Abortion a Blessing?

It is according to the Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale, the new President and  Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She said so in a speech she gave in Alabama back in 2007.  She is also on the board of NARAL.

There is so much that is wrong with this speech, but I just want to highlight one portion about the service that her “heroes and saints” perform.

When a woman finds herself pregnant due to violence and chooses an abortion, it is the violence that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing.

When a woman finds that the fetus she is carrying has anomalies incompatible with life, that it will not live and that she requires an abortion – often a late-term abortion – to protect her life, her health, or her fertility, it is the shattering of her hopes and dreams for that pregnancy that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing.

When a woman wants a child but can’t afford one because she hasn’t the education necessary for a sustainable job, or access to health care, or day care, or adequate food, it is the abysmal priorities of our nation, the lack of social supports, the absence of justice that are the tragedies; the abortion is a blessing.

And when a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion – there is not a tragedy in sight — only blessing. The ability to enjoy God’s good gift of sexuality without compromising one’s education, life’s work, or ability to put to use God’s gifts and call is simply blessing.

These are the two things I want you, please, to remember – abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Let me hear you say it: abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done.

A verse from the prophet Isaiah comes to mind… “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter,” (Isaiah 5:20, ESV).  How this person can consider herself a minister of Jesus Christ I’ll never know.  As the seminary goes so does the denomination, so it’s really not a surprise the Episcopal Church is where it is at today – straying further and further from God’s word.

HT: Cameron Cloud

Update: Linked at New City of the Gospel