NO TO ABORTION, EVEN IN DANGEROUS PREGNANCIES

All human beings have the right to life that must be protected from the moment of conception until our death. Unfortunately, there are some groups called as pro-choice advocates who deprive other category of human beings, such as the unborn, of this fundamental right. Although there are many reasons for supporting abortion, one is the danger of pregnancy of a woman. I remembered speaking to a pro-choice advocate before who justified her belief as she mentioned the story of her friend. It was really unfortunate that her friend died while carrying the fetus in a womb. Then, she asked this question,

“Now tell me, do you think the mother should have get an abortion and save one life or just carry the defective baby, knowing 99% that it'll die and then she'll die too if she delivered the baby?”

Although this is a tragic event, we still need to know what abortion is. Abortion is the intentional killing of the unborn. It is not merely the removal of the fetus within the womb of a mother. As such, this does not justify her stance with regards to abortion. According to the law in Alabama where abortion is not allowed:

“The term (abortion) does not include these activities if done with the intent to save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child, remove a dead unborn child, to deliver the unborn child prematurely to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn child's mother, or to preserve the health of her unborn child [1].

If that's the case, no abortion should take place. Rather, there should be a medical act that intends to deliver or remove the unborn child where there is legitimate danger to the mother. Why is this morally permissible unlike abortion? It's because the intention here is to save both the mother and the child as best as the doctors can do without intentionally killing the unborn. The Human Life International said,

"Therefore, in the increasingly rare cases where continuing the pregnancy causes real and immediate danger to the mother, the baby ought to be removed in such a way that every effort is made to preserve its life outside of the womb. In such a case, both mother and baby are treated because their lives are of equal value. If the baby should die after a premature delivery, the physicians have done all they could to save his or her life. They have not deliberately killed the baby [2]."

A medical procedure that may allow the death of the fetus is not similar with the abortion procedure that intends the death of the unborn child. To make an analogy, let's consider a mother and an infant who are both drowning on sea. A person could attempt to save the mother even if the other person will eventually drown if the mother is the only one who can be saved in the situation. However, this does not mean it’s permissible to literally drown a child.

A pro-choice advocate can try to extend their argument even with cases of abortion where the woman's health is not in danger. They can ask, "Why should we wait for her pregnancy to be fatal if we can abort the fetus soon?" Pro-choice advocates argue that by allowing abortion even when there is no real danger, we can avoid the risk of the deaths of pregnant women. However, these arguments and questions are problematic.

In the United States, about 700 women die every year because of pregnancy complications [3]. In reality, more women die because of being killed by their intimate partners. According to an analysis of 2019 Homicide Data in United States, 915 victims were wives, common-law wives, ex-wives, or girlfriends of the offenders [4]. If it's morally permissible for pro-choice supporters to intentionally kill a fetus to avoid the deaths of women due to pregnancy, should we also advocate for the right of women to intentionally kill their husbands and boyfriends, even if they are in healthy relationships or even in some problematic relationships? Trent Horn, a Catholic apologist and philosopher, added:

"Clearly this argument fails, because the woman’s intimate partner is an innocent human being with a right to life. If a woman may not kill her husband or boyfriend because he might murder her in the future, then surely a woman may not kill her unborn child because he might be part of a sequence of events where her pregnancy becomes dangerous. In both cases the threat is too remote to justify using lethal force [5]."

Many people accuse the Catholic Church as an organization who want to oppress women and make the mothers, who underwent to abortion, feel shame. On the contrary, the Church is compassionate towards them knowing that only the mercy of God can heal the wounds of their hearts because of the painful experience of abortion. In the encyclical Evangelium Vitae, St. John Paul II offered these consoling words to women who experienced abortion. He said,

"The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you His forgiveness and His peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To the same Father and His mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life .[6]"

Abortion is intrinsically wrong, and there are no situations where it is justified. As such, pregnant women should be given proper care and aid where both the inviolable right to life of the mother and the unborn child will be protected. Let's pray for the conversion of all people, especially pro-choice advocates who use the situation of the unfortunate mothers to promote the killing of the fetus. Let's also pray that the pregnant mothers may reject the lies in our society and choose to respect the dignity of all human beings, especially their dear children.

References:

[1]https://legiscan.com/AL/text/HB314/id/1980843

[2]https://www.hli.org/resources/what-percentage-of-abortions-are-medically-necessary/

[3]https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-relatedmortality.htm

[4]https://vpc.org/when-men-murder-women-united-states/

[5]https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/should-abortion-be-legal-because-childbirth-is-dangerous

[6]https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae.html