians entering political discussion. That's really what this entire blog is about. Also understand that I am not suggesting that a person cannot endorse Hillary Clinton and be a Christian, and I am certainly not questioning Rice's conversion to Christianity. What I am questioning is Rice's comments on her stance on abortion.
So far, I agree with her completely. My disagreement with Mrs. Rice on the abortion issue begins when she says, "I feel that if we are to find a solution to the horror of abortion, it will be through the Democratic Party."
If I left the matter there, all I would have is a disagreement. However, when we look at why Rice believes that the end to abortion will come through the Democratic Party, we can debate the logic of her argument.
Mrs. Rice states the following:
Mrs. Rice says that she is "not convinced that all of those advocating anti-abortion positions in the public sphere are necessarily practical or sincere." I can't really comment on the sincerity of "all of those advocating anti-abortion positions in the public sphere" because I'm really not capable of evaluating someone else's sincerity, especially someone I don't know. I will say, however, that I find it highly ironic that Mrs. Rice questions the practically of those who want to make abortion illegal, when she then says that all she has are "hopes and dreams and prayers --- that better education will help men and women make responsible reproductive choices, and that abortion will become a morally abhorrent option from which informed Americans will turn away."
There is nothing wrong with hopes, dreams, and prayers. I, too, hope and pray for the same thing. However, from what I know of human nature, I feel safe in saying that there are many people, probably numbering in the hundreds of thousands per year, who will never make responsible choices on their own, opting instead to continue to make the selfish choice of living life in whatever way their desires take them as long as they can get by with it. Even if I'm wrong, even if better education could eventually bring us to the point where everyone makes responsible choices and to the point where abortion is voluntarily eliminated from American society, that day would be a very long way off.
So what should we do about the 1.3 million babies per year that are murdered inside their mother's womb between now and some possible future day of widespread personal restraint? Do we just allow the slaughter to continue?
Mrs. Rice say that she has "not heard convincing arguments put forth by anti-abortion politicians as to how Americans could be forced to give birth to children that Americans do not want to bear." That's the same argument that so many pro-abortion advocates have used for so long: that even if abortion were to become illegal, people would still have abortions.
I don't disagree with that; some would still have abortions, just as some commit other illegal acts: rape, child molestation, homicide, etc. However, the fact that some people commit these horrific acts illegally doesn't mean that the acts should not be illegal.
Making abortion illegal would not stop all abortions, but you can bet that it would greatly reduce the number of abortions. I can't say how many babies per year would be allowed to live if abortion were made illegal. What if the number of abortions in the United States went from 1.3 million to 100,000? That would still 100,000 too many, but it would also 1.2 million babies saved. The number might drop even lower, perhaps to 50 or 75 thousand. Maybe it wouldn't drop that low. Maybe there would be a quarter of a million illegal abortions performed each year. That would still be over a million babies saved. Maybe there would be a half million illegal abortions per year: 800,000 lives saved.
The point is that, while I agree that legislation isn't the only answer to the abortion holocaust, it is part of the answer. Making abortion illegal would save lives. That point cannot be reasonably argued. Along with making abortion illegal, we need to do what Mrs. Rice suggests. We need to work on the problems that cause people to turn toward abortion in the first place. Improving education, reducing poverty, and instilling a sense of personal responsibility will all help to reduce the number of abortions. Continuing to work on these things after abortion has been made illegal would eventually reduce the number of illegal abortions that would be preformed, whatever that number may be.
However, to simply work for the day when "abortion will become a morally abhorrent option from which informed Americans will turn away," while in the meantime allowing the slaughter to continue, is in itself irresponsible and abhorrent.
Now, Mrs. Rice has entered the political discussion with her personal endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President.
Understand that I have no problem with Christians entering political discussion. That's really what this entire blog is about. Also understand that I am not suggesting that a person cannot endorse Hillary Clinton and be a Christian, and I am certainly not questioning Rice's conversion to Christianity. What I am questioning is Rice's comments on her stance on abortion.
