When it comes to the subject of abortion there is far too much talking, and not nearly enough thinking. Terminating a fetus is a life-death decision that should be treated with grave concern for both the mother and the developing fetus which contains human DNA upon conception.
There are scientific facts involved with taking life from a mother’s womb and destroying it. The most important fact is that no human being can know with certainty when life actually begins. Christian doctrine says that upon conception, a soul enters the human cell mass and therefore it is human, a creation of God.
Those who justify abortion reject that belief and embrace a variety of other standards for defining a human being. But there is no exact scientific definition here, that is a fact.
One can have an opinion but is that enough to terminate a life that will enter the world after nine months? Christians and others say no. Secularists say no problem (aborting a fetus).
Doctors in America are apparently siding with the life movement. According to the Guttmacher Institute, which studies abortion in the USA, only seven percent of Obstetricians and Gynecologists will perform abortions.
However, you will not hear that statistic much from the American media which has succeeded in framing the abortion-life debate as good versus evil. But, incredibly, the evil is on the pro-life side.
If you oppose abortion you are a denier of female equality, a misogynist. If you don’t subscribe to unfettered abortion you are violating “reproductive rights.”
Recently, Georgia, Alabama, and some other states passed new laws placing limits on aborting fetuses. In response, the CEO of the Disney Corporation, Robert Iger, threatened to deny Georgia all Disney film business. For this, Iger is being celebrated as a hero in Hollywood.
In New York, where there once were limits on abortion, now there are none. The Roman Catholic Governor, Andrew Cuomo, championed a new law that says abortion can take place at any time for any reason up until birth.
Mr. Cuomo describes himself as a practicing Catholic but acknowledges his enthusiasm for the very liberal abortion law puts him at odds with his faith. If there is a judgment day, that should be a very interesting discussion that Andrew Cuomo might have.
The Bishop of Springfield, Illinois is already denying the sacraments to politicians in his state who did what Governor Cuomo did.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, now running for president, is also caught up in the abortion war. For 43 years, Biden supported the Hyde Amendment which bans the use of federal money for abortions outside of rape, incest, and permanent damage to the mother’s physical health.
The thinking behind the Hyde law is that the federal government cannot force Americans who oppose abortion on moral grounds to pay for it through their tax dollars. That seems to be fair, that is if you believe in freedom of religion.
But suddenly Joe doesn’t think it’s fair. That’s because the far left, which is driving the Democratic Party, has villainized every pro-life position including the Hyde Amendment. So Joe is scared. He’s also a Catholic.
A humane society should be able to limit abortion while protecting mothers in dangerous circumstances. Abortion should not be a political issue, used to demonize. Yes, American women have rights. But so, too, do developing cells that will shortly become human beings.
If you deny that last statement, you might be accused of playing God. You don’t know and I don’t know when a human being becomes a human being. So shouldn’t we all respect and promote life?
That’s what human rights are all about.
Or am I wrong?