Today, Jim Wallis, President of Sojourners, commented on the recent passage of Alabama’s extreme abortion ban. Instead of reducing the issue of abortion to a political football, Wallis seeks to expand the conversation. He issued the following call to his fellow Christians:
“It always astounds me how the same legislators who only focus on abortion pay little or no attention to health care, nutrition, affordable housing, jobs, or voting rights. To be pro-life means to protect life and dignity for all on every issue — but they are only pro-birth, showing little concern for poor children after birth, which is pure hypocrisy.
“The brutal Alabama abortion law put forward by the extreme right — which even Pat Robertson thinks goes “too far” — completely ignores the pain and suffering of women who become pregnant even through rape or incest; endangers the lives of women, especially women of color; and threatens to lock up doctors for the rest of their lives. But it also doesn’t help our complete polarization on abortion when the extreme left refuses to acknowledge the existence of “pro-life Democrats” and refuses to embrace a “safe, legal, and rare” approach that was used by both the Clinton and Obama administrations. We must reconcile the continued opposition to language and efforts to “reduce” abortions, which would help us all find common ground.
“Clearly both extremes are taking their positions based on political calculations and fundraising instead of caring most about both women and children — born and unborn. Instead, we can and must find ways to care for both and pursue the best political compromises that will take us to a better path for all, which most Americans would embrace.”