ABC vs. Abortion

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Lost_Sheep

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Some of the news reports I’ve seen as of late say that the number of abortions in the U.S. is on the decline. A few of the so-called experts suggest that this may be due to better access to artificial contraception.

So the question is, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

While both ABC and abortion are, of course, prohibited by the Church and in a perfect world, neither would exist, my take is that it is better to prevent a child in the first place rather than creating one then killing it.

Thoughts?
 
That conclusion doesn’t make sense. If it was true, there would be less abortions now than when birth control first became available. We all know that isn’t true. Birth control fails and that causes women to feel compelled to kill their baby.
 
Lost_Sheep said:
Some of the news reports I’ve seen as of late say that the number of abortions in the U.S. is on the decline. A few of the so-called experts suggest that this may be due to better access to artificial contraception.

So the question is, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

While both ABC and abortion are, of course, prohibited by the Church and in a perfect world, neither would exist, my take is that it is better to prevent a child in the first place rather than creating one then killing it.

Thoughts?
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There are those who identify as pro-life yet fall into the trap of reasoning: “well, at least using birth control prevents mothers from conceiving babies that they would have otherwise aborted”. This is a utilitarian stance - it is not based on objective principles. Perhaps it true that more “effective” ABC is resulting in less babies “accidentally” conceived, and therefore to less abortions. But this doesn’t address the fact that both ABC and abortion are both gravely immoral as they are ordered against the creation of human life. Is it a good thing that less babies are being aborted? Absolutely. But the reason why this is occurring is not the result of a shift away from the culture of death - but from more effective means of preventing life from beginning in the first place.

The ultimatum of “its better to prevent a life from beginning, rather than killing the baby” is a false one. Its morally compromising to look at the issue from that perspective as it falsely asserts that there are only two choices - contraception or abortion. Sadly, society always seems to overlook (or more often, scoff at) the one method that is truly pro-life - abstinence from pre-marital sex. However, as Catholics we are obligated to take this stance. We cannot ever support the use of ABC on any grounds - not even the gilded utilitarian argument that it brings down the number of abortions.
 
It’s a good thing in the sense that it’s “better” to have a high rate of purse-snatchings in a city than it is to have a high murder rate. Better still for the city fathers that there be less crime overall.

ABC as family planning is a sin against the Sixth Commandment; while abortion is, of course, a sin against the Fifth Commandment, naturally. Is adultery “better” than murder?
 
Cojuanco said:
Is adultery “better” than murder?
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Not to be facetious, I think the spouse who is cheated on might have an opinion on this. If my wife were to have an affair, I’d rather she carry on without my knowledge than murder me and remarry.

At risk of derailing:
This thread touches on a theme that is recurrent on CAF (and probably many, many other similar forums). What’s the lesser of two evils? It seems to me that many people who will not accept a “lesser of two evils” argument in one situation may be willing to accept it in another.
 
christus_vincit said:
We cannot ever support the use of ABC on any grounds - not even the gilded utilitarian argument that it brings down the number of abortions.
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I totally get this.

BUT–the situation we’re presently in has lasted for decades with no real signs of resolving in favor of Life. Is it better to not accept a compromise and keep working toward the goal?

I work in a place where compromise and consensus building are the primary objectives. Granted, we’re not dealing with moral or theological issues. Nonetheless, oftentimes you have to take what little gains you can in order to keep moving in the direction you want to go. It’s rare that people get everything they want.

I absolutely believe the Church must maintain its position. It must remain the absolute authority, and not waiver. But the people at the grassroots might have to compromise to help the Church. There will never be an end to the game, but you have to stay in the game to keep playing. If you marginalize yourself too much you end up on the sidelines. (how’s **that **for an analogy, eh? 😃 ).
 
I recommend you read from this site instead of the news we get on regular television on these topics.

thepillkills.org

As it says… Dr. Angela Lanfranchi is a breast surgeon and clinical assistant professor of surgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr Lanfranchi heads up the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute. She gives a riveting presentation of the scientific proof that the pill kills women and babies, and how it does so.
 
Contraception inevitably leads to abortion. Contraception tries to separate sex from children, it tries to separate the unitive from the procreative, and it always fails. I would recommend Mary Eberstadt’s book “Adam and Eve After the Pill,” for a review of the deleterious social effects of widespread contraception.
 
I think they are both equally bad, so it doesn’t matter which one is more prevalent. No contraceptive has 100% protection. Woman still get pregnant. The babies usually have defects and health problems which people use as excuses for more abortions. The whole thing is sickening.
 
Jared2914 said:
The babies usually have defects and health problems which people use as excuses for more abortions. The whole thing is sickening.
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Really? Not to be argumentative, but I’ve never heard of this.

Generally, I’m willing to accept the theology around ABC, but a lot of the claims about the practical dangers seem fringe.
 
