Thank you for your wise words! I have passed them on to our parish priest and he was equally grateful for your essay. He has also posted it on our parish Facebook page. I hope that’s ok with you. God bless your work!
Eloquent and careful as this post is, it feels a shame that your commentary is seemingly only focused on cases in which abortion can be avoided, i.e. cases in which both mother and foetus are healthy enough for the pregnancy to continue to full term. You've focused on a very ideal set of circumstances: a pregnancy that can continue to full term, a baby that can be born without long-term, significantly life-limiting health conditions, and a loving family for that child to go to. That is completely understandable given your personal experience. I don't presume to know anything about the lives now of the birth mothers of your children but can only hope that the lasting effects of carrying children to term only to give them up for adoption haven't been too harrowing. The vast majority of abortions are carried out because of an absence of one or several of the aforementioned factors and it's those women and, in some cases, foetuses, who need protecting via the choice and ability to access abortions. This is far more complex than a foetus being treated equally to a grown woman. I would have loved to hear your take on a case in which not terminating a pregnancy could kill the pregnant mother and/or cause significant long-term damage to her and/or the foetus. It's not at all comforting to feel like forced birth is the way forward in the name of doing right by anyone, let alone the women it affects first and foremost. There doesn't seem to me to be anything pro-life about that. I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts though, it's the most incendiary of topics but I hope everyone can hear each other with open hearts and minds.
I think you are misinformed about the reasons why women have abortions. The vast majority of abortions (96 percent according to the pro-abortion Guttamacher Institute) are carried out because of exactly the reasons I describe. They involve healthy mothers and healthy babies. I will link the study. All states, even where abortion will be illegal, allow for medical exemptions for the mother, so that is why I don’t address it here. It is a non-issue in this regard. Although, medically, there is never any reason for the intentional killing of a child. To save the life of a mother, the child can simply be delivered early, even if there is no chance of survival, and given compassionate care after birth. But again, that’s not even being debated. https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/pubs/psrh/full/3711005.pdf
I appreciate the link. I would absolutely not want to be in a position where I'm forced to deliver any unborn child knowing it won't survive and will die even with medical assistance. If a woman believed that's the best and right choice for her and her child then I completely support that too. Ultimately I believe in giving women choice and agency over their bodies and their lives. I don't think it's right to enforce one's views on any human being. Leaving the choice up to the individual and not in the hands of the state or the country is the fairest thing to do. Compassion towards women in these situations and respecting that they can make the right choice for them is so important.
Thank you for your wise words! I have passed them on to our parish priest and he was equally grateful for your essay. He has also posted it on our parish Facebook page. I hope that’s ok with you. God bless your work!
Thank you for the wisest words that express my heart these past days. I join you in prayer🙏🏻
So well said, Emily! Thank you for this!
Eloquent and careful as this post is, it feels a shame that your commentary is seemingly only focused on cases in which abortion can be avoided, i.e. cases in which both mother and foetus are healthy enough for the pregnancy to continue to full term. You've focused on a very ideal set of circumstances: a pregnancy that can continue to full term, a baby that can be born without long-term, significantly life-limiting health conditions, and a loving family for that child to go to. That is completely understandable given your personal experience. I don't presume to know anything about the lives now of the birth mothers of your children but can only hope that the lasting effects of carrying children to term only to give them up for adoption haven't been too harrowing. The vast majority of abortions are carried out because of an absence of one or several of the aforementioned factors and it's those women and, in some cases, foetuses, who need protecting via the choice and ability to access abortions. This is far more complex than a foetus being treated equally to a grown woman. I would have loved to hear your take on a case in which not terminating a pregnancy could kill the pregnant mother and/or cause significant long-term damage to her and/or the foetus. It's not at all comforting to feel like forced birth is the way forward in the name of doing right by anyone, let alone the women it affects first and foremost. There doesn't seem to me to be anything pro-life about that. I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts though, it's the most incendiary of topics but I hope everyone can hear each other with open hearts and minds.
I think you are misinformed about the reasons why women have abortions. The vast majority of abortions (96 percent according to the pro-abortion Guttamacher Institute) are carried out because of exactly the reasons I describe. They involve healthy mothers and healthy babies. I will link the study. All states, even where abortion will be illegal, allow for medical exemptions for the mother, so that is why I don’t address it here. It is a non-issue in this regard. Although, medically, there is never any reason for the intentional killing of a child. To save the life of a mother, the child can simply be delivered early, even if there is no chance of survival, and given compassionate care after birth. But again, that’s not even being debated. https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/pubs/psrh/full/3711005.pdf
I appreciate the link. I would absolutely not want to be in a position where I'm forced to deliver any unborn child knowing it won't survive and will die even with medical assistance. If a woman believed that's the best and right choice for her and her child then I completely support that too. Ultimately I believe in giving women choice and agency over their bodies and their lives. I don't think it's right to enforce one's views on any human being. Leaving the choice up to the individual and not in the hands of the state or the country is the fairest thing to do. Compassion towards women in these situations and respecting that they can make the right choice for them is so important.