The upcoming elections rhetoric is highlighting the divide over abortion in our country. There are three basic positions on this issue: it should always be allowed, it should only be allowed under certain circumstances, and it should never be allowed.
Democrats, in general, favor the minority position that it should always be legal. Republicans, in general, favor the majority position that it should be legal only under certain circumstances. But some Republicans still do favor the other minority position that it should never be legal.
President Biden is making abortion the cornerstone of his campaign. He has supported abortion by pushing for public and military funding for it during his presidency and is getting more rabid about it.
Recently, our “Catholic” President crossed himself while he was “listening to Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried slam her state’s pro-life law.” In his own speech immediately following Fried’s, he pushed for a constitutional right to allow abortion at any stage of a pregnancy. He crafts the pro-life narrative as a threat to freedom. In so doing, he blatantly disregards the faith he so publicly professes.
On the other side, pro-life Republicans are altering their message to get votes. An example is former President Trump’s statements about leaving it up to the states to decide the legality of abortion. Likewise, there are disagreements by pro-life politicians as to the number of weeks to allow abortions, what should be exceptions, etc.
All this appears to be in response to recent state elections and to abortion surveys. Seven state elections/referendums, including several “red” states since the Dobbs decision, have upheld or established the legality of abortion. In some instances, states have even enshrined abortion in their constitutions.
Survey Results
Recent Gallup poll surveys provide the most disturbing trends. A record-high 69% say abortion should generally be legal in the first three months of pregnancy with 37% saying it should be legal in the second three months and 22% in the last three months. These trends are reflective of the finding that 52% of Americans say abortion is morally acceptable.
With those numbers it’s no wonder the political results are supportive of abortion. In turn, Planned Parenthood reported a 5% increase in abortions this past year.
The above attitudes and voting patterns regarding abortion illustrate that the will of the people appears to support abortion. But the majority “will of the people” is ignoring the “right to life.”
While the Dobbs decision was a victory to overturn Roe v Wade, it also mobilized the pro-abortion sentiment in this country. It reflects serious challenges to the pro-life movement, especially in the political realm.
Politicians are pandering to a perceived “will of the people” and are allowing abortion to gain votes.
Lessons from history
As a history buff, I always like to look for historical parallels to current issues. The controversy over slavery in the 1850s, I think, provides some insight.
Stephen Douglas, who is well known for his debate with Lincoln, advocated for what he called “popular sovereignty.” This is similar to both Trump’s position and the Dobbs decision to leave the abortion issue up to the states.
Douglas didn’t think slavery was a moral issue but rather a states’ rights issue. As such, he sponsored the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854. This Act left it up the voters in each state to decide whether or not slavery would be legal in the state. Lincoln, on the other hand, thought the federal government should decide the issue of slavery.
Needless to say, the Kansas Nebraska Act just delayed the Civil War. Bowing to public sentiment to gain support, Lincoln initially emphasized that the Civil War was a cause aimed at preserving the union. It wasn’t until the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 that slavery became a major reason to continue fighting.
Many historians contend that Lincoln, the politician, recognized that the public will was not there to overturn slavery until later in the war. (see The President and the Freedom Fighter: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Their Battle to Save America’s Soul. by Brian Kilmeade).
The history of the slavery issue reminds us that legal and political remedies to curtail abortion may have limited effectiveness if the will of the people is to support abortion. The rationale that pro-abortion advocates project – freedom of choice, women’s rights, necessary “health care,” etc. – is resonating with the public, as the surveys and voting patterns indicate.
So we are in an 1850s situation once again. It’s okay to have abortion in some states but not in others.
A Moral issue
But this hypocrisy is blatant. It’s ironic that even liberal and anti-Catholic talk show host Bill Maher acknowledged that it’s absurd that abortion be allowed in some states and not in others. He admitted that abortion “is a kind of murder,” but even given that, he is okay with it. And there you have it – pro-abortion advocates admit that abortion is murder, yet they think it is acceptable.
The false narrative that it is an issue of women’s rights, health care, freedom of choice or a women’s control over her body has so strongly influenced public opinion that murder is being condoned.
Referring back to the slavery issue, the abolitionists continued to focus their messaging on the immorality of slavery for many years. Gradually the political will grew to outlaw the practice. I think that is where we are today.
The Messenger role
Pro-life politicians may not always support a full ban on abortion. They may think it necessary to try to get legislation incrementally. This may be because they have to deal with the practical realities of getting elected in a pro-abortion culture.
Taking a lesson from the 1800’s abolitionists, I believe our role as pro-life citizens is to continually message the immorality of abortion. We can’t expect the politicians to make pro-life legislation if the will of the people is not ready. Our job is to make them ready.
I think it is time to be blunter about abortion. It is the killing of a human being. I know that can sound harsh but from a moral standpoint “it is what it is.” It is an intrinsically evil and immoral act.
Nowhere in this country are there state or federal laws that allow murder. I suspect that most Americans concur that murder should not be allowed. However, it appears there are some who even though they recognize it is murder think it is “okay.”
As highlighted in a previous post , the pro-abortion arguments for abortion must be confronted with the truth about what abortion really is – the murder of an innocent human being. In turn, the pro-abortion position goes against a morality that has been accepted throughout the ages that murder is not “okay.”
“Preach the truth as if you had a million voices. It is silence that kills the world.” – Catherine of Siena
We need to keep witnessing for this in our prayer vigils, marches, and in day-to-day conversations. Our priests need to continually convey this message from the pulpit. We need to support the Knights of Columbus and 40 Days for Life highly visible pro- life efforts to spread the message.
Support for Mothers
Likewise, to confront the false narrative that pro-lifers don’t care about women or expectant mothers, we need to convey the message that there is a whole support system to aid mothers. In turn, we need to physically and financially support the over 3,000 crisis pregnancy centers in the United States that are ready, able, and willing to support pregnant women.
At the same time, there is a need to have compassion for women who have had an abortion. The USCCB notes in its document on post abortion healing, that Pope John Paul II’s encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae, (the Gospel of Life), expands on the need to provide understanding and reconciliation for those who have experienced an abortion.
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Author: Tom Collingwood
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