My students can tell you the danger of answering a question I ask in class. I am known for trick questions, such as, “Tell me about a wedding in the Torah,” or “Where is a conversion ceremony in Tanach?”

The answer in both cases is that there isn’t one.

And an abortion in the Torah? There isn’t one.

This week, though, we read about a physical altercation that ends in unintentional assault of a pregnant person. That assault is a crime. If a miscarriage results, the offense is more severe. What comes next, though, makes the essential point: If the pregnant person were killed in that fight, the penalty would be infinitely harsher. Killing a fetus is not homicide. 

When our sages began to codify Jewish law in the Mishnah, published around 200 C.E., they taught that, if carrying the fetus endangers the pregnant person’s life, the fetus must be destroyed, right up to the moment of birth.

Arkansas lawmakers are apparently less concerned than the sages were about pregnant people’s welfare.

Yes, Arkansas law permits abortion to save the pregnant person’s life, but only in a medical emergency. Arkansas law puts pregnant people at risk.

The matter is not theoretical. For example, a person with cancer can become pregnant, and a pregnant person can be diagnosed with cancer. Many forms of cancer treatment endanger the welfare of a fetus. Physicians will not prescribe those treatments to pregnant patients, which would be malpractice. The patient’s life is in danger, which would be exacerbated by delaying treatment.

In a state with compassionate abortion laws, the pregnant person could choose: Endanger their health to sustain the fetus or terminate the pregnancy to pursue prompt cancer treatment. Absent a medical emergency, though, Arkansas law does not permit the pregnancy to be terminated. A doctor who performs that procedure could be imprisoned. A Jewish doctor who declined to perform the abortion—you know, to stay out of prison—would be violating the Jewish law that requires terminating a pregnancy that threatens the pregnant person’s life. 

In 2023, in the first session of the Arkansas General Assembly after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling, overthrowing Roe v. Wade and permitting states to limit or prohibit abortion in ways they could not for a half-century, Arkansas lawmakers had an opportunity to consider exceptions to the state’s near-total abortion ban. However, they rejected a proposal that would have permitted terminating a pregnancy conceived through incest and another that would have empowered parents to end a pregnancy after the diagnosis of a fatal fetal anomaly. These concerns, too, are not merely theoretical. 

USA Today reports that, before Dobbs, approximately one percent of American abortions were for pregnancies conceived through rape, whereas one-half of one percent were to terminate pregnancies conceived through incest. Those are small percentages but they represent significant human suffering. The same newspaper reported the findings of a highly esteemed medical journal that “there may have been more than 64,500 pregnancies resulting from rape in the 14 states that have enacted near-total abortion bans since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.” 

Meanwhile, a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology indicated that diagnosis of a fatal fetal anomaly is accurate more than ninety-nine percent of the time and that some two-thirds of people pregnant with these fetuses chose to terminate their pregnancies, mindful that the fetus was destined to die in utero or within the first four weeks after birth.

Different rabbinic authorities, studying the same sources, have come to different conclusions about the conditions under which Jewish law permits abortion. All agree, though, that the welfare of the pregnant person is the determining factor. A person who has been sexually abused should not be forced to carry their abuser’s crime with them for a lifetime. After receiving the diagnosis that a lovingly planned pregnancy has resulted in a fatal fetal anomaly, Arkansas law would compel the pregnant person to carry the pregnancy to term and then watch the baby die days later. Many would call that torture.

To be clear, pregnant people in a wide variety of circumstances—not all of them as horrifying as rape, incest, or a fatal fetal anomaly—need abortion care. Even though Jewish law permits only some abortions, American Jews do not expect that our religious requirements should be codified as laws of the United States or any state. With the First Amendment, we also oppose the imposition of abortion bans driven by other religious traditions, as is indisputably the case in Arkansas. Abortion bans are, quite literally, against our religion.

Now, Arkansans have the opportunity to sign petitions to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the November ballot. That amendment would not reimpose Roe v. Wade on Arkansas in its purest form. It would “only” forbid the General Assembly from enacting any restriction on abortion in the first eighteen weeks of pregnancy and would require the state to permit later abortions in cases of threat to the pregnant person’s life, even absent an emergency, and also in cases of threat their physical health or subsequent to the diagnosis of a fatal fetal anomaly.

Arkansans for Limited Government, which has organized this effort, points to polling indicating that fifty-one percent of Arkansans support this return of limited abortion rights in Arkansas. The campaign will be hard-fought. Polling also indicated that an attempt to do even more would have little chance at success.

The Trustees of Congregation B’nai Israel have endorsed the Arkansas Abortion Amendment. Our congregation will be supporting this effort with petition drives and get-out-the-vote efforts.

We will not be alone. In my decades of advocacy for reproductive healthcare, I have learned that clergy and congregations can change the conversation from one in which religious groups uniformly oppose abortion to one that more accurately demonstrates that religious people are divided on the issue. To that end, I have invited local clergy to begin organizing a faith effort in support of the ballot initiative. The response is almost overwhelming, so many Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran, and Unitarian ministers are eager to be included. 

The Arkansas Abortion Amendment would legalize some ninety-nine percent of the abortions that were taking place in Arkansas before the Dobbs ruling. Moreover, the amendment would expand abortion access for people in parts of all six states that border Arkansas. Some say that it’s not enough. We will have to make a lot of compromises in this campaign. 

And, we must acknowledge, we will engage in this sacred endeavor to save lives and protect people’s dignity with the full knowledge that we may not win.

Our rabbis teach: Lo alecha ham’lacha ligmor. We cannot be required to complete the task, v’lo atah l’hibateil mimeina, but that is no excuse to desist from it.

