It has been a crazy couple weeks, hasn’t it? I am speaking of the time since the leak of the probable overturning of Roe v Wade and its “sister” case, Casey v Planned Parenthood. If these decisions are in fact overturned, as the leak seems to indicate, abortion in the US will NOT be gone. What the verdict WILL mean is that the decision as to whether abortion will be legal or not, or restricted in some manner, will be thrown back to the states to be voted on by representatives elected by their constituencies. That is the fact of the anticipated Supreme Court ruling. It is also a fact that the majority of scientists state that life begins at conception. The heart of a baby begins beating as early as 6 weeks of gestation and is audible around 10 weeks. These are also facts. A baby in the womb will ALWAYS become a human being. Never another species. Fact. A baby in the womb will ALWAYS have unique DNA that is unlike any other DNA before or afterwards. But the child in the womb cannot survive on its own, is another argument. But neither can the newly born infant survive on its own without parental care. Nor can a senior in the later stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. We all need the care and support of others throughout our lives. But it doesn’t really LOOK like a child when in the womb. But an infant doesn’t look like a toddler, doesn’t look like a teenager, doesn’t look like an adult. The in utero person looks exactly like they are SUPPOSED to look like at that stage of human development.
So, the logical conclusion to these undeniable facts is that what exists in the uterus of a woman is a person and the termination of a pregnancy results in the death of that person. What IS debatable is the value a people places on this life. In the pro-abortion movement it is clear that the argument centers on the belief that the life of the woman supersedes the life of the unborn. The pre-born child is believed to have a lower value than the woman carrying that child. This belief, that there is a relative value between the woman and the child, is the only conclusion that can be drawn when considering the facts stated above. And we know from history what happens when one class of life is valued above another class. Slavery and the Holocaust come to mind as the value of black lives and Jewish lives were deemed to be beneath the value of others.
And what about rape and incest? Should one violent act be followed by another violent act? Did the child of that despicable act choose how they would be conceived? Make no mistake, the one committing such a heinous act deserves punishment to the full extent of the law. But killing the child does nothing to accomplish the goal of punishment of the perpetrator. The only one paying a price is the child who is aborted.
So why this diatribe on abortion today? How many of you have voiced these arguments against abortion to friends, family or thru the magic of the internet? I hope all Catholics are prepared to, and have, made the case against abortion openly and without apology. But we all know what the backlash is for taking these positions. I have been called vile names by opposition protestors while praying at abortion clinics. I have been called a privileged white male for taking the stance outlined above. I have been deemed to be a woman hater. And many other names that are not accurate. In short, hate has been thrown my way. And, of course, I am not alone in this. Politicians, the media and personalities in film and TV have railed against those who support the unborn making the claim that we are out to destroy women and take away reproductive rights. Hate has won a place in the hearts of many.
And what did Jesus tell us today in the Gospel? The world will hate us because it first hated Him. And why did the world hate Christ? Because He said things that the world did not like to hear. On what true love is. About mercy. About the evils of sin. About loving your enemies. About putting God’s laws above man’s laws. And when the Apostles began spreading the same message after Jesus’ ascension, they were treated the same way. All being martyred, except for John. But before their deaths they spread Jesus’ message to much of the world, planting a seed that would flourish in its time. Because the antidote for hate is love. And the treatment for evil is forgiveness. And the consequences of love and mercy is joy.
And why do we care? Beyond the fact that a life is lost with every abortion, we care because we should recognize that we are all one body with the head being Christ. And what happens to one part of the body affects every part of the body. When a child dies, or when a woman grieves after she realizes what she has lost, we all suffer. And we all should feel the joy when another experiences joy.
We are many parts, but we are all one body. And the gifts we have, we are given to share. May the spirit of love, make us one indeed. One the love that we share. One our hope in despair. One the cross that we bear…for each other. (Marty Haugen)
