I'm trying to answer an abortion question that my friend asked me

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No, I’ll take a risk and say not enough is being done to tangibly support pro-life efforts. By definition, that’s true wherever an unmet need exists. And, when the Church leads with opulence and squanders resources on low value activities, I’m extremely comfortable saying that. There is such a thing as a hierarchy of social returns on investment. Prioritize the high SROI ones!

You’ll notice I also connected the dots above and implicated myself as not doing enough with the suggestion that I put together a business plan for tre archdiocese.
 
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Here in Austin, we also have the John Paul II Life Center, which is our local pregnancy center. It’s located right near the Vitae Clinic, both of which are listed under “Lay Organizations” under our Diocese’s Website. On the clinic’s website, at the bottom of the page, it states the following:

“In compliance with the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) for Catholic healthcare services, our doctors do not provide oral or other artificial contraceptives.”

The Knights of Columbus raised money & bought an ultrasound machine for the clinic. The clinic website lists the following services:
  • Complete obstetric care for pregnant women — before conception, during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum services
  • State-of-the-art ultrasound with 3D and 4D imaging
  • Innovative treatments for fertility using NaProTECHNOLOGY
  • Well-Woman exams
  • High-risk Prenatal Care
  • Treatment for health issues such as endometriosis, recurrent miscarriage, ovarian cysts, PMS and unusual bleeding
  • Minimally-invasive surgery for gynecologic disorders
  • First Teen OB-GYN appointment
  • Menopause and Post-Menopause Care
  • Menopausal Hormone Replacement
So these are not groups that just hand out diapers without trying to meet other needs that moms need - whether in crisis pregnancies or not.
 
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AZ42 said:
Her rights end where the rights of the child begin. Don’t have sex when you are not ready for a child.
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What if the arguement is made, “what if i am raped, and I do not wish to go through the discomfort of pregnancy?”
 
That’s the exception not the rule. It’s still not a good reason to end a life.
 
Right off, your friend seems to be assuming that a conceived baby in her womb is “her body”. This baby is not her body. He/she has its own body, own beating heart, own blood vessels and blood supply, lungs, kidneys, brain, arms, legs, his/her very own reproductive organs and system, their very own DNA and fingerprints that could win a case in a court of law, even before birth… etc. And when you look at a new baby, remember that a baby being aborted feels pain just like you do. Btw, pregnancy from rape is not all that common because of few fertile days in a month, but still we can’t punish/kill the child for the sins of his/her father. Thank you for taking the time to get answers, Nate.
 
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Nahtch said:
What if the arguement is made, “what if i am raped, and I do not wish to go through the discomfort of pregnancy?”
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What if she were to get cancer and didn’t feel like going through the misery of being sick? Sometimes life isn’t fair, but it’s how we deal with it that matters (to God, I think).
 
My answer:

If you were raped, I would want you to receive the best medical, emotional and legal support that can be found. To speculate on such a thing is very difficult, because my friend I love you.

Can we remove the personal bit? In general, do you feel that the children of rapists should be punished for the crimes of their fathers?
 
Be supportive and avoid criticism. I’ve never believed a woman wakes in the morning and desires an abortion because there is nothing better to do that day. There is usually fear of the underlying circumstances and it is known that the majority of abortions are sought by women at or near poverty level and with lower educations.

Support can/should include resources, and transportation to sign up for these resources. Pre-natal care and nutritious foods will be a necessity if there isn’t already access, and unfortunately sometimes drugs are involved. In many cases the cases are very complex, but all life is worth fighting for. Many times she will need to sign on for active employment seeking or a vocational training program, this is all good as it sheds light on a future, it gives hope when all may seem hopeless.
The adoption process can be a beautiful thing as well.
 
Hi Nate!
I’m glad you’re here!

There’s a strategy I like that you might like too. That is, offer them something better. We all like something better, right?

God’s plan for marriage and family life is that a man and woman come before family, friends, and God and proclaim their love and commitment to each other in marriage. Papers are signed, rings are exchanged. It’s only after this commitment that the couple can have sex. The reason is that children come along and they need both parents to love and raise them. Spouses need each other. It is a wonderful plan for the human race.

Now as a woman, I would find it extremely selfish beyond belief to have a man try to persuade me to have sex with him when I take on all the risk. It would be me who would get pregnant, and he can dump me when I do. How selfish and self centered is that? What is he risking? What he is demonstrating to me is his selfishness. I want to date a man who would never ever put me in that position. A man who respects me enough to discern if I could be his life partner, and if he could be a good life partner for me.

I want to date a man who demonstrates to me that he can be chaste. If he can’t be chaste when dating me, when is he going to show me that he can be? When you make a commitment in marriage, that doesn’t mean there won’t be interesting people, attractive people, available people around. How do I know he won’t be cheating on me, maybe dump me for someone younger, smarter, funnier? He must demonstrate to me first that he can show self restraint. Who doesn’t want a life partner who will be loving and faithful and true through the years?

I want to date a man who knows how to pray. The reason is that God is interested in successful marriages! It’s God who helps married couples get through hard times. Do difficult things. And through the years there are going to be hard things to get through. We don’t have the strength, the fortitude, the love required in many situations that come along, but God does. This is how ordinary people have been shown to be extraordinary. We call them saints. They did something remarkable.

We are ordinary people too, who are called to be remarkable.

