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It is not equally legitimate to hold the position that aborton should be legal and the position that abortion should not be legal. There is only one position that a Catholic can hold.**
First, I want to say that it is good for good Catholics to discuss the social teachings of the Church.
I think this is an especially needful dialog.
Regards to above quoted information and similar simplified views regarding the social teachings of the church, I would say that on specific difficult issues regards to the “implementation” of Catholic morality within our or any specific time frame, social framework or governmental framework, that we can reasonably disagree.
We have certain moral agreements in this tread, it seems to me.
Terminating the life of an unborn child is primarily wrong.
We have an obligation to help the poor
We have an obligation to be fiscally responsible
Choosing to end the life of another or ourselves in any circumstances is fraut with moral consequences
I think there can be many others and they can be stated differently.
A couple points I feel I might make here.
Moral choices even within the framework of any particular person in a particular time or circumstance can sometimes be difficult to arrive at
The difficulty of extending the moral teachings of the church for the individual to encompass a specific society can be more difficult
Something being illegal does not make something immoral nor does making something illegal extend the morality of what is illegal
Two such instances of these difficulties arise in regards to abortion and caring for the poor.
If I were to make a choice to perform or aid in the performance of an abortion in a legal environment as we have today, I would not do so.
If a man came to me who had assisted in an abortion or a women who had an abortion and indicated to me that they have no remorse, that the rights to her freedom were inviolate, I would not easily forgive.
If they came to me and the circumstances of the decision were difficult, and there was remorse and sorrow, then I would feel obligated to forgive.
Lets look at this from another perspective - The history of some abortions in this country when it was illegal is not a pretty one, either.
The rich or even moderately well to do, who had abilities and resources could quite easily obtain abortions regardless of the law. They could do these cleanly and medically safely. Often the reasons for such abortions were even more petty than they are today. Something like social acceptance, or todays convenience.
While at the same time a poor child in a disfranchised family, lacking parental support, barely being able to feed herself, could find herself putting a coat hangar up her in a back alley, and bleeding to death.
If abortions become illegal what are we to do about things like “that”?
I have similar misgivings on the abdication of helping the poor from government to unnamed charities. Lets review the history of these so-called charities in helping the poor, or/and review the social responsibilities by individuals, not legally obligated to help the poor and what they really end up doing.
The beginning of this thread was a question concerning the moral responsibility for who was voted for as President of the United States. This vote takes place once every four years. Is one of millions and takes a few minutes.
We need to evaluate what we are doing daily in regards to these social issues. Certainly, not all of us are in public service, but we could ask ourselves what time we are giving to charity? Are our prayers for the poor, the unborn, the theifs on the crosses beside us heartfelt, sincere and many?
And, what is happening on forums, blogs, books, discussions, chats, etc. around the world. We, as lay people, are seeking to discover the right in this world. We are exposing our thoughts, our hearts, our lives and our minds to the world as witnesses seeking Christ and seeking the completion of the promise of the parousia in the world and everlasting life for ALL souls in the world.
