Tebow, Abortion, and Choice

Over the last few weeks, controversy has arisen about the Super Bowl ad to be aired on CBS with football player Tim Tebow and his mother discussing her choice not to have an abortion. The protests have arisen on two fronts: because women’s groups are sensitive to the heavy handed way that Focus on the Family, the sponsors of the ad, insist that abortion under any circumstance is morally wrong and because CBS changed its advertising policy in order to accept this ad after refusing to air ads from liberal or progressive organizations, including my own denomination, the United Church of Christ.

The Tebow story is heartening. I am fundamentally appreciative that she had a choice to continue a pregnancy when doctors thought the risk was too great. The decision should have been hers. But would it have been wrong for her to follow the advice of doctors who believed that in the interest of her own health that she should have terminated the pregnancy? No, I don’t believe so.

There are no easy answers in regard to pregnancy, health, family planning, and abortion. In the best of situations, the most one can do is gather all the available information and thoughtfully discern what appears to be the best course of action. In most situations in life, that’s how serious decisions are generally made. It’s for this reason that I am a pro-choice Christian. A one-size fits all approach to ethics and morality just doesn’t work. What if the Tebow decision turned out differently and both mother and infant died? What loss would her family have experienced, including the other young children who would have grown up without a mother?

I’ve been told by others that if I’ve pro-choice, then I can’t be a Christian. Holding a position that is pro-choice is not a new position in Christianity. While the rationale for my position may be different from those of other, I am in the company of noteworthy Christian theologians, including Roman Catholic St. Thomas Aquinas who viewed the loss of a fetus through abortion as morally neutral because the fetus was not a human person.

What’s of more concern to me is how, as a nation, sexual prudish attitudes keep us ignorant about human sexuality. Not only don’t our public schools provide clear and accurate education on human sexuality to our youth, but none of our helping professionals are routinely taught about human sexuality. Psychologists, counselors, social workers, physicians, and other professionals who should be equipped to address concerns about sexuality are not required to have any course credit in this field in order to be licensed professionals. If Americans were better educated about human sexuality, family planning, and other issues related to sexual health, then the rate of unwanted pregnancies in the United States would drop. Who prevents appropriate education on human sexuality? Conservative religious groups like Focus on the Family and the Roman Catholic Church.

When the United States of America was formed from thirteen colonies most of which had state-supported religious denominations, the decision was made that in order to form a more perfect union, this country needed to embrace freedom of religion. Separation of church and state assures that I am free to choose my own religion and that I am free from the practice of others religion. That pro-life leaders and activist work to impose their beliefs and morality on all of us is fundamentally un-American.

I’m glad that Tim Tebow’s mother had a choice about her life and her pregnancy. All women should be guaranteed the same choice for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.