A Catholic church near my house has been participating in 40 days for life during Lent. Each day people from the church stand at the corner - a main intersection - displaying signs against abortion and for life/birth. They have been using our porch as a storage place, so each day I am confronted with their cause. It is a cause that seems foreign to me, separate from my Amsterdam life, even if the doctors in the community's medical crisis center were counselled to send those seeking abortion to the social workers in the hopes of finding a way to save the unborn child.
Yet, I am thankful that I have somehow become a part of this 40 days for life. I am thankful for those praying for the unborn children and for those struggling with an unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. And I want to join my prayers to theirs.
At the same time, my prayers include praying that women might have access to contraceptives in the hopes that less unwanted pregnancies (and abortions) will happen and less children will be born only to be subjected to neglect and pain. I am thankful to be part of a church who sees contraceptive as being a technological development that can be used to honour and glorify God, even as it also can be used in a way that ignore any claim God might have on one's life or sexuality.
I also mourn that too many children have been born into situations in which they become incredibly hurt and vulnerable to harm.
In light of that, I wanted to post a few links:
- Hobby Lobby's petition about not providing their workers with access to contraceptive drugs is a skewed understanding of Christianity. http://thinkchristian.reframemedia.com/hobby-lobbys-high-horse
- Children in foster care, often children who have been born in less than ideal situations, have been shown to be very susceptible to trafficking: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/malika-saada-saar/stopping-the-foster-care-_b_4170483.html
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