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The politics of responsibility

It is often said that one should never apologise in the case of a road accident. Apologising is seen as an admittance of responsibility. If you acknowledge responsibility, you may be faced with a hefty bill for someone else’s damaged car, injured back or even psychological discomfort. 

I think about this in the context of some of the rhetoric I hear in relation to the current abortion referendum in Ireland. It is argued, “my body, my choice”. I worry about the consequences of this line of thought. Aren’t we as women unilaterally claiming the responsibility for this decision? Of course there are two parties to every pregnancy, in that sense women should never be alone. It is the tragic reality that in some cases, women are abandoned by the other significant party in these circumstances. There may be a million different reasons a woman chooses to procure an abortion, but the point remains that we are arguing that in every case it is solely and completely our decision, and no one else’s. 

I was struck recently by the account in Genesis 9 where God states that He will demand an accounting for the lifeblood of every human. I honestly believe that we as women, in claiming the sole responsibility for deciding what happens within our wombs when life is growing there, are inviting God’s judgment upon ourselves. 

This is serious, and I don’t find it easy to say this. One day every single one of us will stand before God, the world’s most just judge and we must give an account for our lives. That thought is terrifying because not a single one of us will be able to stand before him and say that we are blameless and without fault. 

But this is not the end of the story. God saw the brokenness, the pain, the emptiness and the mess of our world. He didn’t want to leave us in this state, so he provided a substitute. In Jesus’ death on the cross God’s righteous judgment that we all deserved fell on his perfect blameless son. All that is required of you and me, is faith. Simply, we can then stand before God, and despite our failures, and the wretched and dark things we have done, He can look at us and see Jesus’ perfect record. Why did he do this? The answer is beyond comprehension, his incredible love for a sinful word that had turned its back on Him. His aim is not to shame women. His aim is to set them free. 

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