The murder of Dr. George Tiller last week in Wichita reminded me that our national conflict over the issue of abortion still festers just beneath the surface.   Sometimes that conflict erupts with deadly results.  It is a war raging in our culture.  Since Rowe v. Wade, the opposing views have become polarized and entrenched.  Nothing significant has changed!  As people of faith, we must engage the issue and talk plainly about this taboo subject that stirs up passion on all sides of the debate.

Most of us want to see a compromise in terms of our national policy on abortion, a policy that has the goal of decreasing the number of abortions performed and also the perceived need for abortions at all.  Unfortunately, people holding the extreme positions on both sides tend to control this issue and, ironically, to encourage feelings that can lead to deadly violence.

The Right to Life movement is not responsible for Dr. Tiller's death, but there are some in that movement whose views hold open the option of violence against abortion providers.  The complicity of the entire movement increases with each e-mail that expresses sympathy for that murder.  On the other hand, those who treat abortion as just a choice without significant moral and spiritual implications, encourage polarization and discourage compromise.   We each have some measure of responsibility for the implications of positions we espouse.

There are no easy answers to the issue of abortion.  There is no morally defensible position that lets us avoid hard choices and painful compromises.   We cannot afford to make scapegoats out of those with whom we disagree if we are really interested in a culture that values life.  We cannot escape the awesome responsibility of working with each other to encourage life-giving choices.  Abortion is a choice with significant moral and spiritual consequences.

Our faith can provide us each the wisdom and the courage to act in love and compassion.    Communities of faith, acting in concert, can help provide the support and accountability to act with justice.  The faith journey we travel goes deep within and we are reminded who we are and what we value above all things.  Just as the teachings of Jesus reveal God's nature to us, so our own journeys reveal who God is.  As we grapple with truly tough issues such as abortion, the truth of our faith is that we are all one.

Thanks for continuing to bless me as we journey together.
  
Jack Price

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