We must not be lazy. God is knocking at our doors, urging us to act, for the welfare of every pregnant person who desperately needs abortion care in Arkansas.

Amen. 

The post Abortion in Torah and in Arkansas appeared first on Arkansas Strong.

Come to Arkansas and find seemingly contradictory values represented: hospitality and rugged individualism, grit and obedience, candor and a hefty dose of minding your own business. We are a beautiful collection of perspectives, wouldn’t you agree?

Arkansans are also stubbornly proud, especially in their mistrust of government. Rural Southerners have an especially unique skepticism of government intervention, which is as ingrained in us as the right to bear arms and looking out for your neighbors.  

But despite our diverse opinions and our indignation with nosy government, we have a problem standing up to overreach with one specific issue. Why? Well, it’s simply impolite to talk about certain things.

Chief among the “impolite” topics is the issue of reproductive freedom. In other words: abortion. Or women’s healthcare. Or murdering babies. Or the right to choose… depending on who you’re asking. 

Earlier this week, I read that the Arkansas Abortion Amendment was certified by the Attorney General. According to Arkansans for Limited Government, the group behind the Amendment’s effort to restore some abortion access in the state, politicians make for bad doctors. Regardless of how one feels about abortion, the group argues, we don’t need politicians regulating reproductive decisions. We don’t need government in the exam room, so to speak, regulating things as personal as pregnancy.

I cannot help but agree.

Regulating people’s healthcare, especially a woman’s organs, is not only a divergence from our cherished values of personal freedom and individual liberty but a stark example of burdensome—even deadly—government overreach. 

The notion of limited government has been etched into our consciousness and our traditions, but the regulation of reproductive healthcare challenges this ethos. It forces us to question whether a government that we already view with suspicion should extend its reach into the most private corners of our lives. 

Personal independence is not just a value, but a way of life in Arkansas, and interference should be seen as an affront to the principles that make us who we are—people in control of our own lives. Personal liberty means we alone decide our destiny. And we alone know what is best for ourselves and our families. 

The regulation of abortion is a logical paradox, even outside of a morality paradigm, because of its relevance to government overreach. And I’d like you to bear with me for a minute. I know it’s a polarizing issue; I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind about how they morally feel about abortion. What I’m aiming to do is reinvigorate a healthy skepticism of government.

I would never presume to know what is best for another person’s health or for the choices their family must make.

Now extend this to the Arkansas state government, which has proven that it  cannot be trusted on matters of the collective or individual good. When the government regulates our healthcare and steps into our doctors’ offices, the government undermines our trust, implying that the entity of the state knows better than we do when it comes to decisions about our own lives. This is antithetical to what it means to be an Arkansan—a self-reliant, responsible individual.

And speaking of responsibility: government overreach, well-intentioned as it may be, often brings about its own unintended consequences. In Arkansas, regulations disproportionately affect our rural communities. It is our duty to ensure that any policy reflects a commitment to fairness and justice for our rural communities rather than perpetuating already awful health disparities between urban dwellers and rural folk.

I’m not here to change minds on how people feel about abortion. Your judgment of the issue is yours, and yours alone. You are entitled to your opinion, and oftentimes, those opinions are rooted in compelling and valid experiences. 

No, this is not about changing minds. But it’s about keeping the government out of our homes and hospital rooms, out of conversations with our families and our doctors.

It’s not my business, or the government’s, to know the myriad of factors going into a person’s decision regarding the trajectory of their life. I don’t know if a person was raped. I don’t know if a person suffered a miscarriage. I don’t know if a family got a terrible diagnosis. 

The point is, I don’t know what’s best for you. 

The government doesn’t know either and it sure as hell doesn’t have any business telling people what’s good or right. That’s between them, their doctor, and the Good Lord above. 

Let’s get back to our Arkansas roots and keep government where it should be: out of our doctor’s office and back in the business of governing policy, not people’s lives. 

The post Mind your Biscuits: The Case Against Government Overreach in Arkansas appeared first on Arkansas Strong.

“In addition to Little Rock and the surrounding areas, it is our pledge to serve the diverse population in the rural areas of Arkansas,” said Little Rock VA Regional Office Executive Director Sammie Quillin. “We are working to connect with these Veterans along with those unable to reach us by other means.”

The VA also wants veterans and their families to know about their Visitor Reporting Engagement Application (VERA), an online tool to help appointments. For those who don’t have a VA clinic accessible to them, it’s a great way to stay on top of healthcare needs.

You can find more details, provided by the VA, below.

WHAT: Monthly Virtual VA Claims Clinic for Arkansas Veterans

WHO: During the upcoming Virtual Claims Clinic, Veterans may speak one-on-one with staff at the Little Rock VA Regional Office who are ready to assist with specific questions regarding their claims for VA benefits.

WHEN: Thursday, January 25, 4 – 6 p.m.

HOW:  To reserve a time slot, Veterans are asked to call 501-370-3829 by COB, January 24.

MORE INFO:

Little Rock VA Regional Office is located at 2200 Fort Roots Drive in North Little Rock and open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Veteran Assist Phone Line, 501-370-3829, is staffed Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Two VA satellite offices are located at 1) the John L. McClellan VA Medical Center, Room 1C-151B, open Tuesdays, 8 a.m. – noon, and Thursdays, noon – 4 p.m, and 2) the Eugene J. Towbin VA Healthcare Center, Room 1C-149, Bldg. 170, 2200 Fort Roots Dr. in North Little Rock, open Wednesdays, 8 a.m. – noon.

