Can abortion ever be an act of mercy towards the child?

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This is exactly what I was talking about. I’m against abortion but the scenario of a pregnancy with an almost certain outcome of a baby with serious malfunctions happened to someone I know and they decided to terminate. Talking with my mother about it she said they did what is best for the baby, sparing him of such a life and reminded me of a relative who had the same problematic type of pregnancy the girl who decided to terminate has. Relative kept the baby and now he is 13 or 14 years and has a life of suffering. I honestly did not know what to tell her because “ well God wants so” looked like a dumb thing to say.
 
Thank you for your answer,
I don’t understand how are diseases/ malfunctions of the fetus caused by nature and fallen humanity? Do you have fonts on this?
 
Great answer, thank you for this.
Regarding what you said about the baby not receiving a supernatural life if killed in the womb, is it because the baby will not be baptized? I know once babies who died before being baptised were known to go into a place called limbo, so not in heaven and neither in hell, but now hasn’t limbo been abolished ?
I believed it’s safe to assume an innocent life of a baby will go to heaven even if it’s not baptised?
 
anneramones said:
I believed it’s safe to assume an innocent life of a baby will go to heaven even if it’s not baptised?
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We trust the unbaptized to the mercy of God, however, the Church has never stated that unbaptized babies go to heaven. We do not know.
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church does not mention limbo. Here is what it does say about innocent babies who die without baptism:
CCC 1261 As regards children who have died without Baptism , the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,"64 allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.
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The Vatican website has a very long document by the International Theological Commission titled “> The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptised”. I haven’t read it yet, but intend to after posting this reply. I think it contains a lot of history of the discussions held in the Church for the last 2000 years on this topic!
 
While I don’t advocate for abortion I can understand why people view it at times as an act of mercy. For example, there are times when death does seem like the better option for a person(regardless of their age or whether they are in utero). Some may not agree, but I think the thought is “I would rather die than go through xyz therefore it is probably better for this person to die rather than to live through xyz and if they had to go through xyz they would wish they were dead”. I have definitely felt this way at times.

When I was very unhappy with life, there were definitely times when I wished I had been aborted or died in utero or as a child to avoid the pain and disappointments and other things I was going through. I felt I could be so much happier dead. I could have avoided suffering in life, and I would have died sinless so I could have avoided any suffering after life and just enjoyed heaven. I mean even from a Catholic perspective, if there is heaven, hell, and purgatory, an early death sure seems better since you reach your goal faster and avoid a bunch of sins.

Another example, the thought of going through a terrible accident or illness and coming out alive but paralyzed and unable to communicate- I would rather have died. Out of empathy, I think the person who went through that may have been better off dying from the accident or illness. I feel sorry that they have to live(unless they are one of the few who can find joy in it). Do I think it means we should kill them? That’s a difficult question and I don’t know the answer.

I can see how it comes off as merciful though. So I do think abortion has the potential to be an act of mercy at least in the mind and intentions of the one choosing it. Such as if you are trying to spare the child from a life of misery which could be a variety of things, such as being abused, or poor, or severely disabled
 
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That would be euthanasia. Many of the same people who support abortion in those cases would support euthanasia. There honestly seems to be some mercy in helping someone escape suffering even if through euthanasia. Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right though
 
Ayy, I have ASD too. Things about mercy and abortion worry me because often it looks genetic, people who have it often have parents that do too. If there is ever some way to test for it in the womb, people will begin doing to us what was done to people with down syndrome in Iceland. Lord have mercy on the world
 
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Only if you accept the idea that you are the arbiter of what is bearable and unbearable in terms of life and death. Would you look to a born person, say a Steven Hawking, and say ‘Wow. Horrible life. C’mere Steve, we have a ton of morphine for you…’
 
anneramones said:
When it’s certain or very possible the baby will be born with VERY serious diseases, syndromes or malfunctions that will make his life unbearable, can we, as catholics, still stand by the fact it’s immoral to terminate the pregnancy?
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The long and short is no. It is never morally acceptable to do evil even to accomplish a perceived good.

That being said, let me provide a personal anecdote.

When my wife was pregnant with our oldest son, a number of the prenatal tests gave a high probability that he had an open neural tube defect like Spina Bifida (abnormal spine development) or Anencephaly (missing parts of his brain or skull). The doctors were telling us that he had a 1 in 3 chance that he would not make it to term and even if he did, that he might only live a few hours or into his early teens out the outside. They told us that we really needed to consider what kind of life he would live and that we were early enough in the pregnancy that they could easily “avoid the issue”. If not for a high risk OB that asked them to recalculate some of the tests we would have been living with that constant pressure to “do what’s right” by our child for another 5 months. Turns out that the original OB had adjusted the gestational age back a few weeks based on some early spotting and ultrasounds and that had a huge impact on the MSAFP tests.