As part of her endorsement of Mrs. Clinton, Rice says, "I want to add here that I am Pro-Life. I believe in the sanctity of the life of the unborn."
So far, I agree with her completely. My disagreement with Mrs. Rice on the abortion issue begins when she says, "I feel that if we are to find a solution to the horror of abortion, it will be through the Democratic Party."
If I left the matter there, all I would have is a disagreement. However, when we look at why Rice believes that the end to abortion will come through the Democratic Party, we can debate the logic of her argument.
Mrs. Rice states the following:
I feel we can stop the horror of abortion. But I do not feel it can be done by rolling back Roe vs. Wade, or packing the Supreme Court with judges committed to doing this. As a student of history, I do not think that Americans will give up the legal right to abortion. Should Roe vs Wade be rolled back, Americans will pass other laws to support abortion, or they will find ways to have abortions using new legal and medical terms
...And much as I am horrified by abortion, I am not sure-- as a student of history – that Americans should give up the right to abortion.
...I am also not convinced that all of those advocating anti-abortion positions in the public sphere are necessarily practical or sincere. I have not heard convincing arguments put forth by anti-abortion politicians as to how Americans could be forced to give birth to children that Americans do not want to bear. And more to the point, I have not heard convincing arguments from these anti-abortion politicians as to how we can prevent the horror of abortion right now, given the social situations we have.
...Do I myself have a solution to the abortion problem? The answer is no. What I have are hopes and dreams and prayers --- that better education will help men and women make responsible reproductive choices, and that abortion will become a morally abhorrent option from which informed Americans will turn away.
There is nothing wrong with hopes, dreams, and prayers. I, too, hope and pray for the same thing. However, from what I know of human nature, I feel safe in saying that there are many people, probably numbering in the hundreds of thousands per year, who will never make responsible choices on their own, opting instead to continue to make the selfish choice of living life in whatever way their desires take them as long as they can get by with it. Even if I'm wrong, even if better education could eventually bring us to the point where everyone makes responsible choices and to the point where abortion is voluntarily eliminated from American society, that day would be a very long way off.
So what should we do about the 1.3 million babies per year that are murdered inside their mother's womb between now and some possible future day of widespread personal restraint? Do we just allow the slaughter to continue?
Mrs. Rice say that she has "not heard convincing arguments put forth by anti-abortion politicians as to how Americans could be forced to give birth to children that Americans do not want to bear." That's the same argument that so many pro-abortion advocates have used for so long: that even if abortion were to become illegal, people would still have abortions.
I don't disagree with that; some would still have abortions, just as some commit other illegal acts: rape, child molestation, homicide, etc. However, the fact that some people commit these horrific acts illegally doesn't mean that the acts should not be illegal.
Making abortion illegal would not stop all abortions, but you can bet that it would greatly reduce the number of abortions. I can't say how many babies per year would be allowed to live if abortion were made illegal. What if the number of abortions in the United States went from 1.3 million to 100,000? That would still 100,000 too many, but it would also 1.2 million babies saved. The number might drop even lower, perhaps to 50 or 75 thousand. Maybe it wouldn't drop that low. Maybe there would be a quarter of a million illegal abortions performed each year. That would still be over a million babies saved. Maybe there would be a half million illegal abortions per year: 800,000 lives saved.
The point is that, while I agree that legislation isn't the only answer to the abortion holocaust, it is part of the answer. Making abortion illegal would save lives. That point cannot be reasonably argued. Along with making abortion illegal, we need to do what Mrs. Rice suggests. We need to work on the problems that cause people to turn toward abortion in the first place. Improving education, reducing poverty, and instilling a sense of personal responsibility will all help to reduce the number of abortions. Continuing to work on these things after abortion has been made illegal would eventually reduce the number of illegal abortions that would be preformed, whatever that number may be.
However, to simply work for the day when "abortion will become a morally abhorrent option from which informed Americans will turn away," while in the meantime allowing the slaughter to continue, is in itself irresponsible and abhorrent.
posted by Bryan Alexander | 10:33 PM
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3 comments