VA Regional Offices provide financial and other forms of assistance to Veterans and their dependents. This includes disability compensation, survivor’s benefits, pension and fiduciary service, education and training, vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance, life insurance coverage, and home loan guaranties. VA disability compensation (pay) offers a monthly tax-free payment to Veterans who got sick or injured while serving in the military and to Veterans whose service made an existing condition worse. 

During the upcoming Virtual Claims Clinic, staff members of the Little Rock VA Regional Office will answer questions about PACT Act benefits, existing VA benefits claims, and assist with filing new claims.  

For more information about VA benefits, go to http://benefits.va.gov/benefits/ or call 800-827-1000. For information about PACT Act benefits, visit www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits.

The post VA offers next Virtual Claims Clinic for Vets appeared first on Arkansas Strong.

A faithful(?) reader of my stories once voiced a complaint that they were too long, that he could not finish reading one in a reasonable amount of time. Whether this is a valid critique or a self-revelation of the damaged attention span of this reader, I am unable to judge. However, this man’s appraisal reminded me of the criticism that Mozart was hit with in the movie, “Amadeus” coming from a jealous composer, who declared that Mozart’s compositions had “too many notes!”

What do YOU know, expert of other guy’s business?

It would be rather presumptuous of me to place my literary offerings at the same lofty level of Mozart’s music, and to ignore competent criticism would also be an exercise of arrogance on my part. On the other hand, to be criticized by an ignoramus can be received as praise in that the ignoramus by definition has absolutely no clue as to what makes for something to be judged worthy or good. 

In my defense against this complaint of “too many words,” let it be known that I do edit my writing always with an eye to say things as clearly and succinctly as possible. But enough about me. Let’s talk about YOU, the expert of the other guy’s business.

Generally speaking, most people think they know a lot more than they really do. There is an inverse ratio that is especially true for those who are given to voice their opinions about each and every thing: that the more one thinks he has all the answers, the less trustworthy his answers are. And this axiom applies to so-called experts in their fields, as made clear by the following stories:

Thanks a lot, Food Pyramid

Back in the 1960’s the USDA Health officials created the “heart healthy” Food Guide Pyramid emphasizing carbohydrates (grains) at the expense of fats. These experts told us that fat is bad for us and encouraged us to heavily favor grains and fruit. The next thing we knew is that we can’t see over our bellies to read the four digit number registering on our scales! There are so many obese people in the U.S. today that it is causing our continent to sink into the oceans. Thanks a lot!

The more one thinks he has all the answers, the less trustworthy his answers are.
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Another story: Just a few years ago, 2005, a British “researcher” published a paper indicating that autism was caused by an element contained in various childhood vaccines. This startling “discovery” caused millions to withhold giving life-saving vaccines to their children resulting in a vast amount of unnecessary deaths and suffering. Thankfully, the author of this “study” was ultimately exposed as a outrageous fraud, but, unfortunately even today, there are many who cling to this “truth.”

Know what you don’t know

What do you know about Global Warming, Fracture Drilling, Medical Marijuana, Same Sex Unions, Debt, Deficits, Life After Death, the Community Club, the City, Vitamins, Herbal Cleansing, Euthanasia, What’s Wrong with the Chicago Cubs, Cutting Trees Down on Common Property, Obamacare, Should Catholic Priests be Allowed to Marry, Homosexual Scout Leaders, Flat Tax, Reverse Mortgages, Bill O’Reilly, and finally, Mozart’s composing skills? Answer, probably not much that is really worth a nickel.

There are so many ideas, views, data, opinions, sources, books, ad infinitum out there on the unending list of topics that it is almost impossible to acquire a decent understanding. And because each subject tends to be complex, it requires enormous amount of study to even come close to something reasonably acceptable. And even after you have diligently searched for the truth, leave a little room that you could be wrong especially if your “facts” come from sources such as the Internet or what you heard from some guy at the bar.

But here, even after you’ve done all the heavy lifting, serious digging on your subject, there is a catch, and it is a big one: your conclusions are most likely tainted! Why? Because we all tend to gravitate toward the “facts” that reinforce our initial view and/or bias.  For instance, you like to a drive big cars that require a necessary amount of fuel, fossil fuel in the form of gasoline. You also own stock in Exxon which pays you a healthy dividend allowing you to drive expensive cars. So if you are checking out the pros and cons of offshore drilling, guess what “facts” will make the most sense to you. 

As the great philosopher Aristartled Smedley put it,

“You don’t know Mozart from The Grateful dead, so get off your high horse, you jackass!” 

The post Out of Bounds: What do you know? appeared first on Arkansas Strong.

Debate in the United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church (UMC) is known for being one of the more progressive protestant denominations in the United States and will be voting on whether to recognize same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy next year in the upcoming General Conference. The result of this decision is expected to split the church in two, as this has become a hedge issue among conservative and progressive Methodists that just won’t result in a verdict that leaves everyone happy. For some conservatives, it’s been a factor that encouraged them to leave the UMC entirely. For progressives, we see it as an overdue and necessary step towards the formal inclusion of queer people into the body of Christ.

These kinds of debates aren’t necessarily “special” to the UMC, but it is ground zero for a new divide in American Christianity: An increasing split between self-described “Conservative” and “Progressive” Christians who view the scriptures from different lenses. Conservatives tend to be more literal and fundamentalist, while Progressives are less literal and are becoming more affiliated with a movement known as “Deconstructionism,” referring to the practice of revisiting and rethinking long-held beliefs of the Faith. Many in the Deconstruction movement are adherents of “Liberation Theology,” emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed from social, economic, and political power structures; with the movement having roots in Latin American Catholicism. Pope Francis is a notable Progressive, specifically on economics. As stated above, I’m in the “Progressive” camp, just so you’re aware of my bias (If the title didn’t give it away). It’s also important to note that being a “Progressive Christian” does not necessarily correlate to being a political progressive, and vice versa.

