Because I work in a secular and largely left-leaning environment, I don't have the benefit of people often having a Christian worldview. They may have a respectful curiosity about religious practice (assuming they are people of good will), so it is good practice if conentious issues come up to have a response that is concise, accurate, and hopefully allays ignorance of pre-conceived notions about religion. If someone is antagonistic from that point it is on them, but at least you can stand on your convictions and be able to articulate them with charity. As St. Peter says, "But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you" (1 Peter 3:15)
Remember, though, you can make arguments against abortion apart from religion through the light of reason and the Natural Law. But were one to take a religious (Christian) approach, that argument can be made as well. Here is one such (imagined) response I formulated at the kitchen table in prayer this morning.
Interlocuter: "Why are you against abortion rights? Why do you consider yourself anti-abortion?"
Christian: "The God I worship, Jesus Christ, became man through the womb of a simple woman, Mary, a virgin. She was chosen by God to bear God in her womb. Her circumstances were not ideal; she was poor, away from her home, and ended up giving birth in a stable. But everything hinged on her assent, her "yes."
You know the story of Eve, the mother of humanity, who lost the grace and friendship of God through disobedience in eating the fruit in the garden. Humanity was lost, but Christians believe God wanted to redeem them, but could only do so by becoming one of us. He did that through Mary, who conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Mary did not say no to God; she said "yes." Just as the Ark of the Covenant was the dwelling place of God in the Old Testament, Mary's womb became the new ark, God's dwelling place. The womb is a sacred place where life comes from.
The opposite of life is death, and spiritual death is what all humanity merited after the Fall in the garden. God entrusted Mary to bear the Christ in her womb, and gave women a share in this divine creativity by bringing forth life from their wombs.
Abortion takes the ark of life in every woman and turns it into a place of destruction, violence, and sacrilege. It is the anti-thesis of Christian belief in the sanctity of life, the sacredness of the womb, and the goodness of creation. It results in physical death, spiritual death, and says "no" to the gift of life that the God who created everything invites us to participate in. It can never be justified or condoned by any believing Christian."
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