We’ll 22 years later and he is regularly running around making himself a nuisance. While I often accuse him of not using his brain, he certainly isn’t missing part of it (well maybe he’s missing the part that puts filters on what you shouldn’t say 🤐)

The point of course is that none of us knows for certain how dissease or disability will impact someone. It is also not up to us to decide a life is unbearable. This is especially true if someone is never given the chance to live their life.

As I told the OB who suggested that my son might only live a few hours, “If I only get a few hours to hold him that is more time than I’d get if I never whisper his name in his ear”.

One important note, I wasn’t Catholic at the time so the moral underpinnings on the sanctity of life were not there. I did know though that there was no way I could extinguish his life when I didn’t know his future.
 
rosejmj said:
Another example, the thought of going through a terrible accident or illness and coming out alive but paralyzed and unable to communicate- I would rather have died. Out of empathy, I think the person who went through that may have been better off dying from the accident or illness.
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Maybe when the world gets back to normal, you can volunteer at a center for spinal injury, get to know some people and see it through their eyes.
 
I’m sure some can learn to be happy with the condition. I have worked in rehab for a short while and worked with people recovering from different types of accidents and illnesses trying to learn as much independence as possible and how to function with their new disabilities. It was hard to see at times and many seemed to be in a dark place and I sure hope it has gotten better for them
 
Many prayers your way! I pray that the Lord will comfort you and bring peace in this suffering you endure. Pray that you will be convinced, as I am sure you are, that this suffering will make you holy.

God bless!
 
Any of these symptoms can happen to us at any time if we suffer a debilitating illness or a debilitating accident.
 
I have many relatives who are deaf. They had to struggle to learn different ways to communicate, but their lives are still joyful. I have a friend who is blind and mentally disabled. She had to learn a different way to be independent, but her life is still joyful. My brother cannot walk and he had severe mental illness. While his life is not always joyful, it often is and he does not want to die. My daughter was born with no anal sphincter. Her life is incredibly joyful. I can’t even imagine anyone having to gall to tell me that she should be “relieved of her suffering”. I think most people who take this line aren’t really concerned with others’ suffering, but with their own discomfort at having to interact with a person with disabilities. It would be a lot easier on them if disabled people did not exist.
 
Allegra said:
I think most people who take this line aren’t really concerned with others’ suffering, but with their own discomfort at having to interact with a person with disabilities. It would be a lot easier on them if disabled people did not exist.
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I think that’s a huge truth behind this line.

That often when someone says:
“You’re suffering so much, you’d be better off dead!”
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what they secretly mean (and maybe even hide from themselves) is:
“Your suffering reminds me of my obligation to help you, and that makes me feel uncomfortable because I don’t want to have to do hard work (or endure inconvenience) to help you. Couldn’t you just… you know… quietly die, so I don’t have to look at you and feel guilty for not loving you enough to help you?”
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And then they twist it around in their minds so as to try not to feel evil about it, and rationalize that it’s loving to wish someone dead, because the ‘only alternative’ is suffering (which fundamentally ignores that no, there’s another alternative that involves helping alleviate a person’s suffering and helping them live a life of whatever joy and goodness is possible in their context).

Pretending that it’s some fake choice between ‘unbearable suffering’ and ‘death’, makes invisible the third choice which is the right one: to help bear one another’s burdens, and help one another live as well as possible.
 
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My son was born with brain abnormalities which resulted in cerebral palsy (quadra paresis) and multiple disabilities. He needs 100% physical care, he is nonverbal, he eats a little by mouth but has a g-tube to meet his nutritional needs, and he has uncontrollable seizures. None of this has prevented him from having a joyful and blessed life. He loves listening to stories, watching TV, getting in the swimming pool, going on nature walks in his wheelchair, going to our cabin, going to the beach, etc. He loves music, concerts in the park, and has a great sense of humor. It hurts me when I have to explain to people why his life has value. So many people can’t see past his disabilities and assume he’s suffering and living a miserable life. He, of course, has his challenges, but he’s happy, healthy (rarely gets sick), and loved. He’s 22 years old now and my husband and I were shocked when we had to begin advocating for him the day he was born. We didn’t understand the depth of his disabilities at that time, but we knew the depth of our love and we became fierce protectors of his precious little soul.

He has a mission in life, just as we all do. His love is pure and I’ve learned so much from him. We’ve taken him to Mass since he was born. He smiles and “sings.” I often feel the veil is thin for him and he receives spiritual consolations I can’t see. He’s definitely been responsible for conversions, including his own daddy, who was an unbeliever and became Catholic. As parents, we’ve had to make sacrifices, but the trials and things we’ve given up seem trivial in comparison to loving our son and making sure he’s well cared for. Those who abort due to disability, especially those who are otherwise opposed to abortion, have no idea about sacrificial love and trick themselves into thinking abortion is loving and merciful when it’s the exact opposite.
 
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