The UMC is not just limited to being relatively liberal on gay rights. The church recognizes women as pastors, has spoken in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and the necessity of the eradication of global poverty. As a kid, I saw so many amazing people in my church get involved with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) or other service projects in the U.S. and globally. During the pandemic, the UMC has spoken forcefully in favor of church members receiving vaccinations and listening to health experts, while also advocating for government leaders to be responsive in getting vaccines to rural, impoverished, and non-white communities. While no denomination or church is perfect, the UMC has done an amazing job of recognizing something I don’t really see from most other churches: social justice and faith in action are both essential to and intertwined with the Gospel.

Progressive voices of the faith

In my life, I’ve cast 3 votes for President: Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, and Joe Biden. What do these three flawed politicians have in common, aside from the obvious? Yes, they are Democrats, but they are also highly religious. I can hear the rage comments now… “Killary isn’t a Christian/they believe in abortion/they’re with the devil…”

While mainstream American Christianity is dominated by the Southern Baptist and Evangelical traditions, which at this point are as firmly rooted in the Republican Party as low taxes and AR-15’s, the idea of Democratic politicians being religious is a foreign concept to lots of voters on both sides. Separation of Church and State is engrained in the minds of progressives, and most conservative Christians tend to think that supporting policies like reproductive choice or same-sex marriage means you’re not actually a Christian. (Or at least you’re going to have an uncomfortable conversation with the big guy after death). Many Catholic Bishops openly criticized President Biden’s right to communion because of his pro-choice politics, despite him being a devout Catholic and a regular attendee to mass. Clinton and Warren are both UMC members, with Warren invoking the Gospel of Matthew’s Parable of the Sheep & Goats as the basis for her politics; and Clinton speaking candidly about her daily devotional during the 2016 election, titled “Strong for a Moment Like This,” written by Rev. Dr. Bill Shillady.

As I mentioned earlier, the mainstream American church is dominated by the influences of the Southern Baptist and Evangelical traditions, firmly planting the politics of the Church on the right of the political spectrum. While Jesus belongs to no party or ideology, I cannot begin to describe both the short- and long-term harms this is doing to the Church. The obvious is Donald Trump, and the relative indifference of the Church to his egregious assaults on political norms and democratic institutions. However, it goes so much deeper than the behavior of the former President. Senator Ted Cruz, the poster-boy of Evangelical Conservatism, lead an effort to invalidate the 2020 Electoral College votes. In Arkansas, GOP State Senator, and candidate for Lt. Governor-Jason Rapert-is renowned for his inflammatory statements on twitter, while professing a fervent and zealous devotion to Christ. Should I even mention Jim Bob Duggar? Republican politicians and ideologues have been prone to problematic behavior and policies, including the demonization of immigrants, mocking movements for racial justice, and labeling any social welfare spending “socialist,” all while invoking Christianity in the same breath.

Woe to those using the Church for hate

I know people who have left the faith entirely, because of the sheer disgust they have felt watching the Church not only be silent, but often engrained in, the politics of the right. Let me make clear that there are millions of good people who find themselves on the conservative side of the fence, and their politics & faith are just as valid as mine. The issue is that not nearly enough of these people have spoken out against the increasingly cruel politics and the cult of personality surrounding Donald Trump. This is only accelerating the decline of Christianity in the United States, with irreligion on track to be the majority religious consensus as early as 2035. While there are certainly problems on the left, the political marriage of mainstream Christianity to the Republican Party will continue to push away from the faith those who cannot accept Donald Trump as the face of the party of supposed Christian values.

Progressives are also hesitant to talk about faith in the pursuit of the policies and justice we seek for society. We are warry of sounding “churchy” or alienating voters from our message who don’t profess Jesus. After all, Progressives are much more religiously diverse than Conservatives, and many Progressives don’t subscribe to religion at all.

But at the core of Progressivism is representing the interests of ordinary people. From collective bargaining and tackling gross inequality to addressing the impacts of systematic racism and the necessity of environmental preservation, there are massive overlaps in values between Progressives and people of faith (in particular, the Christian kind). However, only about a quarter of Americans identify as liberal or progressive. What gives? Well, you’d be surprised how few Christians know about the overlap in values. The Christian-Right has done a phenomenal job of turning so many Christians into one issue voters: the issue of abortion.

When bringing up abortion, it’s important to make two points crystal clear: (1) There are valid views by people on both sides of this issue, and (2) most Americans fall into the category of “Pro-Choice with conditions,” i.e. favoring the legality of abortion while also supporting limitations that restrict later stage procedures, such as late term abortions. A slim majority of Christians classify themselves as “Pro-Life.” What the Right won’t tell you is how Pro-Life we Progressives really are. We support policies that mandate sexual education based on science instead of abstinence, and easier access to birth control, so that teens are knowledgeable about sex and can prevent unwanted pregnancies. We advocate for economic policies such as higher minimum wages, access to affordable healthcare, and educational opportunities via college or trade school that give young adults economic mobility; allowing them to start a family, without falling into deep financial distress.

