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Free Congress Commentary
By Nicholas Sanchez
The black and white debate over abortion has, for a long time, been convoluted by the proponents of legalized abortion. The pro-abortion movement began this by refusing to be tagged by what they really stood for. They were not "pro-abortion", we were informed; instead they were merely "pro-choice". (This was a brilliant strategic move on their part. Who in their right mind could be against "choice"? This is America, after all. We have a dozen different choices for everything. To be against choice - any kind of choice - is practically un-American.) Then the "pro-choice" crowd insisted to the listening public that abortion should not be portrayed as a moral issue. "Keep your Rosaries off of my ovaries" was an early rallying cry of feminists and their fellow travelers. For abortion to become acceptable to society at large, feminists realized that they had to instill in the zeitgeist a belief that women had this specious "right" to an abortion. This so-called right had to trump all religious and cultural taboos that might consider such an action abhorrent. The public was endlessly lectured by Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem et al. that instead of being a moral issue, abortion was purely a personal issue between a woman and her doctor. No mention was ever made of the father of the unborn child. Apparently this is an issue that is a bit too personal for the one half of the party that bore responsibility for the pregnancy in the first place. Thus, the major selling points of abortion were: one, pro-abortionists were not quite that scary a gaggle; instead, they were just a merry bunch of choice peddlers. And two, abortion is a procedure and a debate that is entirely secular in nature; it would be impossible to attach it to any moral codes (such as Thou shall not kill). All of this might explain why we have heard very little throughout the years from people who claimed to be both believers in God and supporters of abortion. If having an abortion is no different than having your tonsils taken out, why should this be a debate that concerns the Church? It is best, then, to sit back and label religious pro-lifers as fanatics rather than getting into a debate over whether or not God is in favor of a medical procedure that would allow the taking of human life. However, changing attitudes have now caused the pro-abortion community to dip its toe in an area where devils should fear to tread. And that is in a self re-examination of the moral/religious implications of an abortion. Such a move is not at all surprising. After all, for the past few years, polls have consistently shown that Americans are becoming increasingly uneasy with abortions. About this same time, polls have shown an increased attention by Americans to their spiritual life. Evangelical churches are, by and large, bursting at the seams And the Catholic Church has shown signs of revitalization in the U.S. and an increased number of young, conservative-minded vocations to the priesthood. Amid all this newfound religiosity in the hinterlands, some enterprising activists have found time to step up the activities of a group called "Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice" (RCRC). Self billed as a "Pro-faith", "pro-family", "pro-choice" organization, the RCRC exists mainly to peddle the notion that it is perfectly moral to be pro-abortion. Indeed, they maintain, the Bible itself shows that abortion is permissible. Of course, such a notion is laughable. There is no justification, at all, for abortion in the Scriptures. And no amount of bending of Scripture can, with any degree of intellectual honesty, credibly make this argument with a straight face. We know that the Gospel gives an account of St. John the Baptist leaping in his mother's womb, St. Elizabeth, upon the visitation by Elizabeth's cousin, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The unborn John leapt for joy because of his close proximity to the Savior of mankind, Christ Jesus, who was developing in the Virgin's womb. And if you think that the telling of this event is too sentimental for proof that Christian thought, guided by the Holy Scriptures, would not allow for the sanctioning of abortion, then let's look at the other guidepost of Christianity: Holy Tradition. There is the Didache", which is an early constitution of the Christian Church. Reliable historians date this "catechism" to as early as the middle of the first century. This would make it older than the Synoptic Gospels. On the matter of abortion, the Didache says, "Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion" (2.2). It also says, "The Way of Death is filled with people who are ... murderers of children and abortionists of God's creatures" (5:1-2). And lest you need more proof of the Christian tradition and its intolerance of abortion, read the words of some of the early Church Fathers. St. Basil the Great, a fourth century bishop, once said, "She who has deliberately destroyed a fetus has to pay the penalty of murder...." St. John Chrysostom, a contemporary of St. Basil and one of the Church's greatest orators, also gave a stinging rebuke to those who would "murder before ... birth." It is quite obvious that the true Christian perspective on abortion is unequivocal - such an act is repugnant and unacceptable before the eyes of God. And while the pro-abortion crowd may be able to manipulate the English language and the American political system, they cannot manipulate 2000 years of Christian truth, no matter how hard they try. Nicholas Sanchez is the Free Congress Foundation's Director of Development.
© This column is the property of the Free Congress Foundation and may not be reproduced without their permission.
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