Is The Solution to Abortion More Economical Than Legal
One of the most unsettling stories in the Bible comes from 2 Kings 6. I first heard it as a teenager when our pastor spent nearly a year preaching through 1 and 2 Kings. Normally, my mind would wander during Sunday services, but this story caught my attention due to its scandalous and disturbing nature.
In the passage, a woman pleads with the king for justice. She and her friend, both suffering from extreme starvation, had made a horrifying pact—to boil and eat their own children. The woman followed through on the pact and sacrificed her own child. But when it came time for her friend to do the same, the friend hid her baby. The king, upon hearing this, was overwhelmed with grief, realizing the depth of his kingdom’s suffering and depravity.
How could something like this happen?
The text offers a clear explanation—there was an extreme famine in Samaria.
2 Kings 6:25 says:
"And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver."
This passage illustrates how severe economic hardship drove people to unthinkable acts. But it also shows how God alleviated this suffering by eventually ending the famine.
What does this ancient story have to do with abortion in America today?
Just as economic stress led to desperate decisions in biblical times, it does so today. According to the Guttmacher Institute, there were 1,037,000 abortions performed in 2023. Of those, 41% were among women living below the poverty line, making less than $15,000 per year. Another 30% were women earning between $15,000 and $30,000 annually. In total, 71% of the women who had an abortion in 2023 earned less than $30,000 a year.
Interestingly, abortion rates were as high as 1.5 million annually in the late ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s. However, in the last two decades, the rate has dropped by about 33%. I believe part of this decline is due to increased gender equality in the workplace. The more opportunities women have to support themselves and their families, the less likely they are to make such a difficult decision.
Now, I know this is a heated debate, and economic factors aren’t the only part of the equation. There are many reasons why someone might choose abortion, and these are the complex issues our leaders need to address. But looking at the numbers, it’s clear that economic stress is a major factor.
As a pro-life advocate, I believe it’s important to support life not just before birth but after as well. If we truly want to reduce abortion rates, we must improve opportunities for women, particularly single mothers. It’s not enough to focus solely on laws that restrict abortion; we must also fight for gender equality and provide economic support that empowers women to choose life.
