In response to Ms. Jennie Anne Foster’s essay on abortion recently, I would like to point out some ironies in her philosophy. Her view is quite cut and dried. She picks Bible passages to support her view of abortion as murder, but the Bible is full of contradictions.
The Bible was written by many different men over a long period of time. Some stories were passed along orally for years before being recorded. Not necessarily a reliable system. To me, it is scary to base 21st-century life on stories written by men two or three thousand years ago, who, according to them, were inspired by God. Which ones should we take seriously?
Ms. Foster mentions the Law of Moses. Moses lived sometime between 1,500 and 1,300 B.C. and wrote of events long before his time. Supposing it is all true, Hebrews 10:28 says, “Anyone who rejected the Law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” This implies that there was a death penalty at that time. Isn’t that murder? Or is this a part of Moses’ Law on to be taken seriously? Who chooses?
Ms. Foster quotes Exodus. Yes, Exodus is a wonderful guide to life, try these:
In Exodus 21:7, a man could sell his daughter into slavery. In Exodus 21:2-4, a slaveowner was permitted to give a woman (any woman?) to his male slave. In Exodus 21:22-25, during a fight between two men, the pregnant wife of one of the men is hit and miscarries. The hitter must pay a fine to the husband because he has been deprived of a child. No mention of the death of the unborn or of the welfare of the woman injured.
Leviticus is even better: 27:6: A child aged 1 month to 5 years of age was worth 5 shekels if a boy, or 3 if a girl. So much for the sanctity of life that can be bought and sold so easily.
In Deuteronomy 22:13-21, it is said that if a single woman has sexual relations while single and living in her father’s house, she can be stoned to death. Not murder?
As for our founding fathers, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness may be stated in the Declaration of Independence, but not necessarily for women, slaves or children who had few rights. Also, abortion was legal until well into the 1800s or later for many states. One of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, stated that for Native American women who accompanied men into war or went along with hunting parties, “childbearing becomes extremely inconvenient.”
He admired them for their “voluntary abortions,” and the fact that they, “practiced birth control and when necessary terminated their pregnancies” (americancreationblogspot.com).
Finally, if God creates all life and we do not possess any authority to stand in the way, why is everything around the world so messed up? Massive amounts of killing go on every day, abortion being the least of it. God must have one sick sense of humor.
Patricia Stevenson
Salisbury