Don’t settle for less then that. Aim higher. Want more of what God has in mind.
God bless and guide you!
 
Hi Nate, it is great that you get to learn all the right answers at such an early age and that you are already evangelizing. I just want to say that these conversations alone aren’t going to change anyone’s mind because abortion is first and foremost a spiritual evil, and a spiritual battle. A person you are talking to needs to be enlightened by God. Pray for them all the while you talk to them. May I recommend you the Rosary of the Unborn. It changes , hearts and minds about abortion. I know of many small miracles that are happening to those who pray it. I know of a couple from Ireland who went for an abortion in the UK. They visited a prolife crisis pregnancy centre in Ireland first and were shown videos of abortion, of babies in the womb, but nothing worked for them and they decided to have an abortion anyway. Then the person who was giving them counselling prayed the Rosary of the Unborn for them. The pregnant girl arrived at the clinic, paid for her abortion, and stood ready to go in and then she felt a power going through her telling her to stop. At the same time her boyfriend experienced the same and told her not to go through. They kept their baby. Rosary of the Unborn was given by Our Lady through a Catholic housewife in the US in 1997 with a promise to save a baby from abortion for every Hail Mary said from a loving heart on this particular rosary. You can obtain it and save countless lives, and mitigate God’s Justice that is due to mankind for embracing this grave sin. Receive the blessing of the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Courage. Peace.
 
Maximilian75 said:
if you don’t want a baby, don’t have sex
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This doesn’t solve the problem. This just gets people angry. You do not know person’s situation.

If you want to solve the problem enact policies that reduce abortions, such as free contraception, sex education, health care, work/day care programs, welfare for families, etc.
 
For the most part it is a good solution and goes to the root of the problem.
 
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kainosktisis said:
Out here there is a Catholic maternity home. It is set up like this:

• A home for moms under 18
• A home for moms 18+
• On-site daycare
• On-site high school
• Ladies are responsible for chores around the homes
• Counseling is provided
• A transition home for moms preparing to go on their own with their child
• Medical care & food is provided
• Ladies pursuing a higher education can attend the local community college or other college if accepted
• Ladies can stay up to 2 years there with their children
• Some of the moms hold down jobs to earn money
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Proactive agenda, well thought out to the root of the problems that can exist for someone. An actual answer, it’s refreshing to see this.
 
LateCatholic said:
You do not know person’s situation.
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Unless they’re raped or haven’t gone through sex ed, they know that sex may well result in a child and still had it. That’s a fact. If they can’t handle a child, don’t have sex.
 
Nahtch said:
“I think I should have the right to do what I want with my body?”
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The problem with this is saying that there is only one body. In reality there are two. The right to life takes precedence over the right to convenience.
Nahtch said:
“if I get raped, or get stuck with a child I know I can’t raise well, or get pregnant when I’m not ready to have a kid, or even if I just don’t want to have a child, or anything like that”
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Giving the child up for adoption has no shame in it.
Nahtch said:
“and the fact that men literally think they should have any say in what I can and can’t do to my OWN BODY is kinda like. Stupid”
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Many of the Supreme Court Justices were male during the time Roe v Wade was happening. By this statement, they shouldn’t have a say in it. Also this misogynistic idea means that any expert who is an obstetrician-gynecologist who happens to be MALE, should not have a say in the medical field about this issue. Obviously this is false.
Nahtch said:
“you’re telling me I should carry this child for 9 months, be sick the entire time, go through expensive medicines and check ups, pay a ton to create a nursery, then go through a painful and expensive process to deliver it, and then continue to raise it for 18 years? Literally? People think they can choose to push ALL OF THAT on a woman and it’s stupid”
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Why not? Your mom did that. Sometimes things are worth sacrificing time for. Our society has a problem with not calling people to moral greatness but instead promotes a life filled with the mentality, “all about me”.

Also abstinence is not a bad thing
 
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Nahtch said:
"And what if it becomes dangerous? Like, life-threatening to the mother? You’re just deny her an abortion and force her to go through this incredibly invasive process and she’ll probably end up dying in the end anyway. So. That’s what I think. "
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Since when does abortion, the direct killing of the child, help a mother in a situation where her life is being threatened by disease? Ask this person a specific disease or case where abortion was absolutely medically necessary, and no other medical procedure could have been used.
Nahtch said:
“and I’m not saying every woman has to get an abortion, I’m saying she should be able to choose. Because. It’s her body, so men and other women can’t tell her what to do with it, you know? Just, let the woman choose?”
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It’s not just her body, it’s the body of the child as well. The child should be allowed to have life and convenience should not take that away.
 
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Maximilian75 said:
Unless they’re raped or haven’t gone through sex ed, they know that sex may well result in a child and still had it. That’s a fact. If they can’t handle a child, don’t have sex.
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Reactive responses, like yours, do not solve problems.

Republicans propose a reactive solution to the problem of abortion.
  • make it illegal
Democrats propose proactive solutions.
  • Provide birth control
  • Provide sex ed
  • Provide health care
  • Fund adoption and foster care
  • Support pregnant women in the workforce
  • Provide a financial safety net
  • and on and on and on
Geez - Can’t Catholics be even a little bit proactive??
I’ve talked to Catholics that don’t even want to teach ABSTINENCE in school because that would lead to questions about oral sex, masturbation, etc etc. They won’t have any of that. It’s crazy.
 
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