The majority parties have agreed that the life of a baby should no longer be protected by the penal code. It is emphasized that little changes and that the conditions for abortion remain unchanged (so a maximum of 12 weeks and 6 days of mandatory reflection time, which I also discussed in a previous blog, remain preserved). If it is, according to the majority parties, only symbolic, then for me it is a symbol that we are gradually starting to regard life itself as a commodity in our consumer and throwaway society.

Abortion out of penal code: no respect for life?

As a believer, I will always advocate for more respect for life, in every discussion, whether it concerns abortion, capital punishment, or euthanasia. In each of these cases, I choose the life that we have received from God. I know that in societal discussions about these themes, faith is often sidelined, as that simplifies the discussion. For those who view life as the outcome of a probability calculation (which was recently recalculated by scholars from the University of Oxford, showing that the chance of life outside of Earth is actually astronomically small),it appears that the chance of life outside Earth is actually astronomically small), it is easier to see it as less valuable, I think.

By that, I don't so much mean that these people don't consider life itself important, but they make the comparison between suffering and life, both in the abortion discussion (the suffering of the mother if she has to bring an unwanted child into the world) and in the euthanasia debates (one's own suffering). In these comparisons, life no longer receives bonus points as a gift from God on the one hand, but also the meaning of suffering is completely lost. And that is why, in my opinion, it is nowadays easier for those who do not believe to make such choicesto make. 

Understanding for those who do not understand suffering

Philosophically speaking, I can understand that because if you don't understand that suffering, in whatever form, has a purpose, then you cannot correctly assess its value. Even for many believers, this is still a difficult point. If you consider life to be finite, then it is indeed a balanced choice you have to make, at least in the case of euthanasia.

In the case of abortion, I find it quite arrogant, even for atheists, that they decide over the life of another. To such an extent that I would actually consider it outright hypocritical for someone to be, for example, against the death penalty but for abortion. By the way, I find the opposite also hypocritical among many American co-religionists.

Many pro-abortion people also feel that this is much more difficult, because the discussion is then simply shifted from "deciding about a life" to "when does life begin". The striking thing in this whole discussion is that science, the holy grail of atheists, does not provide a conclusive answer to this. It therefore becomes a choice of belief: the limit is set at what the majority seems to believe. Or how atheists are forced in their own debates to use a decision aid that they accuse their opponents of in thedebate.

Waarmee ik GeensZins wil gezegd hebben dat dit een discussie is die zich vormt op de grens van gelovigen en humanisten. Er zijn uiteraard gelovigen die ook abortus aanvaardbaar vinden en omgekeerd. Maar ik vind wel dat men moet toelaten dat men vanuit wat men gelooft aan beide kanten van het kant, laat meespelen in de discussie.

All symbolic

So, it's all symbolic. Abortion is removed from the criminal code but remains punishable under certain circumstances. Previously, it was forbidden unless under certain circumstances. Semantic discussion, some say now, so why oppose it? Firstly, because I already disagreed with the current liberating conditions. Secondly, if it's purely semantic, then there's no need to change it.

May I then plead for the symbol of respect? I believe what I believe, but you will never find me in the camp of those who burn down abortion clinics or look askance at women who have had an abortion. Everyone makes their choice and I know (and hope) that for many women the choice for abortion is never an easy one. Abortion is not an alternative to contraception (which, as a believer, I have no problem with at all). Hopefully, in this way, respect for life will remain intact and this is not the beginning of a decliningslope.