Abortion

November 2, 2024

If 'Planned Parenthood' isn't the ultimate oxymoron, I think it's a strong contender for the title.  Even Planned Parenthood's own employees admit the organization has nothing to do with planning parenthood but everything to do with ending it.

What a contentious issue abortion is and one that's unlikely to be resolved one way or the other in our lifetime.  But wouldn't it be nice if somehow, instead of constantly fighting and arguing about it, we could find a way to work together to reduce the number of abortions that occur every year on this beautiful planet.  I have to believe that most of those on the pro-choice side of the debate would agree that this would be a good thing.  No rational, sane human being actually wants to kill babies and anyone who says that they do is lying.

No matter which side you are on, I ask you to consider the fact that most people are appallingly ignorant when it comes to abortion statistics.  One poll showed that a majority of university students believe that abortion is illegal after the first trimester, and that there are less than 100,000 abortions done in the United States every year.  The actual number is closer to one million.

Many people also grossly overestimate the percentage of abortions done to save women’s lives, or for their physical health, for cases of rape and incest, or to avoid birth defects (eugenics).  Pro-abortion groups continue to cultivate these delusions because it helps them to define the narrative as they promote their agenda.  Public opinion polls conducted over the years reveal that people generally believe that these 'hard cases' account for anywhere from one-quarter to one-half of all abortions.  The truth is that only about 3.5% of all abortions fall into these categories.

This means that over 96% of abortions are performed for social or economic reasons, or for a lifestyle choice!!

"In my thirty-six years of pediatric surgery I have never known of one (emphasis mine) instance where the child had to be aborted to save the mother’s life.  If toward the end of the pregnancy complications arise that threaten the mother’s health, [her obstetrician] will either induce labor or perform a Caesarian section. His intention is to save the life of both the mother and the baby.  The baby’s life is never (emphasis mine) willfully destroyed because the mother’s life is in danger."

~Former U.S. surgeon general C. Everett Koop¹ (1980)

"All human life is sacred, God-given, and of infinite worth." - Matthew Kelly

I am unabashedly pro-life and not afraid to stand up for what I believe in.  I strongly believe in the sanctity of human life, the dignity of the human person and that every human person has, first and foremost, an inherent right to life.  Could you be pro-choice if you were never born?  I have not only heard but I have listened carefully to the arguments on the pro-choice/pro-abortion side and while I understand what they are saying, I simply don't agree that their arguments justify the carnage.  I'm prepared to calmly debate this issue with anyone who wants to leave a respectful comment below, but I won't get lured into an exchange laced with hatred from anyone who wants nothing more than to condemn me.

Is abortion the single biggest act of genocide in human history?  Let's take a look.  A bit of research and a little math tells us that it has done more harm to the human race than all of the wars ever fought, all of the homicides/suicides, and all the accidental deaths this world has ever seen.  Combined.  And the toll abortion takes on those who participate (including the mother) is incalculable.  Not only is a human life snuffed out before they even have a chance to gaze into the loving eyes of their mother, but let's not forget that for every aborted baby, there is a father, and while some of them will have supported or even encouraged the abortion, there are many who felt the exact opposite.  They only wanted a chance to hold and love, know and teach their son or daughter but were denied that opportunity.

Fifty years ago, in 1973, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 50 million abortions were performed annually worldwide and with current estimates at 73 million, an average for the period 1973 to 2023 would be somewhere around 60 million abortions every year.  Some basic math tells us that this equates to approximately three billion babies² in the last fifty years who were denied the essential and most fundamental of all human rights, the right to life.  I can't even fathom what the total might be in all of human history.

Think about it.  I repeat, "approximately three billion babies have been killed in the last fifty years"!  These aren't soldiers killed on battlefields.  These aren't gangs or cartels killing each other and innocent bystanders.  These aren't adults being killed in traffic accidents or dying from some disease or other health issue.  They are innocent, defenseless, tiny little human beings with so much potential, with futures and unfulfilled dreams.  It's been said that a human baby is the most defenseless of all species of life on Earth.  And yet, there are those who would stick a pair of scissors into their skull to kill them, cut them up and then suck the lifeless, dismembered body parts from the mother's uterus with a vacuum. 

Please take a moment to watch this short five minute video.  Dr. Anthony Levatino, Obstetrics and Gynecology OB/GYN Specialist who has performed over 1200 abortions, is testifying before congress in 2015.  No one on either side of the pro-life debate can watch this video without some type of gut-wrenching, emotional response.  The entire room is silent as Dr. Levatino tells his story.  He is now a staunch advocate for the pro-life movement.  Please watch the video.

If abortion was listed as a cause of death on the chart below, it would be right at the top, almost 4X higher than cardiovascular deaths.  It's not listed because pro-abortionists don't want to think that way, they can't think that way, it's too painful, even for them, to imagine cutting up three billion little cuties and discarding them like garbage and they don't want to be reminded of it in any way.  This is also why they attack with such vitriol in a measured yet cowardly attempt to mask the feelings they carry in their souls and to deny their own consciences. 

