Jay Ambrose: Abortion is a matter of harm, not freedom

With the midterm elections looming, Washington Democrats, once quietly worried about their chances of retaining their majority in Congress, have suddenly raised expectations as many voters seem to agree with them that killing unborn children is okay. In some states, abortion is suddenly facing draconian restrictions as many call the mostly Republican legislatures heartless, anti-feminist and downright religious.

Admitting he’s on the popular side, President Joe Biden highlighted abortion at a recent fundraiser to help Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections with money and tough talk. He said the destruction of fetuses, which has left 62 million dead bodies since Roe v. Wade in 1973, is really about freedom. In another speech on abortion, this one in Illinois, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “Extremist so-called leaders are trumpeting the rhetoric of freedom while taking away freedoms.”

These Republican verbal abuses against abortion inspired me, not by imitation, but by searching for common sense. I found it, and I hope Harris will forgive me for trumpeting the old saying, “The freedom to swing your fist ends where your nose begins.” If this sounds extreme, let me explain that even freedom has its limits, chief among which is to do no harm. If this opinion were not widely held, our nation of freedom would quickly become a nation of chaos and bloody noses everywhere.

Abortion even at an early stage is harmful. Pregnant women and paramedics aren’t just getting rid of troublesome bits of tissue, but instead are ending a life that began at conception and giving up potential wonders like love, beauty, humor, joy, and cognitive awareness. It’s not just damage, it’s ultimate damage, the eradication of endless possibilities that often leads to long-term grief over self-inflicted loss.

Yes, there are times when abortion is justified, especially when the mother’s life is at risk, and yes, having a baby can be life-altering and cause serious problems in dire circumstances. However, even then, confident persistence can lead to something bigger in the heart than it might otherwise, especially with a unique little one by your side with a smile on its happy face and a cuddly body begging for hugs. There are also charities that are happy to help, and there is the IUD, which is virtually foolproof as a contraceptive.

As obvious as it becomes, and for the sake of balance, I report that men play a major role in all of this, perhaps through sexual recklessness and often, if unmarried, pay for the death of the unborn child to avoid later financial obligations. Sometimes a man simply shirks his responsibilities, while a married father does not have the right to decide on an abortion one way or the other. Some states have already gone overboard with restrictions. In some cases, criticism must be accompanied by legal actions that test the legality of violations.

What is especially troubling right now is that morality, the importance of marriage and family, and the critical societal need to respect the weak and innocent are being sidelined in heartless politics. Although women have too often been treated as secondary human beings, it is unacceptable to view girls and boys still in their mothers’ wombs as anything other than inconvenient, disposable garbage. Instead, we need people with the soulful discernment of Christians to help put an end to the widespread and frequent infanticide of the Middle Ages.

Roe v. Wade was a Supreme Court decision based on a juxtaposition of various constitutional passages that implied an obscure right to privacy without convincingly explaining how it gave a woman the right to kill her unborn child. Even this decision to allow abortions was far from absolute, allowing states to ban them late in pregnancy, as they did in 43 cases, with some now being overturned. The recent Dodd decision appealed to democracy by constitutionally affirming that this decision rests solely with elected state legislatures, effectively leaving a hotly debated moral issue to the people rather than a Supreme Court error.

Jay Ambrose is a columnist for Tribune News Service. Readers can email him [email protected] His column does not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of The Lima News or AIM Media, the owner of The Lima News.