We spoke last week about the hugely welcome shift in how society talks about miscarriage and cares for women (and men) who have experienced it. And yet at the same time in Britain, we desperately avoid using the same language and narrative established in baby loss services when we are in the abortion zone. Now, the fetus is not a much loved, named human baby who is irreplaceable and whose death is a deep bereavement for both parents. Now it is simply a clump of cells inside the woman’s body who can choose for any reason to rid herself of it with no lasting consequences. How have these two mutually contradictory stories about the unborn child developed side by side? Why are abortions – especially medical ones now available at home via the ‘pills by post’ option – increasing in number in the UK? And would it be wrong for pro-life Christians to highlight the incoherent narratives around baby loss in advocacy and campaigning?
In each episode of Matters of Life and Death, brought to you by Premier Unbelievable?, John Wyatt and his son Tim discuss issues in healthcare, ethics, technology, science, faith and more. John is a doctor, professor of ethics, and writer and speaker on many of these topics, while Tim is a religion and social affairs journalist. We talk about how Christians can better engage with a particular question of life, death or something else in between.
We spoke last week about the hugely welcome shift in how society talks about miscarriage and cares for women (and men) who have experienced it. And yet at the same time in Britain, we desperately avoid using the same language and narrative established in baby loss services when we are in the abortion zone. Now, the fetus is not a much loved, named human baby who is irreplaceable and whose death is a deep bereavement for both parents. Now it is simply a clump of cells inside the woman’s body who can choose for any reason to rid herself of it with no lasting consequences. How have these two mutually contradictory stories about the unborn child developed side by side? Why are abortions – especially medical ones now available at home via the ‘pills by post’ option – increasing in number in the UK? And would it be wrong for pro-life Christians to highlight the incoherent narratives around baby loss in advocacy and campaigning?
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