Too often, the issue of abortion is only seen as a moral issue instead of an economic one. There are thousands of young women who simply do not see a viable financial path to having a child, and the tragic realities of the Foster Care system too often do not leave adoption as an alternative either. While Conservatives are prone to stop the conversation at birth, Progressives should talk more about how we actually have the solutions to making abortion unnecessary, without taking away a woman’s right to bodily autonomy. And that message should be directed towards Christians, who for too long have been written off by Progressives as simply being closed-minded or religious bigots.

Progressives: get out of your bubbles

The elitism of the Progressive movement is also a major problem to its success and is a reason why Democrats are prone to only win elections when the opposition is just insanely bad. (Remember “basket of deplorables?”) Progressives tend to be city-dwellers, stuck in their blue bubbles and sipping their chardonnay, worried about issues like global warming (albeit, a valid concern), while people in the middle of the country are living paycheck to paycheck and seeing the talented youth of their towns meander to big cities for job opportunities and like-minded values. You just can’t really worry about global warming when you’re not sure how to pay for the necessities. While there are still plenty of poor Democrats and affluent Republicans, new trends show that Democratic congressional districts are becoming more urban, wealthier, and formally educated. Republican congressional districts are becoming more rural, poorer, and less formally educated. There also happen to be more districts that lean GOP than DEM in their Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI). So how can Democrats (Progressives) fight this elitism and win elections? Head to the Church.

In Christianity, we are taught that we are all made in the image of God. There is value in every single person. And though the Church has done plenty of horrible things while it has been a power structure (Crusades, Inquisition, persecution, hanging out with fascists, etc.), the Church’s roots are those of humble origins. Jesus, a brown refugee, and working-class man, stood in defiance of the religious and political elite of his day; He began a movement of mostly women and slaves that would turn into the world’s most dominant religion, built on a foundation of radical love. This shared recognition of the value of human life, and our commitment to seeing through social and economic justice, means that Progressives not only have a home in the Church, but the Church needs Progressives to be a political voice of the faith. If not, Progressives will continue to be a minority in this country for the foreseeable future, and the Church will continue to only be associated with the problematic political right. For Christianity and Progressivism to survive for the long-term, it’s time for the Left to go to church.

Sources

• How America Lost Its Religion – The Atlantic

• “Pro-Choice” or “Pro-Life,” 2018-2021 Demographic Tables (gallup.com)

• The Age of Deconstruction and Future of the Church – RELEVANT (relevantmagazine.com)

• What is liberation theology? – U.S. Catholic (uscatholic.org)

• Hillary Clinton Thinks About Preaching, Bill Shillady Publishes a Book of Devotionals – The Atlantic

• Democrats and Republicans Live in Different Worlds – WSJ

* United Methodist conservatives detail breakaway plans over gay inclusion (nbcnews.com)

The post Jesus Rode a Donkey:<br>Why the Church and Progressives need each other appeared first on Arkansas Strong.

This is long and personal and about abortion—the termination of a pregnancy. Just so you know.

On a recent weekend in Arkansas and across the US, there were “Marches for Life” against abortion. It was also the 26th anniversary of one of the saddest and most painful times in the lives of Syd and me, as we held a memorial service for the baby we lost in mid-pregnancy. We lost the baby at that time because we chose to induce labor and birth before 20 weeks of pregnancy, before viability. We chose this because our baby’s life was not viable. He had anencephaly, which meant he developed without a brain. No brain, no viability, no survival, no life.

We were given the legal and medical options about how to respond to this situation, and for physical and mental health reasons, we chose the option to induce labor and birth. Legislators and the governor in Arkansas, seemingly a majority of the US Supreme Court, and those “marching for life” that weekend would all take away the choice that we made, the choice that was right for us and our family. These issues are personal for us.

I remember the first time I really confronted the issue of abortion. I was working as a medical social worker with a young couple whose baby was slowing dying from the consequences a fatal genetic condition. It was heartbreaking. In the midst of this experience over weeks and months, they discovered they were pregnant with a significant risk of this next baby having the same fatal genetic condition. I remember thinking that, if asked, there was no way that I or anyone else could tell them what the right thing to do was for them in their situation. This choice was appropriately theirs to make.

Over time, I’ve done much more thinking about the complexities of the choices surrounding abortion, and I could never join those “marching for life.” I do join them in wanting there to be fewer abortions, as I think most people from across the spectrum of opinions do. Most, if not all, abortions are human tragedies on some scale, and we should want to minimize human tragedies when we can. The question is how.

We actually know how to significantly reduce the number of abortions—provide more support for protected sex. This is where the most common anti-abortion stance breaks down for me. In it, all abortion or terminations of pregnancy are considered the killing of innocent life and the prevention of such killing should supersede all other considerations, often including the life and health of the one pregnant and whether or not the girl or woman was a victim of rape or incest. Strikingly, however, this concern for preventing the perceived killing of innocent life does not supersede the concern that more people will have protected sex. If protecting the killing of innocent life supersedes all concerns, then we should use every tool at our disposal to reduce abortions, which would mean more comprehensive sex education and accessible contraception, proven methods for avoiding pregnancy and reducing abortions. More sex education and accessible contraception are not, however, being advocated by most of those “marching for life,” and in fact, they are often vigorously resisted. As noted by many other observers, this stance suggests that opposition to abortion is twisted up in a sometimes greater opposition to people, especially women, having protected sex. Not an ethical approach that I can support.

