Special

por Ricardo Dias Paz

About abortion

Abortion, along the years, has been an issue that causes a lot of reflection and controversy in several societies, even those in which these issues are no longer banned and can be practiced by some women in their normal and daily lives.

In 1987, the magazine VEJA wrote in a cover story about dozens of women, - celebrities, domestic workers, intellectuals and housewives – where they openly told their experiences about abortion. They spoke of anguish, guilt, pain and loneliness. The matter at that time was still treated as something forbidden and shameful. That same year the Chamber of Deputies approved the rules for legal abortion, provided for in the Penal Code since 1940, for cases of rape and life-threatening for pregnant women.

In 2012 the Supreme Federal Court expanded the possibility of legal abortion by allowing termination of pregnancy in the case of fetuses with anencephaly (malformation of the brain that makes life outside the womb unfeasible).

Currently, discussions about abortion are coming up again and in full force, and an action is in the Supreme Court (STF) to declare Articles 124 and 126 of the Penal Code unconstitutional. They criminalize the practice of abortion. In other words, the lawsuit seeks to have abortion no longer characterized as a crime against life until the 12th week of pregnancy.

The subject generates extreme controversy and discussions in different spheres of society, as it reflects on moral, ethical and religious issues. The fact is that when any crime becomes a legal behavior, it will nevertheless fit into the moral processes of the Sovereign Laws that sustain the Universe in the name of God.1

Research and statistics regarding the practice of abortion in Brazil and in the world points to relevant data. There is controversy about the reality of the numbers, which are seasonal and outdated, considering the number of women who perform abortions and do not disclose it for various reasons, one of them being the practice of a crime according to the law.

However, there is a line of researchers who argue that data are manipulated to be overestimated and serve as a parameter in the defense of the approval of the abortion law. Thus, by exposing a high number of missing cases of pregnancy interruptions, the defenders want to claim, under this argument, that the legalization of abortion directly implies the reduction of clandestine cases with a positive impact on the morbid consequences of those who practice it.

In the meantime, what really matters? The number of cases or the moral issue? How to deal with the pain, loneliness, fear, shame, regret of the "mommies" who, without thinking and without feeling, have undergone this practice?

Considering the shady situations in these women’s lives, who live with never ending pain and affliction in all circumstances of their lives, they are guided into despair and decide to put an end to the life their carry in their womb, even though they are aware, in some cases, that it is a crime under the laws of men, without yet understanding the justice of the Laws of God.

The Spiritist Doctrine presents us with the explanations below copied from The Book of Spirits, by Allan Kardec:

 

357. What consequences does abortion have for the Spirit?

"It is a nullified existence and he will have to start all over".

358. Is it a crime to make an abortion at any time of pregnancy?

“There is a crime whenever you break God's Law. A mother, or whoever, will commit a crime whenever she takes the life of a child before it is born, because it prevents a soul from undergoing the tests that the body being formed would be an instrument”.

359. Given the case that the child's birth would endanger her mother's life, is there a crime in sacrificing the first to save the second?

"It is preferable to sacrifice the being that does not exist yet to sacrifice what already exists".

360. Is it rational to give the same attention to a fetus than the one given to the body of a child who has lived for some time?

“See in all this the will and work of God. Do not, therefore, neglectfully deal with things that you must respect. Why not respect the works of creation, sometimes incomplete at the will of the Creator? Everything happens according to His designs and nobody is called to be His judge”.

In Brazil, abortion is not considered a crime when it occurs naturally or when practiced by a qualified physician: in case pregnancy is life-threatening to the pregnant woman, or when the pregnancy is the result of a rape or if the fetus is anencephalic. In this case, it is noted that the Law is in conformity with the Spiritist Doctrine only in the first situation, as mentioned in question 359 of The Book of Spirits.

Chance does not exist in God's plans, which is sovereignly just and good, and it is exactly in reincarnation that He manifests this justice, as we can see in the question below from the same book by Allan Kardec:

 167. What is the purpose of reincarnation?

 “Atonement, progressive improvement of Humanity. Without this, where is there justice?"

Hence comes the belief and trust in our Father, who directs the entire Universe and does not allow injustice and no harm to happen, if not for a greater purpose. What, then, can we say about the gestation of a life, of a Spirit that proposes to cooperate mutually in the improvement of one another? One of the greatest gifts that God allows is to become a mother and it is through her that God manifests all His justice and His love.

