Why Being Pro-Abortion Will Make You Wrong On Other Issues

Priests For Life ^ | Oct. 10, 2004 | Father Frank Pavone

[treowth]

Can't Be Right -- Fr. Frank Pavone National Director, Priests for Life

An honest look at what an abortion is, and at how many victims it claims, is enough to reveal that nothing outweighs its gravity among the many "life issues." Multiple Church documents have confirmed this insight, repeating over and over that the abortion tragedy demands urgent attention and priority.

While some have tried, shamelessly, to obscure and contradict this teaching, many are quite able to understand and accept it. Yet the truth is even deeper than the statement, "Being wrong on abortion outweighs being right on other issues."

The full truth is, if you are wrong on abortion, you can't be right on other issues.

To permit abortion, but then to cry out for the right to work, housing, education, health care, and so forth, is to say that these other rights belong to some people but not to all. They obviously do not belong to those who were snuffed out by abortion.

Therefore, these rights cannot be human rights, because you have already said that not all humans have a claim on them. This trivializes those other rights and puts them on an obscure and questionable foundation.

If you permit abortion, then, on what basis do you defend the other rights? Why do we care for the poor? Because they have a right to food, clothing, and shelter. But why do they have a right to those things? Because they have a right to live. Why are we concerned about unemployment? Because people have a right to make a living. Why do they have that right? Because they have a right to live. It all comes back to that foundational right. Abortion is not the only issue, but neither is the foundation of a house the only part of a house. Take it away, however, and see how well you can build the rest.

The reason that being wrong on abortion makes it impossible to be right on other issues is that the heart and soul of every "issue" is precisely the dignity of the human person, whose right to life is not under the dominion of any other person. A person's dignity comes from the fact that he or she is human, not that someone else decides to grant that right at some point in time. Any human right begins when human life begins; otherwise, it isn't a human right, but rather some kind of benefit bestowed for another reason.

Now if you can take the right to life away from some humans, as abortion does to the children in the womb, then obviously you can take away from those same humans all their other human rights, because none of those other rights made such a claim upon your respect that you had to let those people live to possess it.

This is why the Pope has said that when the right to life is not protected, cries for other human rights are "false and illusory." When one is wrong on abortion, one cannot be right on anything else.

Comments on this column? Email us at mail@priestsforlife.org, Priests for Life, PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; Tel: 888-PFL-3448, 718-980-4400; Fax: 718-980-6515; web: www.priestsforlife.org

[treowth]

The philosophical worldview upon which America, her Constitution, our rights, and our culture were founded upon is one comprised of the moral principles and concepts derived from the Bible and from Scottish Enlightenment thinkers. As Father Pavone so eloquently pointed out, the fundamental right to life is the linchpin upon which every other right we have is based. Without that foundational right, every other right is at risk. And the right to life did not, nor ever has it originated with man. It has but one source........our Creator. And this is why our Founders said that we are endowed with the "unalienable" right to life.

Socialist/atheists/human seculars created the lie known as the 'separation of church and state' in order to overthrow and deconstruct our nation, its' Constitution, etc. But in order to succeed with their agenda, they first needed to destroy the foundation of America.......her founding philosophy.

[Noachian]

The mantra of the abortion crowd is "a woman's right to her own body". Like all socialist rhetoric it sounds good but doesn't hold up in reality.

To follow that logic means that women decide who is born, and who isn't, based upon personal whim. The "right to life" becomes a meaningless concept, and carried to its extreme justifies murder of anyone; if murder is allowed inside the womb why not outside as well?

Over forty million unborn souls have been murdered since our Black Robed geniuses on the High Court decided to do some "social experimenting" with the feminist's agenda.

Our native population is now in decline, and immigrants are imported to do those things the unborn could have done. Likewise, future leaders in the arts and sciences have never been born. Perhaps a cure for cancer was thrown away with the fetus in whom it resided - we'll never know.

What we do know is that forty-plus million souls have been murdered by a majority vote in our Judiciary, and that is reason enough to reexamine the role of the Judiciary.

[tdewey10]

This is the evil at the heart of the Democrats platform and what ultimately forced me into changing parties and becoming a Republican. Ultimately it will destroy the party.

[blackeagle]

bump

[maica]

To permit abortion, but then to cry out for the right to work, housing, education, health care, and so forth, is to say that these other rights belong to some people but not to all. They obviously do not belong to those who were snuffed out by abortion.


^^^^^^

Every sentence in this article is quotable. I think this argument might reach some who feel very strongly about helping the poor, and feel they do so by supporting democrats. I will bring this to my dem friends.

[TigersEye]

Abortion is not about saving women’s lives!

Total Abortions since 1973

44,670,812

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Why the drop after 1960? (in deaths of women from illegal abortions)

The reasons were new and better antibiotics, better surgery and the establishment of intensive care units in hospitals. This was in the face of a rising population. Between 1967 and 1970 sixteen states legalized abortion. In most it was limited, only for rape, incest and severe fetal handicap (life of mother was legal in all states). There were two big exceptions — California in 1967, and New York in 1970 allowed abortion on demand. Now look at the chart carefully.

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Abortion Statistics - Decision to Have an Abortion (U.S.)

· 25.5% of women deciding to have an abortion want to postpone childbearing

· 21.3% of women cannot afford a baby

· 14.1% of women have a relationship issue or their partner does not want a child

· 12.2% of women are too young (their parents or others object to the pregnancy)

· 10.8% of women feel a child will disrupt their education or career

· 7.9% of women want no (more) children

· 3.3% of women have an abortion due to a risk to fetal health

2.8% of women have an abortion due to a risk to maternal health

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So how many women’s lives have been saved by abortion?

Only about 3% of abortions since 1972 were reported to be “due to a risk to maternal health.” A reasonable person would recognize that not all of those cases represent a lethal risk. But let’s say they did. That means that nearly 45 million fetuses were butchered to save the lives of about 1.3 million women. Or put another way; 35 babies are killed to save each woman.

Abortion was legal in all 50 states prior to Roe v. Wade in cases of danger to the life of the woman.

[lainde]

bttt