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Christian, Pro-Choice & Proud Jesus helps an untouchable woman at the well, defying social stigma (John 4:7-10) Christian, Pro-Choice & Proud Student group urges Feb 10 vote for choice * by Glenys Verhulst and David Ball The Martlet January 28, 2005 CONTENTS | main choice page | open letter | feedback | links Think all Christians are anti-abortion? Think again. As the Student Christian Movement, (SCM) it makes us angry when we are pigeon-holed because of our faith. Choice is a matter of importance for everyone, but is especially important for those of us who follow a spiritual path; women’s rights are most vehemently attacked by religious people who claim a moral monopoly on truth. Being pro-choice and feminist are deep matters of faith for us, not incidental aberrations. At the Feb 10 Students’ Society’s general meeting, Youth Protecting Youth (YPY), a "pro-life" group on campus, will try to remove our student society's policy supporting reproductive freedom for women, citing freedom of speech and religious conscience. However, a "pro-life" stance doesn't represent all Christians and people of faith, and it doesn’t represent us. Members of the Victoria Student Christian Movement (SCM) are standing up for women’s right to choose for themselves. We do not all agree on the issue and ethics of abortion itself, and for us, pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion. "I do not think abortion is a good thing - who does?" says Hailey, a pro-choice Catholic in the SCM. "I still support a woman's right to choose, until society ensures that all mothers and children are respected, supported and safe." The Student Christian Movement of Canada has brought students together since 1921 to wrestle with the difficult and urgent issues of the times. Our student-led movement has always included students from across the spectrum from Catholic to Evangelical and everything in between. In a letter sent to the YPY earlier this month, the Victoria SCM outlined its beliefs about abortion:
We believe Jesus Christ challenges us to stand with the marginalized, oppressed and stigmatized (Luke 6:20). In the bible, there’s a story about stigmatization, which we draw upon as we make this controversial stance. Jesus approaches a Samaritan woman (in that day, to approach a woman of her race was taboo; John 4:7-10). By doing this, Jesus reached beyond the borders of what was socially acceptable, especially for a religious person. We recognize that the stigma and criminalization of abortion creates hazardous and oppressive conditions for women, and thus oppose moves to ban legal abortion. It’s always tempting to take a purist stance. In the story of the Good Samaritan, religious people crossed the street to avoid the contamination of touching a beat up person lying bleeding on the ground. Only the Samaritan, an untouchable man, acted compassionately and responded to the need of the injured man (Luke 10:25-37). We consider a woman with an unwanted pregnancy to be like the broken man that people would rather avoid. Being Christian for us means not throwing stones at "sinners," but responding to difficult human decisions with transforming love. This love could certainly include choosing to continue with the pregnancy, but would never impose that choice on a woman who would find it too much to bear. "Many people think they would never get an abortion... until they need one," explains Jane (not her real name), an Evangelical/Anglican member of the SCM who had an abortion. "That's what happened to me. My child and I would now be trapped in a desperate situation if I hadn't had access." According to the Chair of the Students’ Society, the UVSS pro-choice policy does not prevent the YPY from speaking, having club status or from bringing pro-life speakers to campus. It does, however, prevent them from harassing students with images from the "pro-life" Genocide Awareness Project comparing abortion to Nazi death camps and other genocides. To endorse our open letter to YPY, visit socialchangenow.ca/scm. You can also find there links to other pro-choice faith groups. To support your Students’ Society’s pro-choice policy, come and vote in the UVSS semi-annual general meeting on February 10th in the SUB. This is the public witness we are making. Choice is a matter of deep faith for us. CONTENTS | top NOTE: This is the original version of the article prior to editing by the Martlet. The title published in the Martlet ("Club urges students to vote against Youth Protecting Youth") was not chosen by the SCM, but rather by the newspaper. This campaign reflects the opinions of the Victoria local unit, not the larger Student Christian Movement of Canada or its national policies. |
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