Abortions?

Abortion?

Ordinarily I do not write about an issue such as this one, but an otherwise good article at National Catholic Reporter online (ncronline.org) on July 05, 2011, “Catholic social teaching vs. the cult of individualism”, Robert Christian, as the title suggests discussed the difference between a community view of society and the exaltation of individualism.  The author equated abortion (and euthanasia, but this is only about abortion) “…to values of utility and enlightened self-interest,  which are often better than base selfishness, yet can lead to dehumanizing policies, such as the legalization of abortion…”

Make no mistake here.  I am not “pro-abortion”.  I value life at all of its stages, and am opposed to the death penalty as well. I apologize to flies when I swat them.  But neither do I believe that any group of men, regardless of how spiritually holy they may be, or how steeped in theology or canon law they may be, can possibly comprehend the economic, psychological, emotional, or physical trauma a woman might be experiencing that would even cause her to consider an abortion.  The argument is used that women just use abortion as a method of birth control.  I would assume a minority of women might do that.

But the fact remains that the majority of pregnant women who are considering abortion did not become pregnant voluntarily.  There can be myriad reasons why (not how) this occurred, and I don’t believe that is necessary to go into detail.  The trauma these women face is extraordinary.  Because of this trauma, women from the beginning of time have had abortions, for myriad reasons.  And many have died. 

The push for legalized abortions with Roe vs. Wade was the recognition on the part of women, and some men, that legal, safe, and rare abortions were much better than women dying after “back alley” abortions by abortionists who did not use safe or sterile instruments, or by botched abortions by the women themselves.  Legalizing abortions was not the result of extreme individualism, but as a result of a community effort on the part of women to save the lives of their sisters.  I asked one very conservative retired police officer whether he supported abortion rights.  His response was, “I hate the thought of abortion.  But I have called the ambulance for too many women in my younger days before Roe vs. Wade who were either bleeding out or had bled out from botched abortions to ever want to go back to those days”.

Men honor “team efforts” or “The Band of Brothers” or fraternal solidarity.  What the majority of men don’t realize is that women also have this communal sense of protecting their own.  It is the responsibility of the churches and others who profess that they are pro-life to protect the lives of women as well.  This can best be done not by working to overturn Roe vs. Wade, but by making sure that women who might otherwise consider abortion have the emotional, economic, psychological, and physical help they need to either bring the baby to term for adoption, or the assistance they need to keep the baby and care for it responsibly.

The vision is not to have any abortions.  The goal is to determine how to achieve that vision.  If I were in charge I would invite married women of child-bearing age to brainstorm with me what it is that they believe women need to survive a pregnancy in this day and age.  When Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sibelius was Governor of Kansas she began several programs directed at vulnerable women.  As a result, the abortion rate in Kansas dropped significantly.  “Just say no” does not work.

This is not a simple issue.  It is extremely complex, and simplistic solutions are no solutions at all.