Right to Life

by Fr. Charlie Goraieb  |  08/20/2022  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

One of the main issues dividing Christians from non-believers—and even Christians from other Christians—is abortion. Is it a human being? Or does the mother have the right to decide to end the child’s life?

Oftentimes, those defending abortion will resort to illogical or fallacious arguments to make their case. Below is a brief summary of 10 pro-abortion arguments you will likely encounter and how to respond. Because of space I can only give a summary of each, but below is a link to the original article.

1. We do not know when life begins. It is a basic fact of biology that an independent organism begins to exist at the moment of conception.

2. My body, my choice. This mantra assumes that the conceived child is simply a part of the mother’s body. Although that child in her womb is dependent on the mother for survival, biologically speaking, at the moment of conception, there is a distinct human organism within the mother’s body.

3. Stop pushing your religious views on me. Opposition to abortion does not stems solely from faith. Our nation’s laws against the killing of innocent people are based on the natural law, not on the Bible.

4. What if the mother’s life is in danger? The Church also recognizes the legitimacy of taking action to save the life of the mother even if it may result in the death of the unborn child. That includes, for example, ectopic pregnancies. This would not be an abortion, which is the intentional killing of the child.

5. No one should be forced to have a child. Even though many today see sex as a means to self-ful"llment, sexual intercourse is ordered intrinsically toward life. The decision to engage in sexual activity must necessarily assume the possibility of conception.

6. What about cases of rape and incest? The victim of rape or incest has experienced terrible violence. But the answer to this violence is not to pass it on to another innocent person and thus become a perpetrator of violence.

7. Women will be economically burdened if they are forced to give birth. People are more important than things. This also requires us to examine how our culture thinks about life. What are our priorities? Do we value human life more than economic realities?

8. Poor children would be worse off. Is it better to be dead than to be poor? We need to rea!rm the inherent goodness of human life.

9. Constitutional freedom demands access to abortion. Despite the erroneous Roe v Wade, there has never been a constitutional right to kill an unborn child. Abortion harms the common good by depriving the nation of future citizens, which is now leading our country into a dangerous population (and economic) decline.

10. If we do not have legal abortion, people will die! What irony! This argument, of course, focuses on the possible return to unsafe abortion practices now that Roe v. Wade is overturned. But with each abortion, that child will certainly die.

For a fuller elaboration of each argument read: ‘What is truth?’: Catholic responses to pro-choice objections https://denvercatholic.org/what-is-truth-catholic-responses-to-pro-choice-objections/.

May God bless you and your family,

Fr Charlie Goraieb

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