While I have never personally known a pro-choice or pro-abortion activist, I have seen and heard them in the news media, and they often sound as though they are carrying a lot of anger around with them.  They always seem ready to attack anyone who doesn't see things their way.  Aren't they happy just to be alive?  Even those who are pro-abortion but aren't necessarily activists look sad that not everyone agrees with them as they stand around with their signs and placards at pro-choice rallies.  Social media is brimming with posts expressing disbelief that anyone could possibly think it wasn't okay to destroy a human being in their mother's uterus.

Think of one person in your life, someone you love or respect, and then imagine the world and your life without them.  What if Albert Einstein had been aborted by his mother?  Would someone else have stepped in and filled his shoes?  This is just one example.  You can choose any human who has ever lived, famous or not, and apply the same logic to their story, a story only because they were given the opportunity to live their life, a life that was a gift from God Himself and part of His plan for the entire human race.

I, for one, am extremely glad to be here, to exist, to have loved, to have been loved and to have marveled at the wonders abounding on this planet and in the universe that we reside in.  Is it possible that a large percentage of pro-abortionists have never really known what it means to love a child or maybe the kindness and love of a parent was missing from their own lives?  I think something is missing in your life if you think that the murder of an innocent, defenseless baby is a good thing.  I know I will be attacked and vilified for my views, but I can handle it.  And while I won't retaliate or attack pro-choice or pro-abortion people, I will pray for them.

My personal belief is that human life begins at conception and therefore that abortion is morally wrong.  Because I am Catholic, people will presumably feel that my "understanding of when human life begins is a function of some uniquely Catholic doctrine or dogma, and it's unreasonable for me to expect everyone else to accept it.  My opposition to abortion is not a matter of Catholic doctrine in the strict sense of the term but rather a conclusion drawn from moral reasoning and from the findings of objective science.  It's an indisputable, scientific fact that human life, which is to say a living human being with a distinctive genetic structure and identity, comes into existence at the moment of conception.

Furthermore, it's a fundamental principle of ethics that innocent human life ought never to be attacked.  These insights and principles are decidedly not a matter of dogma distinctive to Catholicism, but they form the foundation of an argument against abortion that can and should be made publicly." — Bishop Robert Barron³

Even a secular, scientific news organization like Evolution News & Science Today says, "at the moment of fertilization of the egg by the sperm, a completely new organism is present.  The organism is not a part of the mother’s body although he or she is located within the mother’s body.  The argument used by abortion proponents — that an embryo or fetus is a part of the mother’s body until a certain point of gestation — is scientific nonsense."

A couple of days after the historic US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, I saw an Internet news headline that caught my attention.  The story was about an abortion clinic in Tennessee that was fielding calls (the calls were described as 'desperate') from women who were in a panic to get an abortion before it was made illegal in that state.  The story went on to say that one caller made this statement, "I cannot have this baby!".  Of course, there's much more to the story than just that statement and most of it was a partisan attack on the pro-life movement.

This caller's statement got me thinking and I'm asking you to pause for a moment and think about those five simple words.  "I cannot have this baby!".  I considered the possibility that this woman knew somewhere deep within the core of her being that she was carrying a human baby and not a 'clump of cells', the term some pro-abortionists use to refer to a human life within the womb.  I wonder how many other women think and feel the same way as this caller no matter what they actually say.  And please don't tell me that it isn't a baby until the mother actually gives birth.  It's a human life, a human being with unique DNA, a human person with potential, with rights, someone who wants to be loved and to be given a chance to love someone else.

If you are reading this, I want to ask you a philosophical question that presupposes a belief in God.  I would like to know what you think about the question so if you have any thoughts, please leave them in the Comments section below.  Remember, "a philosophical question is open-ended.  Since philosophy itself means 'love of wisdom', it logically follows that a philosophical question is one that pursues a deeper understanding of the subject being examined.  The answer to this type of question isn’t necessarily an easy one—nor is it always black or white.  The goal is to inspire thought." 

 — Home School Adventure dot com

Before I ask the question, allow me to set the stage.  It's been said that perhaps the person who was destined to find a cure for cancer was aborted.  Putting that statement aside for a moment, think about how many amazing human beings, men and women, artists, writers, scholars, leaders, doctors, humanitarians, inventors, pioneers etc., were conceived but never born, eliminated by their mother and the people 'supporting' her before they ever had a chance at life.  No one knows the exact number but the World Health Organization's (WHO) current estimate is 73 million abortions per year (200,000/day [see image below], 8,333/hour, 139/minute, 10 every four seconds).

As I mentioned earlier, this equates to approximately three billion human lives lost in the last fifty years, since 1973.  If you believe in the possibility that many amazing people were among those three billion lives then it's also possible, in fact likely, that there were also those who would have grown to become evil, hate-filled adults. 

