Life-Giving is a Woman's Issue

To care about women's issues is to move beyond biology and reproduction. Women want more than that. At least that is what Kathleen Parker believes. In her recent syndicated column, Parker asserts that to isolate women voters strictly to the abortion debate is to cheat women out of their real concerns these days - job security and the economy. There is a heated debate going on surrounding the Virginia Governor's race. One candidate is pro-life and has written on the familial effects of women working outside of the home. The other candidate is pro-choice and is using his opponent's previous writings to try and sway women voters away from this "anti-women's issues candidate." Parker sees the latter as being out of touch with the 20^th century woman, because in her assessment today's woman cares far less about her right to an abortion than previous voters revealed. She says that women have moved on from abortion as a women's issue, and in her eyes that is progress.

This has nothing to do with politics, political affiliations, or even the Virginia gubernatorial race. Rather, her argument has everything to do with the modern woman and how she thinks. It has everything to do with the biblical woman and how she will respond to a culture that views progress as "moving on" from the killing of the unborn.

Some on the left say Parker is giving up on women by saying that women care about more than just reproductive rights when they step into the voting booth. Some on the conservative side say she is giving up on the unborn by "moving beyond" the abortion issue and viewing that move as progress. Some on either side might be grateful that she said something. But what do her assertions say about today's woman?

Parker suggests that using abortion rights to target women is "patronizing" and it assumes "that women's interests are limited to their biology." In other words, we care about more than what is going on inside the womb. In her article, Parker cites a Lifetime survey as saying that women voters in the 2008 election cared more about job security and the economy than abortion. She states that biology is not enough when talking about women's issues, because frankly women care about the same things that men care about -their careers and money. Even though biology is not the only thing that defines us as human beings, what would we be if we weren't able to say that in some way our biological makeup as male and female is what makes us created in the Divine image? To care about women's issues is to say that biology is saying something about who we are and who we are created to be. Our biology is what gives us the God ordained desire to be life-givers. And for so long biology is what led women to say "it's my body, I can make the choice."

God gives His people a very different understanding of women's issues. To be a godly woman is to love life and seek to protect and nurture it. Eve was named by God and was called the "Mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). The Hebrew midwives risked their lives to save even the weakest ones of their society (Hebrews 1:17). Mary, the mother of Jesus, bore the shame of a child out of wedlock to give birth to the Savior (Luke 1). Women who have been bought by the blood of Christ never get over the call and the joy of being life-givers. It is not an issue to be lobbied for; it is obedience to our Creator.

When childbearing and child killing are no longer on the radar screen for women, a profound statement has been made about womanhood. Women have historically been the defenders of children, but not anymore. Feminism has bred the lie that not only is it my body to do with as I please, but when I have won that battle I will move on to something better and more provocative. As women who love the truth, and love women, we must be there to pick up the pieces when the lie turns to bitterness in their mouths. And we also must be able to say to a confused culture that biology matters, and so do the little ones. Biblical women never move on from being life givers, because child nurturing, saving, bearing, and loving is not an issue to be discarded in the sake of progression. It is a way of life.