I do wonder what that weekend’s marchers and speakers would say to Syd and me about our own human tragedy, the choices we made 26 years ago, and the choices they hope to take away for parents like us in the future. Part of me, frankly, feels indignation. How dare they take away our options for what would be best for our family. What good really would come from such restrictions for parents and families like us? For society? I don’t expect that people like us are much in the minds of the weekend’s marchers. Perhaps we just don’t fit the black and white, either/or thinking that will be proposed and cheered. Syd confronted an anti-abortion street protester with our story a few years ago. He wouldn’t believe that she was telling a true story. It didn’t fit his narrative. But our story was and is tragically true. And it was and is so sad. And it was right for us. If this right, at all levels, is taken away, it will be a huge preventable tragedy for so many families.

Part II to follow

The post March for Life appeared first on Arkansas Strong.

In 37 or so simple stories and a few sermons, Jesus paints a picture of the kingdom of God. We can call this picture The Gospel Story. His parables and sermons hold together. They have the ring of truth. They have a power that’s nowhere else. Jesus had what Simon Peter called “the words of eternal life.”

I grew up knowing the parables of Jesus before I knew much else. That’s because my father was a pastor. He preached every Sunday—and twice on most Sundays because we had Sunday night worship. Every time my father preached, I was there. Dad had a great love for Jesus’s parables. Well over half of his sermons were on the words of Jesus. I heard them over and over. I don’t remember getting tired of them because they opened to me a world that I loved—and I still love it.

Being a follower of Jesus is all about being a good neighbor.
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One of Dad’s favorites was the parable of the Good Samaritan, a story that demonstrated the meaning of being a good neighbor. This theme of neighborliness ran all thru Jesus’s teachings. It was in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus…. the parable of the Great Judgment in Matt. 25…. the parable of the Rich Young Ruler… and the never-changing Golden Rule. These teachings and many others say that being a follower of Jesus is all about being a good neighbor.

Ears to Hear

In 1998 I attended a seminar that George Barna (a religious researcher) led at a church in Tulsa. Barna said two things that have stuck with me. First, his research has determined that fewer than 10% of Christians have a biblical world view. Think about that! Every week millions of professing Christians attend worship, sit thru Sunday school lessons, and engage in other religious observances, yet the vast majority of them have never really heard the Gospel Story. It has not taken root as a guiding force in their lives.

Second, Barna’s investigations into the ethical behavior of American Christians have revealed that conservative evangelicals (the group with which Barna himself identifies) are no more moral than the rest of society. That is, evangelicals are guilty of marital infidelity, substance abuse, domestic violence, and an array of other misdeeds at about the same rate as everyone else. In fact, in categories such as divorce their behavior is worse than average.

Barna’s findings seem to go together. A huge number of evangelicals, despite their loudly proclaimed religious allegiances, have never really heard the Gospel Story. It certainly isn’t the guiding force in their lives.

Good and Godly Neighbors

A good measure of any religion should be: What kind of neighbors does it create? Sadly, Christians have all too often not been good neighbors. In fact, there is much to suggest that way too many of today’s church people are very bad neighbors.

We can see this by looking at many of the state legislators in our nation who are passing measures that hurt people. The vast majority of these legislators are self-proclaimed Christians who claim to be doing God’s will. The test of this should be in how their actions affect others.

In about half of our states one of the biggest activities at present is gerrymandering. Its aim in almost all cases is very clear. It’s to minimize the voting strength of minorities and maximize the strength of the legislators and their political party. It’s to gain unfair political advantage. When such forces of racism and partisanship appear in society, it’s a sure sign that very bad neighbors are hard at work.

The banning of abortion is the really feel good issue among our legislators. They beam with satisfaction that they are “pro-life,” and they try to outdo each other in being the most pro-life. What they are doing in a great many cases is victimizing some of the most vulnerable people in our society. They show no sign of understanding the highly complicated physiology of pregnancy and childbirth. Some girls are pre-teen when they become pregnant. There are reports of pregnancy as early as age 9, and of course this is always under very undesirable circumstances. In many cases legislators don’t want to allow for any circumstances of pregnancies. They want to saddle women with 100% of the burden of every pregnancy. The men, who are equal partners in conception, often disappear into the night and never shoulder any responsibility. Many legislators want to enact the harshest penalties against pregnant women and their caregivers if they don’t obey their draconian laws. They want to strip women of any say in their healthcare and become dictators to medical professionals. Yes, we actually have neighbors who want to treat us this way.

The legislators about whom we’re talking (church people, remember), have more ambitions. They want to intrude into the lives of LGBTQ people. Once again, they act out of a combination of ignorance and mean spiritedness and with the smug assurance that they possess all truth and are on God’s side. They seek to block trans youth from receiving the medical care they so desperately need, and they want to discriminate against people on account of sexual orientation. Sadly, they have an insufficient knowledge of sexual orientation and of the Bible. They frequently quote the 6 or so passages in the Bible that appear to deal with same-gender sexual behavior. This matter is not as clear cut as they think. These passages present difficulties of interpretation that many Bible scholars have lifted up.

All Who Are Weary

One such scholar is David P. Gushee, who grew up among conservative evangelicals and became a Southern Baptist pastor. Gushee embarked on a long academic career and earned a Ph.D. in ethics. For many years he was not sympathetic to LGBTQ causes, but over time his views shifted due to his deepening knowledge of the Bible and the many personal relationships he formed. In 2014 he published Changing Our Mind, in which he broke with his earlier views and argued for full acceptance of LGBTQ Christians in the church. Gushee became convinced that these 6 passages in the Bible have been widely misinterpreted, and he deals with them point by point in his book. Gushee’s thought is readily accessible on YouTube. If you enter a search for his name, up will pop lots of lectures, sermons, and interviews that he has given over the years. Of special interest is his 11 minute talk, “You’re Hurting Me With Your Bible.” He details the journey has made on LGBTQ issues in the 34 minute lecture he gave at Elon University 6 years ago.

