Christians are called not to judge others. That includes those who have abortions. | Opinion

As a lifelong Christian, I value each person’s life as being made in the  image of God, and I believe that as Christians, we should see all people as equal in  the eyes of God.

In a march for abortion rights in Nashville after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, one demonstrator explains the day-to-day things they see in the NICU.

What I saw as a rural public health nurse

In my work as a public health nurse for 35 years in rural Tennessee, I have seen a lot of people, especially women, unable to live the healthy and productive lives that God created them to live. My first job after nursing school was as a traveling reproductive health education nurse. This was before Roe v. Wade allowed abortion to be legal and safe in the U.S. It was always shocking to me how many women knew very little about their own bodies and their reproductive health, and didn’t have knowledge or access to birth control.

I have held many women while they cried because they had no idea how they would continue their pregnancies. I saw women who pursued unsafe abortions and needed emergency care and ultimately ended up without a uterus or even lost their lives due to the lack of access to a safe abortion. Some of these women were already struggling to feed themselves, let alone future children, or were in abusive relationships in their own homes. I knew they were terrified about the reaction they would get from their family or partner once they headed home and shared the news of their pregnancy.

Hear more Tennessee voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought-provoking columns.

As both a Christian and a nurse, I support the need for a safe and legal option for abortion and am heartbroken that since Roe has been overturned it won’t be available here in Tennessee. It’s because of my faith in Christ and his call for us to “Judge not, lest you be not judged,” that I know I cannot truly put myself in another woman’s shoes and believe I know better than she does what choice to make.

Many politicians consider themselves to be “pro-life” because they support making abortion illegal. But this kind of policy isn’t actually supportive of life. It’s a punitive policy that judges women without taking into consideration what they are going through.

Story continues

Abortion isn’t an easy answer

Kathy Clark

People often assume that abortion is chosen as the “easy answer,” but I have seen women in complicated, traumatic and heartbreaking situations, and for them abortion was far from an “easy” answer. Rather, having the choice to receive a safe abortion instead of a dangerous one was not only a lifeline, but was also the only way they knew to keep their families safe and healthy. It is never my role as a Christian to judge how or why a woman would make that decision. It’s up to her, with support from her faith leader and her doctor, to make the best choice for her and her family.

Policy that would actually support a quality of life everyone deserves would provide accessible and affordable birth control, honest reproductive health education and quality, affordable health care and child care for every woman in Tennessee. If Republicans actually supported these policies that would empower Tennesseans to live healthy lives, women would have the education and resources they need to keep their families healthy and safe, and abortion rates would go down significantly.

Your state. Your stories. Support more reporting like this.A subscription gives you unlimited access to stories across Tennessee that make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you. Click here to become a subscriber.

I am grieved and scared at what will come from the Supreme Court overturning Roe v.  Wade. And as a nurse before Roe, I can assure you that returning to those times is dangerous, will cost lives and is certainly nothing to celebrate.

Kathy Clark is a nurse in Sparta, Tennessee. She was a reproductive health nurse in rural areas and is supportive of abortion rights.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Christians are called not to judge others. That includes those who have abortions.