I think what a lot people miss many times, though, is that the Church also teaches that our consciences must be well formed and well formed according to Catholic teaching. Unfortunately that is not the case today.
That is true; We have a duty to form our conscience. I think most people on sites like this are well-informed on church-teaching. I wouldn’t be able to vote for either party if I could and I’m very well-informed about my faith.
I’m not sure if I would agree with this but…
This I do agree with. Neither party holds completely to Catholic teaching. I am in a state where I can vote third party because my vote means absolutely nothing due to a large city that always rules.
Yes. And if there was a good chance that my vote directly determined whether babies would keep being aborted or not, I’d likely ignore everything and vote for whoever was going to do that (unless he was proposing to do something else evil too, in addition, that I couldn’t support). I would put the other issues in second tier for that moment.
I agree that one person’s vote may not directly result in whether abortions would stop or not but I do think voting in one particular direction encourages abortions to continue and to be seen as no big deal, just “women’s healthcare”.
I agree with this also. Unfortunately Republicans do not do enough to end abortion, though President Trump has certainly been an advocate for the cause to stop abortions, so was George W. Bush.
IMHO if we do not care about the least among us, the baby who is the ultimate stranger to us, because we do not know who they are while in the womb, we will not care about anyone else. Jesus said in Matthew 25, when separating the sheep from the goats, that it is how we treat the least important among us, that is important.
Part of the reason for this is it has been renamed under “women’s healthcare” and it is treated like a disease rather than a life. Women have been fooled into beleiving that the child inside of them is not a living human being, until it is born and even then they question it’s value, according to recent laws.
It might be a challenge but as Mother Teresa said, we are not called to be successful, just faithful.
True. At present most centrist and moderate right-wing parties are not interested in tightening the discipline on abortion and other bioethical matters.
I think part of the problem goes back to how Catholic figures, in a politically correct way, have continued to tactfully appease pro-aborts by validating their claims and affording a very special ethical position to women along with the ‘my body’ claim. It is true that in some cases we are asking women to be charitable or heroic, but it’s also true that in all cases we are asking the woman to refrain from assaulting and taking innocent life. Hence it follows that we are not merely asking them to choose the greater good — we are in fact asking them to not do a great evil. This is the part that is too often omitted from the conversation.
Sure. You will get no arguments from me about this. But I don’t think not voting for a Republican and prioritizing other issues that seem more solvable in the short run means not caring for the unborn child. I wouldn’t do it, but if someone were to vote for, say, Bernie Sanders who is pro-choice like the typical democrat, but also will put in policies to prevent poor people from dying from treatable diseases and help support them in ways that will prevent financial desperation that would then lead to fewer violent crimes . . . I don’t think such a person would be doing anything wrong.
I know that. If you dig through my history, you will find me making sharp critiques and arguments to pro-choicers arguing “My body.” But it’s also a fact that the mother is in a very unique position unmatched by probably any other; in that she has a near-absolute power over the child in the first 9 months of its life on earth. That’s precisely the dilemma that faces us; not an excuse that this makes it right, but God has designed it such that her action to receive or reject that life is almost entirely in her hands. If we don’t understand this we will not realize that our task is much more challenging than the politics of pro-life politicians: We must literally do what the church did in ancient Rome . . . This is why I support things like the ultrasound initiative. We must get women to exercise this power they have over other lives with charity. When we convince enough, the culture will naturally reject abortion.
This and IMHO we have also forgotten the consequences the post abortive woman will face through out her life. There are always two victims in an abortion. If women could come to realize before an abortion they are taking a life rather than after, women would also face less PTSD.
I think it is wrong to ignore such a huge problem because it sets a precedent for other issues? There is no reason why many issues can not be worked on at the same time.
I have to disagree because IMHO people who do not care about the least among us, will continue to pick and choose who to care about, which poor to care about, which race is more important, which age group is more important… Bernie Sanders and many other upcoming democrats socialist ideas will only cause more problems. History has shown this.
Honestly, I think if that was as common as your statements would imply that most post abortive women would become pro life and abortion would be illegal by now - and you wouldn’t have women having multiple abortions.
See, the last two sentences, which I bolded, is where I have my doubts. In the process of trying to get them to exercise their ‘right’ charitably, we will inevitably have affirmed that they do have that right — which is pretty much the core of the dispute.
While I don’t want to be unkind or uncharitable to the ladies, I think we just have to say that it’s not all about the woman, not even in this type of extreme situation that goes beyond what a man could directly experience. I think we need to avoid allowing the discourse to focus entirely or even predominately on what’s good or better or best for the woman to the exclusion of giving any consideration to the child (as the primary stakeholder in this situation — a place usurped by the female decision-maker) and to other stakeholders (who are less important but not totally unimportant in the situation). Agreeing with the radically adult-female-centric perspective here basically reinforces the pro-abort perspective and gives it fuel. We have tried to play its own game, but perhaps we should play differently and fall back on reasserting objective principles as overriding individual sovereignty and even individual welfare.
98+ abortions per hour. Many people learn how to push down inside themselves their pain and guilt. Also, according to Rachel’s vineyard, many women will have multiple abortions, just trying to prove to themselves it is okay or to justify abortion and also in an attempt to relieve their pain, so many women keep that pain and guilt silent, such is where the “Silent No More Ministry” came from.
This is wrong, IMO. That power women have over those they carry in themselves is a hard, unavoidable truth/fact/reality. We may call it a right or something different, but that reality will always be true because nature has designed it so. It’s a bit like saying: by convincing depressed people not to take their own life, we will have affirmed “their right” to do so. People have that power to take their life or a life within themselves, whether we call it a right or not. Dealing with that reality will let us know what we need to do to effect actual change.
A woman pushed into it is more likely to regret it and seek help.
I still think you would see far more.
The woman is the person you must reach above all else if you are serious about ending abortion. We are trying to open a door: she has the keys. Whether we think she has a right to refuse to open or not, she holds the keys. We will never get through that door if we don’t get her to open that door.
Well, let’s pray that we do.
Also, even if this is true (the majority of women experience regret but don’t admit it) the argument won’t be accepted by a pro abort so I don’t think it’s a good one for pro lifers to use.