A Response to the President

I read of the President's address to the graduating class of Notre Dame University and found some of his words hopeful. I agree completely with him that it is highly unlikely, save a direct miracle from God, that we will see the extremist from each end of the political spectrum ever agree on the issue of abortion. I agree that this means those who are not on those extremes must be the ones to carry on the discussion. Since in my experience no one ever believes they are on the extreme on any position, everyone naturally believing they are rational, I will attempt to start the conversation.
Let me begin by saying that as a minister I have been in situations where I have counseled for and against abortion as an option. I suspect I will be in both positions again. In neither situation have I been comfortable, nor assured I was making the correct recommendation. I have prayed a lot.
What I have found is that until we begin to use language correctly and precisely it is impossible to even discuss options when confronted with this life and death issue. Yes, I said "life and death" issue. What I have found is an amazing ability to use language to avoid speaking the truth when we begin to discuss abortion.
I often find people who come into my office and must choose whether or not abortion is an option they should consider and yet they are unwilling to confront the truth of their choice. They want to talk about what to do with the "fetus" or their "right to choose" instead of clearly understanding that what we are discussing is whether or not it is proper in this situation to end a life. The truth that we all must face if rational people are to come to some satisfying agreement on the abortion issue is that left to its natural progression a fertilized egg will develop into a fully formed human being and be born. Interupting this process ends the possibility of life. When we talk about abortion we need to be clear we are talking about ending a life.
I happen to believe that the teachings of the Holy Scripture and of the Church through the ages recognize that their may be times when it is permissible, perhaps even desirable, for people of faith to determine that ending a life may be appropriate. The commandment I understand to read, "You shall not take life unjustly" or "You shall not commit murder." This clearly means that there may be times when it is permissible to take life justly.
I also believe that the teachings of Scripture and the Church clearly indicate that life is sacred. Life is a gift from God, breathed into our fundamental elements. All life must be respected, even revered.
When I talk with a person considering an abortion this is my starting point. We agree that we are talking about ending a life. We agree that all life is sacred. Then we talk about what possible reasons we might have to "justify" a decision to end that life.
At that point we have some guidance from our history and from our traditions. We all know that self-defense has been viewed by society as a reasonable excuse for taking the life of another. This has been translated in abortion to the idea that if the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother (here we are open to discuss what "threatens" might mean) then it may be permissible to end the life of the infant.
We also know that in cases where a person threatens to endanger the lives of others it may be permissible to end that person's life. A case where a man with a gun is pointing it at another person gives the police the right to use deadly force. If it can be shown that the pregnancy is a severe threat to others (I don't have a clear case in mind, perhaps embroinic testing reveals the child to be a carrier of a deadly contagious disease) then it may be permissible to end the life of the infant.
What I am saying in this is that the same reasoning we use to determine the use of deadly force in a life that has been born should be used to determine whether or not the use of deadly force through abortion should be considered. Life is sacred. To take a life requires some justification other than "he was bothering me so I shot him." That reasoning won't work in life outside the womb, it should not be allowed on life inside the womb.
In cases where it is determined that there may be just cause for ending a life, inside the womb or outside, society should always do so with a mourning and repentant heart. In the cases where I have counseled for abortion I have always required that before taking the action we go to God in Holy Communion and ask for God to understand and forgive our choice. Then again after the action we return to the Communion table to once again share our value of life and ask God for our forgiveness in taking it.
On the one occasion where I had to assist a family who had lost a loved one to murder and then had to watch as the person convicted of the crime received the death penalty I recommended exactly the same proceedure. We take life only with a saddened heart and seeking forgiveness from God.
My hope and prayer is that through his speech at Notre Dame the President will indeed open the doors for all in our society to truly and honestly discuss the crisis of abortion. I want to do my part.
Of course the real issue behind abortion is the burning question, "Why in this day and age with all the prevention available are so many women getting pregnant who do not wish to give birth?" But that is for another time.
God's best,
Bill