Terrified voices fill the airwaves lately, worried that abortion may be outlawed in the United States (we certainly hope so). It’s a good moment to remind ourselves: Why is the Catholic Church so starkly opposed to the “popular” or “progressive” view on abortion? I’m glad the Church has been so staunch on the issue of abortion. I believe her teaching to be true, and I hope that the logic of the position reaches as broad an audience as possible, because I believe that we have legalized the killing of innocent human beings, and it needs to stop. I base my reasoning on the fact that there’s no essential difference between the child in the womb and the child out of the womb. In fact, the flow of bioethics seems to have confirmed my stance —namely, that if you support abortion, there is no clear reason to oppose infanticide. A 2011 paper in the Journal of Medical Ethics titled “After-Birth Abortion: Why Should the Baby Live?” took the notion to its logical conclusion, defending the claim that infanticide (termed by the authors of the paper “after-birth abortion”) ought to be considered morally acceptable whenever abortion is accepted by society, including in cases of economic hardship. Incredible! Forgivable sin A multitude of objections are often raised against the Church’s position. Let’s take a quick look at some of these. “Do you believe that abortion is forgivable?” Yes, absolutely. There’s no such thing as an unforgivable sin, other than despairing of God’s forgiveness. In other words, God can and will forgive you for every sin — unless you don’t let Him forgive you. God loves every woman who has ever had an abortion, just as He loves every abortionist and clinic worker, just as He loves me and you, and every other human being for whom He died. God loves you absolutely. “What about abortion in cases of rape and incest?” The child did not rape, and the child did not commit incest. Don’t kill an innocent child for someone else’s sin. “Doesn’t a woman have the right to control her own body?” Yes, but this right is not without accompanying responsibilities. A woman does not have the right to destroy herself by anorexia or bulimia. A woman does not have the right to commit suicide. A woman has an obligation to love herself as the person with dignity and value that she is. She has a responsibility to be a good steward of her body, and she has the responsibility to be a good mother to the children she conceives, even if that means putting the children up for adoption or letting them live with relatives. Destroyer of peace “If you don’t like abortion, don’t have one.” That’s like saying, “If you don’t like hiring hit men, don’t hire one!” For the sake of society, we have to oppose the taking of innocent human life. Once such taking of life is accepted as normal, the effects on a society are wide-ranging and very dangerous. Mother Teresa made this plain in her acceptance speech when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, saying, “I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion.” Again, God can and will forgive someone who has procured an abortion or performed an abortion — a person can go to Confession and have all his or her sins forgiven. There are many mitigating circumstances that can reduce or remove a person’s culpability for an abortion, but abortion remains wrong. Adapted from How CanYou Still Be Catholic? 50 Answers to a Good Question by Chris Sparks (Marian Press; Product code B54-BCBB). WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT ABORTION? Answers to Questions By Chris Sparks Marian Helper • Summer 2022 • Marian.org 35
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