"Life" issues have once again become extremely politically divisive. Claiming to be either "for the women" or "for the babies," turns empathy for only one life into single-issue voting on both sides of the political spectrum. Instead of reducing abortion access to a political football — and even into competing billboards on national highways — we all should seek to expand and deepen the conversation, especially Christians, who should not be beholden to right or left but rather to a consistent ethic of life for women and children.
It always astounds, and to be honest, angers me how the same legislators who focus only on abortion pay little or no attention to lives and needs of women and children: They are usually the first to cut programs and protections that benefit poor families, limit access to contraception, and oppose workplace policies that would support parents.
The brutal Alabama abortion ban put forward by the extreme right — which even Pat Robertson thinks goes "too far" — set off the latest flashpoint in this ongoing battle, and for good reason: Among many other extremes, it completely ignores the pain and suffering of women who become pregnant through rape or incest. By refusing exceptions for rape or incest, the Alabama law would mean children would be forced to give birth.
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