"My body, my choice" is a slogan long used by those who favor abortion rights. Those who are opposed to requiring vaccinations against the coronavirus are also using the same slogan, and adopting the same philosophical argument behind it. Many anti-vaxxers are also pro-lifers when it comes to abortion rights.
The argument against abortion is based on the Christian doctrine that human life is the ultimate creation of God and as such, is sacred. As such, its existence is protected by a moral standard against doing anything that would end it prematurely, before it runs its natural course. Those who are opposed to abortion believe that life begins at conception. The Catholic church supports that contention by papal edict. Evangelicals claim Biblical support though there are a few places where the Bible's writers indicate that human life does indeed exist in the womb, there is not an actual reference stating that conception itself is the moment that it starts.
A Shrill But Inconsistent Political Argument
The "sanctity of human life" has been abused and twisted into a political club used in an extremely partisan way to drive voters in elections. Ever since the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision, which constitutionally protects a woman's right to seek an abortion, the arguments have been shrill.
The fact of the matter is that the belief that life begins at conception is exclusive to Christian doctrine. So a law codifying an exclusively Christian belief not held in common by the rest of society constitutes "establishment" of religion, at least in the opinion of the Supreme Court in 1973. The lines here are razor thin when it comes to interpreting what constitutes "establishment". That's why we have courts to decide these nuances of constitutional law. So the issue has, predictably, become abused because of the political results it yields.
That has resulted in some of the most incredible hypocrisy in American politics. It would be hard to count the number of politicians who have used this issue to get themselves elected to office and who have then hoped beyond hope that the Roe v. Wade decision establishing a woman's right to have an abortion would not be reversed so that they can continue to scavenge for pro-life votes to try to stay in office. Some of the most incompetent, corrupt and deceitful politicians, including Donald Trump, have been elected by voters who include no other standard in their ballot decisions except "they're against abortion."
The evidence that this court decision has been turned into a political football, at least by Republicans, is in the Supreme Court nominations made by GOP Presidents since Roe was handed down. Reagan, George H.W. and George W. Bush all made sure that a pro-choice majority remained on the court and either glossed over their failure or didn't acknowledge it.
Abortion numbers did indeed drop, at two points in the post-Roe history of the practice, during the Clinton administration and then again during the Obama administration as those Presidents approved legislation and budgets which targeted root causes of abortion, like, oh, poverty, lack of adequate health care, education and jobs programs which Republicans cut from the budget whenever they're in office. That's a genuinely pro-life position, because it not only protects the unborn, but it helps the women who feel trapped and forced into a decision they really don't want to make either. Republicans cut all of that to give tax breaks to the rich.
Making political deals to get votes, like the Trump administration does, really cheapens the whole issue. If your vote can be bought by an immoral adulterer, liar, and thief, your "pro-life" perspective is badly skewed.
Being Pro-Life is All-Inclusive
The credibility of most of the pro-life movement has gone out the window with the pandemic. Downplaying the numbers, minimizing the death rate, discounting those who have died from COVID who had co-morbidities and pre-existing conditions to attack those governors and politicians who have taken emergency measures to stop the spread of the virus and at the same time try to excuse Trump's gross incompetence and failure to properly handle the pandemic has exposed the truth. Those who have taken that position, who are resisting mask orders and refusing to get vaccinated don't care about the sanctity of life, they care only about themselves.
Deadly misinformation about the vaccines and about precautions like wearing masks and social distancing is being spread by some of the same people who claim to be pro-life because they are against abortion. Infection rates and death rates are much higher in states where governors aren't mandating precautions, and where vaccination rates are below average. That's just an undeniable fact. We are still in a pandemic, and still having a crisis over this because of the ignorance and stupidity of people who are, for the most part, politically motivated to believe conspiracy theories and lies.
If you are genuinely "pro-life," you'd be genuinely horrified at the prospect of sending unvaccinated children under 12 into school classrooms where masks are "optional." All that means is that those who aren't wearing masks will spread the virus to more people much more quickly if they happen to be contagious. This is already being proven accurate as the number of students who test positive for COVID in "mask optional" schools soars, while in schools where masks are required, the infection rates are below the local positivity rates. "Mask optional," which means that an unknown percentage of students will be contagious and will catch this virus, is not a pro-life perspective.
Discounting the death rate because it includes people who have "co-morbidities" is also not a pro-life position. Is someone's life not as valuable if they happen to have a medical condition that makes them more vulnerable to COVID? Is it not worth protecting the millions upon millions of Americans, including millions of children, who have an underlying medical condition by agreeing to get vaccinated in order to stop the spread of coronavirus? Wearing a mask is hardly a sacrifice. There's not much to it. Is even that small and easy precaution too much of an imposition on individual rights to help save a few lives of people who are 70, 80, even 90 years of age because they're old and not worth the sacrifice? That kind of perspective is also not pro-life.
Being Christian is All-Inclusive, Too
Then the King will say to those on the right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, , inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me."
Then the righteous ones will reply, "Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?"
And the King will tell them, "I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me." Matthew 25:34-40 NLT
We have not often faced the kind of crisis that this viral pandemic has created. It's been talked about, it's the stuff of which science fiction movies are made, but the reality is that the world is now dealing with a viral pandemic that is deadlier than any other contagious disease has been in modern history. It is, by any definition of the word, a crisis. It's the worst set of circumstances we've seen since World War 2.
This citation from the book of Matthew is a quote from Jesus, describing the scene at the final judgment. There is a doctrinal principle being illustrated here that is at the very core of Christian faith and belief with a very clear application that is relevant to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Christian response to the crisis is clearly not to bellyache and complain because some state governor limited the capacity of their church sanctuary or interfered with their God-given individual right not to wear a mask. It is to determine exactly what it means to feed someone who is hungry, or give a drink to someone who is thirsty in the context of this crisis.
I saw this notice on a church's website: "We will not be meeting in our building for worship for the next few weeks. Our pastor, staff and members of the congregation will be finding ways to worship through service to our community. If you have a need that has been created by the circumstances of the pandemic, please call us and we will find someone in our congregation who can help you."
They got it.
And I'm pretty sure that a correct interpretation of this passage would apply to wearing a mask in public, mandated or not, but certainly not to find yourself endorsing a political perspective against a government official's mandating it. There's some risk involved in getting the vaccination, very, very low risk, a tiny fraction of the danger faced by anyone who gets sick with COVID. But if you look at those words of Jesus again, you can conclude that getting a vaccination which not only protects you, but contributes to ending this crisis, is "doing this to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters."
That's a genuinely pro-life perspective.
Jesus finishes the passage this way:
"But I was hungry and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty and you didn't give me anything to drink. I was a stranger and you didn't invite me into your house. I was naked and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me."
Then they will reply, "Lord, when did we ever see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?" And he will answer, "When you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me." And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life. Matthew 25:42-46 NLT
"I won't wear a mask" and "I won't get vaccinated" is selfish and this passage from Matthew directly addresses the issue. That's neither pro-life, nor Christian.
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