October is Respect Life Month. Last week I preached on having a greater respect for life in each of the issues facing us today: abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, war, and embryonic stem cell research among others. This generated the following question (paraphrased):
Is there a different gravity between life issues, especially abortion and war?
Yes. Just as there is a difference between a $700 billion rescue of our financial system and a $200,000 rescue of an individual’s mortgage, there is a difference in the magnitude of human lives lost between different issues, yet each life is precious and worth saving! Of course, there are other factors besides the numbers, but I’d like to simply list out some estimates of deaths in some of the issues at hand and let you make your own judgments about the terrible loss of lives.
Estimated number of abortions from 1973 to 2008 in U.S.: 48 Million
Iraq War deaths: 4157 U.S. soldiers, estimates of 150,000 Iraqis (killed by violence whether U.S., insurgency, or rampant crime). Some estimates are much higher.
Euthanasia: unknown
Death penalty/executions from 1976 to 2008: 1123
Embryos destroyed by researchers: unknown
Embryos destroyed in fertility clinics due to In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF): unknown, but speculated to be in hundreds of thousands
Frozen embryos created by IVF: estimates of around 400,000 (not known what will be done with them)
Every human life is sacred and a gift from God.
-Fr. Greg
If you would like submit a question, please write it out and place it in the “Ask a Priest” box in the vestibule or email me at frgreg@kc.rr.com.
