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CARE and Situation Ethics

 CARE has produced a leaflet, entitled Making a Decision, to help a pregnant woman decide whether or not to have an abortion.  The following analysis shows that the advice provided by the leaflet has nothing to do with the Christian faith.  Instead, it provides a classic example of situation ethics.     

 CARE’s leaflet, Making a Decision, advises a woman with a positive pregnancy test that she has three options.  ‘When you’re ready, you and your husband or partner will need to consider the options available: parenting, adoption or abortion.  You may already have a clear idea about what is best for you, or you may have conflicting feelings.’  Note that the objective is what’s best for the woman, not what’s right.  There is no acknowledgement that abortion is a moral issue.  And to make sure that the woman is not influenced by the views of other people the leaflet is careful to emphasise: ‘Although the decision ahead of you may be one of the most difficult you’ll ever have to make, it must be your decision and no-one else’s.’  Most pro-choice counselling programmes stress this point because they do not want the woman to be swayed by the ‘moralisers’ who may try and persuade her to keep the baby.

 So how does a woman decide what is best for her?  The first thing for her to consider is her circumstances.  ‘Circumstances can make an unplanned pregnancy hard to face.  That’s often because we are afraid of losing things that are important to us; not just practical things like time and money, but things like freedom, peace of mind, and relationships.  You may be afraid that you won’t cope with having a baby, particularly if it means having a larger family to care for.  Your partner or husband may feel unsure about the situation too.  Perhaps you feel your marriage or relationship wouldn’t take the strain of a new baby.  Or you may feel you are too young or have no support.  It’s also hard not to be concerned about what others would think.’  Here the woman is persuaded that she must consider her particular circumstances in order to decide what the best thing is for her.  In other words, what is the pragmatic solution in view of her particular situation?  This way of thinking is usually referred to as situation ethics. 

 It’s important for a woman to remember that she has the right to choose.  ‘Sometimes it’s hard to make choices.  That’s because we often gain something but lose something as well.  With each of the options open to you, there are gains and losses involved.’  So how does she go about calculating her gains and losses?   Well, the sensible thing is to make a list.  ‘Write a list of those things you think you might lose with each of the options.  These may include things like money, accommodation, time, freedom, and the baby itself, but also other things like self worth, peace of mind, and sense of security.’  That is, a woman is advised to consider her gains and losses in economic and psychological terms.  If she allows the pregnancy to continue she will most probably lose money, because she will be unable to work for a time, and the baby costs money to feed and clothe.  The baby will undoubtedly restrict her social life, she might have to give up education and she might even lose her accommodation.  So continuing with the pregnancy can be very costly indeed.  If she chooses abortion, on the other hand, the only thing she probably stands to lose is the baby.  

 Now she must write a list of the things she will gain.  ‘This time, go through the list and think of the things you would gain with each of the options.  How important are these gains to you?’  If she continues with the pregnancy the only thing she stands to gain is the baby, which cost money and restricts her freedom.  And what does she gain from abortion?  Well, she certainly gets rid of the baby she does not want, and she also benefits financially.  From her carefully constructed balance sheet she is now in a position to make a trade-off between her loses and gains.

 It is not difficult to see that what is being promoted is pure situation ethics.  The father of situation ethics, Joseph Fletcher, describe his approach to ethical decisions:  ‘Most of us decide for or against things on the principle of proportionate good.  We try to figure out the gains and losses that would follow from one course of action or another and then choose the one that is best, the one that offers the most good.  This calculation of consequences is often called a trade-off or cost benefit analysis.’[i]  So the guidance offered by the CARE leaflet is consistent with the teaching of Joseph Fletcher, and has nothing to do with biblical morality.  And this is no small matter.  What is at stake is the life of the unborn child, and all that CARE has to offer is an appeal to situation ethics. 

 CARE’s leaflet reminds the woman that in a state of panic it is very difficult to know what she should do.  This is why she should consult her subjective feelings for guidance.  ‘Ask your self what your instinctive feelings are about each option: keeping the baby, placing the baby for adoption, or having an abortion.’  Now a woman must decide what she feels about abortion and having a baby. ‘If you detect any instinctive feelings, try and think what it is about that option that makes you feel that way.’  For example, does she feel that abortion is right or wrong?  Or does she feel that the foetus in her womb is just a blob of multiplying cells?  Or does she feel that a baby only becomes human after it’s born?  Or perhaps she feels that as lots of women are having abortions why shouldn’t she?  And if she feels that way, then abortion seems a rather sensible, pragmatic solution to her problem. 

 It is important for the woman to be honest about her feelings and personal values.  ‘We can allow our instinctive feelings and the awareness of personal values to surface or we can suppress them.  When we don’t acknowledge deeper feelings either consciously or unconsciously, it’s called denial… you need to be totally honest with yourself, how you feel about keeping the baby, placing the baby for adoption or having an abortion before you make a final decision.’

 And now the woman must make a choice.  ‘You’ve weighed up what each option means to you in terms of the losses and gains you might experience.  You’ve questioned whether those losses really will happen or not.  You’ve also checked whether any deeper feelings or personal values are not being acknowledged…  Make sure you have read all the factual information about each option before you make a final decision.  Having looked at all the facts and explored thoroughly how you feel about each option, you may be ready to make your decision.  It’s important that you feel able to live with the decision you have made.’  As with pro-choice counselling, she is advised that the crucial thing in her decision is that she is able to live with it.  What she wants is paramount, and as long as she feels she can live with abortion then that makes it a sensible choice. 

 ‘If you need further help, CARE in Crisis can offer trained counsellors that are available to give you additional information to help you explore your feelings further.  We would welcome your husband or partner as well.  This is a free and confidential service.’  What is so depressing about this advice is that it is devoid of any moral guidance. CARE has effectively demoralised abortion by offering advice based on the principles of situation ethics.  How sad that a woman is advised to construct a gains and losses account to help her decide whether her unborn child is worth keeping.

 The above analysis leaves no doubt that CARE is an ardent supported of situation ethics.  CARE, while paying lip service to the Christian faith, has deserted biblical morality in favour of the relative morality propound by Joseph Fletcher.      

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