by Rev. Harold W. Anderson, Ph.D., M.A., M.Div., MFT
I was listening to a report on TikTok about a Georgian woman arrested for having a miscarriage even though autopsy reports indicated that it was the result of natural processes. Apparently, the woman was discovered by police in her home unconscious and bleeding. After examination in the hospital, medical personnel discovered that she had a miscarriage following 19 weeks of pregnancy, but the aborted fetus was not on the premises. Apparently, the woman had disposed of the miscarriage in a nearby dumpster, so she was charged with “concealing the death of another person,” and “abandonment of a dead body,” the former carrying a potential sentence of 10 years and the latter up to 3 years. The woman remains in custody until “the legal process plays out.”
If one were to follow the life and teachings of Jesus, empathy and support would be the primary response to such a situation not 13 years in jail!
All of this has set off alarms for reproductive rights advocates and legal experts. What does it mean if miscarriages are now raising criminal concerns for women? I might also wonder what this means for the rights of women in general. Georgia official’s view of women seem to be similar to those of J.D. Vance. Based upon his past comments, Vance seems to think that a woman’s place is in the home, and women should not be allowed to vote. That privilege is for the head of the household…a man. Given Vance’s view of women, it’s likely that he would restrict the type of education a woman can achieve, and limit her ability to compete with men in the job market. And oh yea…did I mention that if a woman were to have a miscarriage, it is her fault, not the man’s (See “J. D. Vance’s Very Weird Views About Women,” in the Atlantic). Not only is this extremely alarming, I would also hold that it is quite contrary to the teachings of Jesus.
As I understand the young woman’s plight, the issue is that she did not dispose of the miscarriage in the way Georgia official saw fit. Many may agree that disposing of the miscarriage in a dumpster was not the wisest of choices, but 13 years in prison for making a bad choice while experiencing both the physical and emotional trauma of a miscarriage? That is crazy! Where is the empathy for the trauma a woman experiences when she miscarriages regardless of how many weeks she is pregnant? The loss is tremendous and the feeling of inadequacy is profound. If one were to follow the life and teachings of Jesus, empathy and support would be the primary response to such a situation not 13 years in jail!
When Mary found out she was pregnant with Jesus, she was probably 13, and while betrothed to Joseph, they were not married. To make matters worse, it was not Joseph’s child. For all he knew, Mary had acted inappropriately by becoming pregnant. He could have turned Mary away and abandoned her in her time of need, but he didn’t. He showed her empathy, and he showed her compassion. He married Mary and together, they raised Jesus.
As a man, however, Jesus’ life and ministry was a continuation of the empathy and compassion that Joseph had shown Mary. When a group of men brought a woman to Jesus wanting to stone her because, they said, she had been caught in adultery, Jesus did not condone their brutal desires. Instead, he doodled in the sand with a finger, stood, and looked at the men saying, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” He had caught these men in duplicity. They had all made a mistake. They had all made bad choices. And they had all been guilty of doing something they were not proud of. If they were like me, all these men had at one point in their lives wanted people to show them a little empathy; they wanted them to understand; they wanted them to show some compassion. Anyone who falls short— “sins”—must take responsibility for what they had done. The empathy Jesus showed to the woman allows people to become a better person. After the men dropped their stones and went away, Jesus looked at the woman and noting that all who would condemn her had gone, he said to her “Go your way, and from now on do not sin again” (John 8: 1-11, NRSVUE).
I think Joseph and Jesus provide authorities with a good model to address the shortcomings of the woman in Georgia. Sure, she could have done things differently. Sure, it is easy to condemn what she did, but she had experienced severe trauma and the loss of her pregnancy while living in a State where women apparently must hide their maternity status out of fear. Instead of throwing the book at her, do what Jesus did. Show her some empathy, show her compassion and forgiveness. Help her work through her trauma that she might become a better person and perhaps someday, the mother she wanted to be.
“If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing” (I Corinthians 13:1-3, NRSVUE).