Melinda Willden: Utah’s abortion ban is an establishment of religion

The idea that spirits are in the pre-existence waiting for a body is a religious belief.

The idea that women shouldn’t have sex until they’re ready to be pregnant is a religious belief.

The idea that a fetus has a spirit and is a child of God is a religious belief.

When Utah became a state in 1896, a condition of statehood was that it would no longer be a theocracy. Utah’s Constitution says, “There shall be no union of Church and State, nor shall any church dominate the State or interfere with its functions.” — Utah Constitution Article I, Section 4.

You don’t truly have religious freedom unless you are free to disagree, disbelieve and disobey religious commandments.

Utah’s abortion ban is based on Christian beliefs. Firmly held religious beliefs are still only religious beliefs. No one’s religious experience creates an objective truth that a religious believer may force others to obey. Theocracies are not kind forms of government.

Laws must leave room for the teachings of other religions (and of secularism) that a pregnancy is an extension of a woman’s body and that God (if you choose to believe in one) can handle an electively aborted fetus in the same way God handles every fetus lost to miscarriage.

If women were prophets, there would be scriptures about pregnancy. Male prophets tend to generally ignore pregnant women, which is why most of the “pro-life” scriptures are about children and not about pregnant women.

I have found only one scripture that addresses terminating a pregnancy. In Exodus 20:13, Moses wrote down God’s commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” The next chapter gives the penalties for violating the commandments. Murder is punished by the death penalty (Exodus 21:12). Terminating a pregnancy is punished by paying a fine (Exodus 21:22).

If murder and abortion are penalized so differently, then clearly God doesn’t consider them to be the same thing. Other “pro-life” scriptures are not about abortion at all; they’re taken out of context and then pro-life principles are extracted from them. Christians can believe the scriptures and still be pro-choice.

The difficulty with governing by a theocracy is that most churches focus on ideals, leaving non-ideal situations in a doctrinal gap. The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are all in ideal circumstances themselves, respond to urgent requests for doctrinal guidance on non-ideal situations by falling back on vague promises that God will work it all out in the next life. This still leaves open the question about how to deal with non-ideal situations in this life.

Social science, modern medical science and secularism step compassionately into the gaps that religion does not or cannot address.

The ideal LDS family that welcomes an unplanned pregnancy includes economic security, good health insurance, spousal respect, strong community support and an extended family that helps out as needed.

But what about the non-ideal circumstances?

A woman in an unhealthy relationship who already has two children with someone she wants to leave; a love-starved teenager who believed her boyfriend when he said he loved her and now can’t confide in anyone because she’s afraid of what her father will do to her; a woman on medication that causes birth defects; a woman with health issues that won’t lead to death but will degrade her quality of life; a woman without health insurance; a woman who doesn’t share your religious beliefs and doesn’t want to justify her personal life decisions to Christians.

None of these women should have to convince you or a legislator to agree with her choices. None of these situations respond easily to ideal religious beliefs and Utah’s abortion ban.

Secular principles and modern medicine have improved the situation for pregnant women immeasurably. Forcing women back into the moral framework of ancient scripture that ignored the personhood of pregnant women is a step backwards for society. The abortion ban must go.

Melinda Willden is a lifetime resident of Utah living in Weber County. She is currently working as an attorney. The opinions in this column are her own personal beliefs and do not necessarily represent the views of her employer.