So, here's my question... are the human beings that would have chosen a life of evil and eventually end up spending eternity in hell, better off because they weren't born, better off because they ended up in God's loving embrace?  Or, are the innocents also given a chance to either choose or reject God as we are? 

"A greater concern is what this theory means for victims of abortion and miscarriages. I suspect that they will attain heaven in a judgment akin to that of the angels; a one time decision for or against God. Whether I’m right or wrong, in heaven they might well have no family or at least no family members who made it. This would create sadness or other deficits we don’t attribute to those in heaven. Corinthians 13:12 suggests that we will “fully know” each other, adding to the idea that connections will be rebuilt in heaven based upon a better understanding of each other than was possible on Earth." - David Flynn⁴

I understand that no one can answer these questions, they're rhetorical, but I am asking to generate thought, consideration, and wonder.

Contraception, strictly considered as preventing fertilization, is one of many factors leading to an increase of abortion in our world.  Some promote widespread use of contraception as a means to reduce abortions and even criticize the Church for not accepting this approach.  It is noteworthy that as the acceptance and use of contraception have increased in our society, so has the acceptance and use of abortion. 

Increased use of contraception results in greater sexual activity and, because contraception fails so consistently, in more 'unwanted' pregnancies.  This in turn leads to more abortions.  It's not difficult to understand this concept.  Couples who unintentionally conceive a child while using contraception are far more likely to resort to abortion than others.  There is no culture or subculture in the world that has permitted contraception and then not gone on to permit abortion.

The nuclear family has been the foundation of a stable society in every corner of the world for all of human history.  Some sociologists and anthropologists consider the nuclear family as the most basic form of social organization.

The introduction of modern contraceptives has led to higher rates of abortions worldwide.  God has been removed from public discourse.  Progressive thinking, the destructive impact of secularism, and liberal policies have all led to the breakdown of the family unit which in turn has marshalled in the societal woes we face today.

We can turn this around and actually reduce the horrific number of abortions every year, but we have to do it with love, with kindness, with gentleness, and by allowing God into our hearts and lives to gently guide us to the ultimate happiness that every human being so ardently desires.

To recap, my objection to abortion is:

• based on moral reasoning and the findings of objective science.
• supported by the indisputable fact that a living human being with a distinctive genetic structure and identity, comes into existence at the moment of conception.
• reinforced by a fundamental principle of ethics that says innocent human life ought never to be attacked.
• validated by one of the arguments abortion proponents use — that an embryo or fetus is a part of the mother’s body until a certain point of gestation — which is scientific nonsense.

One final thought and one that came to me as I sat relaxing in the sun in Arizona... There's a choir in Heaven composed of the angelic voices of the unborn.  These innocent souls are in Heaven because they've forgiven those who murdered them and exclusive membership in this choir is a gift from God Himself.  All of Heaven marvels when these untold billions raise their voices to sing praise and glory to our heavenly Father!  Imagine, if you can, the sheer beauty of this sound! 

¹Charles Everett Koop (October 14, 1916 – February 25, 2013) was an American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator. He was a vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and served as the 13th Surgeon General of the United States under President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1989.  According to the Associated Press, "Koop was the only surgeon general to become a household name" due to his frequent public presence around the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

²The word 'sickening' doesn't even come close to describing this despicable act and as hard as it might be, just try to imagine a pile of three billion dead babies if you can. 

³Robert Emmet Barron (born November 19, 1959) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester since 2022. He is the founder of the Catholic ministerial organization Word on Fire, and was the host of Catholicism, a documentary TV series about Catholicism that aired on PBS. He served as rector at Mundelein Seminary from 2012 to 2015 and as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 2015 to 2022.  Barron has published books, essays, and articles on theology and spirituality. He is a religion correspondent for NBC and has also appeared on Fox News, CNN, and EWTN. He has been informally called the "bishop of social media" and the "bishop of the Internet".  As of November 2022, Barron's regular YouTube videos have been viewed over 116 million times; he has over 3 million followers on Facebook, 360,000 on Instagram, and 215,000 on Twitter. In addition, he has been invited to speak about religion at the headquarters of Amazon, Facebook, and Google. He has keynoted several conferences and events over the world, including the 2016 World Youth Day and the 2015 World Meeting of Families. Barron's 2016 film series, Catholicism: The Pivotal Players, was syndicated for national television in the United States.

⁴David Flynn is a cybersecurity architect for government cloud systems and is also a contributor to the Catholic Answers website.  He holds a masters degree in catechetics from Christendom College and is the author of the 'Search for the Alien God' fictional trilogy.

⁵

⁶

⁷

⁸

⁹ 

I welcome any comments as long as they are respectful.  I can handle criticism and opposing viewpoints, in fact I encourage them.  Join the discussion on any of my web pages.  Polite, courteous, or neutral comments will be published for everyone else to see.  Comments that are deemed rude, inappropriate, vulgar, hurtful, racist, misogynistic, violent, or sexual (among others) will not be published.  Remember, we can all agree to disagree and still be respectful!