Naturally, it is preferable to neutralize prejudices, especially when the intention is to analyze the position of the woman who plans to terminate her pregnancy. How to explain the consequences of this act? It would probably be difficult to prevent or convince a mother who intends to have an abortion, because in most cases her will is not manifested, due to fear or discrimination by society.

Free will is up to us. Good or bad attitudes will have their weight on our consciences; so it is understood that the mother, like anyone else, owns her body, but as the venerable Joanna de Angelis says in the message on Abortion in the book Alerta (Alert), a psychographics by Divaldo Franco: There is no doubt regarding the “rights of the woman over her body”, but not over the life that lives in the intimacy of her organic structure.

In this sense, the Spirit that has its reincarnation abruptly interrupted - because it is prevented from completing its life cycle - can establish processes of obsession that become complicated, culminating in alienating the woman with a guilty conscience, forming a depressive syndrome and others, in which madness and suicide become illusory doors to freedom.

On the other hand, there are cases in which abortion occurs not because the future mother wants it, but because of the influence or pressure of her partner or even her family, who, due to prejudiced or distorted ideas, prefer an abortion than to raise a child not in compliance with the standards imposed by society.

The way that we can find, to alleviate or positively influence these issues, is to require courage from the high and protective Spirits to endure the afflictions and the weight placed on these women’s shoulders, usually by unjust and proud people, who are still unable to understand and to practice benevolence, indulgence and forgiveness, essential virtues for the improvement of the soul.

It is necessary to have faith in divine goodness, which does not forsake anyone, always asking for strength to endure the pain, suffering and accept with resignation the unwanted pregnancy.

Nobody remembers what was committed to the Ministry of Reincarnation and the tests and atonements wisely understood for adjustment and evolution. It is by the plurality of existences that we can understand how much the Superior Spirituality takes care and prepares with love and dedication our reincarnation. Thus, the gift of life must be taken advantage of, a unique opportunity that must not be missed.

The Spirit that the mother carries, obviously, was also prepared to be reincarnated; he accepted to be her son, promised to love her and readjust issues of the past, and is happy with the opportunity that God gave him, convinced that he will improve and evolve while incarnated, being a wonderful, loving and hardworking son.

God, in His infinite wisdom, with regard to the perpetuation of species, a natural consequence of preserving life, gives the mother the right to procreate. It allows us to have life and even told us to have it in abundance. Human life on this planet, starting with conception, is an inviolable asset, granted by Divine Providence, which needs to be understood and respected as such.2

Through the miracle of reincarnation, it is possible to re-encounter past lives so that members of a family can together experience the practice of love, kindness, charity and the incessant search for forgiveness. The son, this developing being, begs only for an opportunity to evolve morally; he wants to perfect himself as a soul and correct his mistakes. He loved his mother even before he was in his womb and wants to give this “mommy” the opportunity to love him too.

Just look at the children playing in the parks, watch a beautiful girl go to her school or a little boy eating an ice cream... The joyous and happy children on their parents' laps! They are Spirits in formation, who carry with them good or bad experiences from other lives, but they are still in need of affection and support that they need to receive from their parents to complement their existence and contribute to their moral and spiritual formation.

Let us not forget the sublime message of Jesus when he said: “All that, therefore, that you want men to do to you, do it to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Thus, by putting ourselves in the shoes of these children and parents, we will be able to offer love similar to the love of Jesus. Through faith in the future, through trust in divine Providence, all mothers will accept and allow the preservation of life, in all its expressions, convinced that this is an inalienable duty in the very development of their evolution.


References:

KARDEC, Allan. The Book of Spirits. Translated by Evandro Noleto Bezerra. 4th edition, 4th print, Brasilia: FEB, 2017. Question 167.

_____. ____. Question 357

Reformador Magazine. Year 125. No. 2,141. August 2007 edition.

FRANCO, Divaldo. Alert. By the Spirit Joanna de Angelis. 7th Edition. Editora Leal, 2015.

This article was included in the contest “The Doctrine Explains”, which took place in 2018, promoted in the course of the Course of Spiritists1 Speakers of the Federal District, in the Spiritist Federation of the Federal District (FEDF). Ricardo Dias Paz, a Spiritist speaker, lives in the Federal District.

 

[1] FRANCO, Divaldo Pereira. Alert. By the Spirit Joanna de Angelis. LEAL

[2] Reformador Magazine. Year 125. No. 2,141. August 2007 edition.


Translation:
Eleni Frangatos - eleni.moreira@uol.com.br

 
 

     
     

O Consolador
 Revista Semanal de Divulgação Espírita