JimG said:
Contraception inevitably leads to abortion.
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Almost everyone I know has used contraception at one point or another. Only one has had an abortion. One is too many, of course. But your assumption or conjecture or what ever it is is a stretch.
Jared2914 said:
The babies usually have defects and health problems
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I’ve never heard of this. Not to be argumentative, but is there evidence?
Allegra said:
Birth control fails and that causes women to feel compelled to kill their baby.
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Do all women whose birth control fails have abortions? Most of them? Some of them? How many? Again, a stretch. If you’re going to argue against ABC, and I’m not necessarily against you on this, you’ve got to have convincing arguments.
sirreadsalot said:
thepillkills.org
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I’ll check it out.

O.k. I checked it out. I won’t argue with the findings about cancer rates, etc. But the conclusion that women who use the pill are more likely to have violent deaths is laughable and so ridiculously unscientific that the author ought to be ashamed of herself. In fact, in her presentation she cites that ‘no association has been found,’ and yet still concludes that women who use the pill are somehow drawn toward violent men. :confused:

Believe it if it makes you feel better, but it’s baloney.

Ya know, I’m not arguing in favor of ABC, but c’mon people. Think of me as a coach, preparing the team. :okpeople: If you are satisfied with this performance, the game is as good as lost.
 
Lost_Sheep said:
Some of the news reports I’ve seen as of late say that the number of abortions in the U.S. is on the decline. A few of the so-called experts suggest that this may be due to better access to artificial contraception.

So the question is, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

While both ABC and abortion are, of course, prohibited by the Church and in a perfect world, neither would exist, my take is that it is better to prevent a child in the first place rather than creating one then killing it.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Code: 
These are twin evils, as soon-to-be Blessed Paul VI discerned when he published Humanae Vitae 46 years ago. 

Abortion is an attack on life; artificial birth control is an assault on the sacrament of marriage, turning marriage from its double purpose of renewing the human race and spouses sanctifying each other. In exluding the procreation of life, one is in fact destroying one's spouse's vocation, is turning aside graces from one's own soul. What Pope Francis has called "the throwaway society" is largely dependent on the use of artificial contraception.
The good that a life is not deliberately destroyed (provided that the contraceptive wasn’t abortifacient) is purely an accidental one, and in no way mitigates the moral evil in artificial contraception or its wider effects.
 
christus_vincit said:
There are those who identify as pro-life yet fall into the trap of reasoning:
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I think the difference in conclusions is because others don’t necessarily have the same premises that Catholicism does on the matter. For example that sex must be open to procreation is not something that is shared across many Christian denominations and non-Christian religions. As long as that premise is not shared I don’t think there will be wide agreement between the portion of the population that shares the premise and the portion of the population that does not.
 
The news reports probably don’t count the abortion pill abortions as abortions.
 
on_the_hill said:
Almost everyone I know has used contraception at one point or another. Only one has had an abortion. One is too many, of course. But your assumption or conjecture or what ever it is is a stretch.
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Sorry, I didn’t mean that contraception always leads to abortion in every individual case. I meant that the generalized acceptance of artificial contraception in a society leads to acceptance of abortion in that society.

Until 1930, not just the Catholic Church, but every Protestant denomination, had exactly the same teaching on artificial contraception. It was morally wrong. The 1930 Lambeth conference allowed for it among married couples for grave reasons. Once breached, the contraceptive floodgates opened. Abortion followed, and Roe v Wade became a near inevitability.

I urge anyone interested in reviewing the adverse effects of the contraceptive mentality on a society to read Eberstadt’s “Adam and Eve After the Pill.”

Contraception separates sex from procreation. It thereby separates sex from marriage, and marriage from children.
 
JimG said:
Sorry, I didn’t mean that contraception always leads to abortion in every individual case. I meant that** the generalized acceptance of artificial contraception in a society leads to acceptance of abortion in that society.**
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And that is the reason why abortion became legal. It even says in the Roe vs. Wade document that that’s why they decided like they did. Artificial contraception gave people the delusion that they could have sex without responsibility. They felt like they had a guarantee that a baby would not result if they used the pill. This turned into the public believing that they had a right not to get pregnant. And when they came to realize that women were still getting pregnant they went the next step and started demanding that abortion be legal.
 
Lost_Sheep said:
Some of the news reports I’ve seen as of late say that the number of abortions in the U.S. is on the decline. A few of the so-called experts suggest that this may be due to better access to artificial contraception.

So the question is, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

While both ABC and abortion are, of course, prohibited by the Church and in a perfect world, neither would exist, my take is that it is better to prevent a child in the first place rather than creating one then killing it.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
American Life League made a video claiming the birth control pill can act as an abortifacient:

youtube.com/watch?v=Z96eKLwnJ2s

You can see what The Center for Bioethical Reform says about other forms of birth control:

abortionno.org/birth-control

It may not be the case that some birth control ONLY prevents life, but it may, in some circumstances, act abortifacient in some way.
 
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