What are some effective ways to share with others the fact that abortion is a moral evil and that it kills an innocent human life?
For American Catholics, October is Respect Life Month. So this is a great time to think about questions like this and what we can do to help promote a culture of life. To know what is effective, we need to know our audience and know what language and ideas are being used. Today the abortion debate could be summed up as such:
Pro-Life Argument: Everyone has a right to life. Life begins at conception. An abortion takes a human life.
Pro-Choice Argument: Women have the right to choose. The decision to abort a child is one that should be made between a woman and her doctor. The government should not choose for her, nor should another’s beliefs be imposed on her. It’s her right to follow her conscience and choose herself.
As you can see, neither side speaks the same language or uses the same ideas besides the vague concept of a “right”. In fact, our society has no common ground to build up a moral code. We as Catholics value in morality above all the truth, and we see the truth of abortion as that it kills a growing, developing human life. Each of us began our lives in this way. I did not come into existence when I was born or was “viable”. However, many other persons’ primary values on which to base their morality are tolerance and the right for a person to follow their own conscience. Tolerance and following one’s own conscience are important, but are they more important than truth? We do not tolerate or respect the consciences of those who murder a newborn baby unable to take care of him/herself. Why do we tolerate the killing of unborn babies? Does being born make us a human person? Does being able to survive on our own (viability) make us more human? What newborn baby can survive on their own? If we ignore the truth of the matter for the sake of tolerance, we are all headed for trouble! I will continue to investigate ways to promote life next week…
-Fr. Greg