LGBTQ issues have been highly divisive among Christians. In recent years four of the larger mainline denominations have decided to fully accept LGBTQ people. It was a rocky journey in which these churches lost lots of members over the issue. The vast majority of churches in America continue to stigmatize and marginalize LGBTQ people in a variety of ways. Religiously affiliated people are significantly less accepting of LGBTQ people than are the rest of the population. This nonacceptance is highly concentrated in the more conservative religious groups.

Good Neighbors Show Grace

LGBTQ people share predictable struggles. They react to disapproval like we all do. They sometimes try to change. They ride a roller coaster of emotions as they try to come to terms with who they are (this was not a choice, remember) while knowing that they can never become what others wish them to be. They suffer from depression and thoughts of suicide. They dread the time of coming-out and being rejected. At the time of their greatest vulnerability, when they need good neighbors the most, they often don’t find them in their church or in their legislators or even in their families.

We could cover other controversial issues that involve similar dynamics. That’s because far too few people who occupy the pews in our churches have really heard the Gospel Story. Jesus’s message of extravagant love, acceptance, and grace is not the force that drives them. Their behavior is no more moral or commendable than the behavior of religiously non-affiliated people. In fact, it’s often worse. They are not good neighbors. They hurt other people, especially the most vulnerable. The most astounding thing of all is that they do what they do in the name of God.

Sandy Wylie is a retired United Methodist pastor living in Bella Vista.

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I don’t really remember ever not knowing Robby. He was a couple years ahead of me in school, and in a place like Ozark that means you know each other; have a strong likelihood of crossing paths most days when school is in session. We also went to church together for a time at First Baptist. His family owned a local pharmacy and his dad, Bob, was everyone’s favorite guy. He worked long hours, seemed always to be there when you needed him. He ran Medi-Quik with a gentle spirit, keen mind, and kind heart. When I grew up and had babies, Bob told me my prescription vitamins were free at Wal-mart so I should get them there. I wept with the family when Bob unexpectedly died. Robby made his dad and all of us proud by stepping up and into his shoes as Medi-Quik’s new owner. He’s carried on Bob’s tradition of devoted, compassionate care.

I do remember not knowing Kelli personally. I always knew who she was, since her dad was my dentist. He had pictures of her and her sister Kim displayed proudly all over his office. Kim is the same age as my younger brother and they were friends. Even though Kelli is six years younger than me she was on my radar as a teen because she dated my best friend’s brother, who was also my brother’s best friend, Mark, now her husband. We all moved back home after college and graduate school and started hanging out and Kelli and I got close. Until recently, when she started working in the ER, Kelli was our family doctor, overseeing the collective health of most of the community. She is still known to take my calls in the dead of night or most recently when she was on vacation and I hated to bother her but was concerned about my mom, who turned out to have a kidney stone. And so it goes in the beautiful thing that is small town Arkansas.

Kelli with her dad Jim

Robby with his dad Bob

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We are giving away our most valuable resource: trust in each other.
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I’m politically homeless, an Independent who ran for office as a conservative Democrat; Kelli leans Libertarian, and Robby has been a strong supporter of former president Trump. We are all Christians who love our families, community, state, and America. Over the years conversations with both of them have stretched and challenged me. Kept me balanced, like friends do. I think they’d say the same of me and my freethinking ways. Underlying any political ideas we have is something far more important: trust in one another. We all have a commitment to the well-being of our people. A sense we all nurture—that we are in this together, and that anything that threatens to divide us is dangerous. HPRD. Hillbilly pride runs deep. We know that even if we sometimes disagree on little stuff, we are strongest when we stand together.

 

Robby worked countless hours getting shots into the arms of our people… It was as if he was obsessed, trying to save as many people as possible before the virus could get to them

 

In November I was devastated by “friends” who told me they could not vote for me—even though they said they knew and loved me—because I ran as a Democrat. It has taken months of work forgiving, healing, extending and receiving grace, and the sheer discipline of acceptance to begin to move on. This past month I’ve felt angsty about all of that again. But as the Delta variant of Covid consumes Arkansas, and some of those same people assert their rights not to be vaccinated or wear masks, it’s not for myself that I’m so disappointed. It’s for my friends who have given their lives to the health and well-being of people in our community, and the apparent lack of respect such a sacrifice commands.

Kelli today

Back in February, Robby was interviewed by the Democrat Gazette because of his contribution to Franklin County’s early high vaccination rate. Along with my friends Johnny and Janelle Larsen, CA Kuykendall, Lacey Hewitt, and Kim Gibbons (Kelli’s sister), Robby worked countless hours getting shots into the arms of our people. I knew of trips he made to other parts of the state to pick up unused vaccines, and house calls he made to elderly shut-ins out in the country. It was as if he was obsessed, trying to save as many people as possible before the virus could get to them. Friends in other counties would tell me about their parents being on waiting lists because their pharmacies didn’t provide the vaccine as fast as here. Hillbilly pride ran deep as I saw my parents and anyone else who wanted the vaccine served as expediently as possible. Our pharmacists did it right, and our county became a model for others to follow.

