Abortion is becoming a growing threat to humanity. Since 1973, 59.1 million babies have been aborted in the United States alone (“Statistics”).
Abortion sends the wrong message to society by showing that the killing of the weak, and killing in general, is acceptable in our everyday world. The Catholic Church has made it clear that it believes that abortion, and any other type of killing, is unacceptable, and does not follow God’s laws (John Paul II).
Pro-choice advocates may say that abortion is the choice of the woman alone because no one can really say when a fetus becomes a person. The Catholic Church believes that a fetus is a person from the very first moment of conception. Scientific evidence has shown that a fetus begins to feel pain at twenty weeks of gestation.
Every baby has a right to freedom, and the choice of the gift of life. Our Church believes people cannot be dominated by others. Abortion is not the individual choice of the mother because all life comes from God. All of mankind is created in the image of God. A woman does not have the authority to take the life of a fetus because, like her, the fetus is created in God’s image (John Paul II).
A common argument is that each and every woman has a right to control her body and make her own choice. It is true that God gave humans free will, but then again, he also gave us rules. One of these rule is“You shall not kill,” which applies to babies, too. The value of human life is truly inestimable, and a mother does not have the right to put a value on this life by having an abortion.
This choice is a threat to human dignity, and we must learn how to make the choice of good or evil. In this world, we live in a culture of the weak, even a culture of death. People who cannot stand up for themselves do not even get a chance to have the choice of life. We are all created to share in the life of God, and that right cannot be taken away because of a more powerful person’s choice (John Paul II).
People may say that a fetus is part of a mother’s body because it is dependent on her for survival. Just because a baby may be an inconvenience to the mother does not mean she has the right to end its life. The mother is powerful, while the fetus is weak, and cannot survive without her nurturing. A family is supposed to be a safe place, but it can never be if a woman makes the choice that endangers her baby’s life.
A woman cannot use force to rid herself of something that is an inconvenience to her. Someone who is strong cannot use the power of choice against the choice-less and powerless. The fetus’ life cannot be orchestrated by the mother’s self-interest. A mother must obey God by sharing the gift of life with her baby (John Paul II).
Many people in the United States agree that the government should not interfere in this very personal issue of a woman. Under the Constitution, every person has an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
This procedure is a crime against the right of life given to us by the Constitution. The United States’ government says that this crime is acceptable, and legislation does not punish these crimes against life.
Our Church believes that any destruction of life must be followed by consequences, but unfortunately the act of abortion is justified by the government. As a Catholic community we believe that it is the public’s duty to stand up for the rights of the unborn. America’s public must protect the weak’s right to life. We are called to tell the truth and protect those who cannot protect themselves (John Paul II).
Every 1.8 seconds a baby is aborted somewhere in the world (“Statistics.”) So many lives are lost in just one day due to abortion. I believe that if we work together as one Catholic community, one country and one society, we can eliminate threats to life once and for all.
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