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We know that even if we sometimes disagree on little stuff, we are strongest when we stand together.
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Likewise, I watched Dr. Kelli nearly lose her own health stretching resources, desperately trying to care for our sick people. One of Ozark High School’s few National Merit Finalists and one of the most gifted people ever to graduate from medical school, she chose to join her beloved mentor Dr. Wilson, and do her life’s work here—among us rural folks—keeping us healthy. Just yesterday she posted this plea on Facebook: 

In my 17 years working as a physician I have never seen anything like this. Patients from Arkansas are being transferred as far away as Denver CO because that is the closest available hospital bed. This is insane guys. It doesn’t just affect Covid patients. It’s ALL patients. ERs are bursting at the seams. We are doing our very best to keep people alive. Please be kind to your friends in healthcare. We are so very tired. Please do everything in your power to protect yourself. Get a vaccine. Wear a mask. Avoid crowds… This is just not sustainable.

People Robby, Kelli, and I all love believe misinformation about the vaccine and refuse to get it, even spreading conspiracy theories themselves. I can accept someone not following my medical advice. I’m no medical expert. But consider the logic of those who otherwise put their health into the hands of our local doctors and pharmacists: treatment for cancer, depression, diabetes, major and minor infections, flu, even physical examinations for our children in sports. When we need help we turn to Kelli, and then we go to Robby for the medicine she prescribes. He lets us call him after hours, orders special things we need, tirelessly explains how things work, makes home deliveries. And yet. When these and other home town health care professionals beg us to take the Covid vaccine—to save our lives and the lives of others—some of us choose an article we read on the internet, a stranger on youtube, or even a family member or spiritual advisor with no expertise, over those who have proven themselves to us. Over doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and others who have earned our trust through years of study, living here among us, working hard, and dedicating their lives to serve us.

Robby today

I can understand being independent. I can understand being stubborn. I can understand thinking for ourselves, trusting God, and putting little to no confidence in government. I am and do all of those things. But what I cannot understand, and never will, is the pervasive disrespect for people who have done the work to earn our respect; the blatant distrust of those who deserve our trust because they have proven themselves to be trustworthy. I have worried about the division in our country before. But this—this severing of the ties that bind us in our small communities—that’s something deeper. Something worse. We are selling ourselves out; casting our pearls before swine; trading our greatest strength for weakness. The saddest part is that no one takes it from us. We are giving away our own most valuable resource: trust in each other. For this, for all of us, I grieve.

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I learned this term while sitting in overflow room 1D in the district court of Little Rock. I was invited to attend the hearing in which the ACLU, on behalf of transgender children and their parents, asked for an injunction to temporarily halt HB1570. The law, passed by a supermajority of Arkansas legislators, vetoed by the governor, and then reinstated when said legislators overrode the veto, was scheduled to go into effect next week. It would have stopped kids currently receiving hormone therapy from being able to receive it, and prevented anyone else from starting such treatment. The injunction, which was granted, means care can continue until the lawsuit, which challenges the constitutionality of HB 1570, is settled in court. Which of course may take awhile.

I was invited by my friend, the mom whose nine-year-old child will need such care when she hits puberty, probably within the next three years. I went to support her family and to observe.

I was ushered into 1D along with a motley crew of other observers: legal types in tailored suits and ties akin to the dress I was wearing; reporters who reinforced the stereotype of a reporter with their nerdy glasses, spiral notebooks, and unruly hair with pens and pencils sticking out; and members of the transgender community, who of course had the most at stake. As I sat there my thoughts drifted as they often do and I wondered, if Jesus were here in person, where would he sit?

The young suit-and-tie-clad person beside me chewed his cuticles until they bled. I thought of how sitting by Jesus would probably give him peace and I wished I could do that. But I don’t imagine Jesus would have been sitting in my seat. He would have sat across the aisle with the little band of trans brothers and sisters leaning into one another, holding hands. Those folks one legislator this past session called “abominations” on the House floor of their own state capitol. I think Jesus would have sat among them, drawing them close in his arms, or perhaps in front of them, a buffer between their seats and the court assembled to decide whether they could or could not continue to exercise full rights as human beings.

As the attorney explained gender dysphoria and how it can be alleviated by hormone therapy, I thought about my own body and how, even though I’ve been at war with it a lot of my life for not meeting certain standards of beauty, I’m thankful my body reflects that I’m a female. As such my worst struggle is keeping weight off. I’ve wrestled with that enough to explore all kinds of medical intervention, from drugs to nutrition therapy to surgery. How unspeakably more difficult would it be to be me—dress-wearing, pageant winning, high school cheerleading, fingernail painting, breastfeeding mother-of-four, big haired, smooth legged, purse-carrying, wrinkle-fighting me–inside a body that presented who I am to the world as male? I can’t begin to imagine that kind of betrayal. If I have trouble not hating my thighs, how must it feel to be a boy with breasts, or a woman with a beard?

I wonder if it is this level of dysphoria Jesus feels when he contemplates the Church, which is called the body of Christ? Does the difference in the reality of his body—how it presents him to the world—reflect who he is on the inside? I’m a tiny freckle on that body, and I’m afraid not always very well. I bet Jesus relates to transgender people more than we might imagine.

As a child I fell in love with the Jesus of the Bible. The Jesus of the Bible seems to me a lot different from the version we see in much of the American Evangelical body of Christ—and so-called Christian politicians. While many lawmakers consider themselves part of his body, they hurl stones at children, stones like HB 1570. Laws like this wound people Jesus loves, but in the Bible Jesus healed. He never stood with powerful men throwing stones. Instead he stood between those lawmakers with their stones, and protected the marginalized. He picked up outcasts like a mother hen gathers her chicks. He shepherded. He marched right into the halls of power and declared the kingdom of heaven belongs, not to the religious, not to the loud, rich, and powerful, but to the least of these. Jesus sees the image of God in bodies our legislature calls an abomination. If Christians in Arkansas want Jesus to be represented by the body of Christ—much less our legislative body–we need to see with new eyes.

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