Two arguments against abortion

The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks about abortion as an “unspeakable crime.” This teaching is not new. We find abortion condemned even in the “Didache,” a first century Christian text. The Catholic Church has always opposed abortion.
 
But, here is a self-test for us: Are we able to say why abortion is evil? Are we able to explain, to those who may legitimately be curious, some of the reasons the Church has always condemned abortion?
 
We can’t simply say to others, “Read this book; it will explain the problem.” Such a punting of responsibility is the opposite of bearing witness, the opposite of discipleship.
 
Granted, the fact that we sometimes stutter in answering these questions is not entirely our fault. Abortion is unpleasant to discuss, and so these truths often get glossed over as something “everybody knows.”
 
But, if, as is often claimed, roughly one out of every three American women will have had an abortion by age 45, and if Catholic women tend to have abortions at about the same rate as the rest of society, then perhaps our hold on these truths is not as firm as it ought to be.
 
Let us remind ourselves, then, of some reasons why abortion is a grave evil. Many arguments can be made, but this column will give two:
 
1) Abortion offends human dignity;
2) Abortion destroys human potential.
 
Human dignity
The first argument against abortion takes as its starting point a profoundly humanistic premise: Every single human life has an inherent “dignity” or excellence.
 
This dignity is not based upon performance; one does not have to qualify for this excellence. Nor is this dignity the reward of others, be it the state or one’s parents. Rather, this dignity stems from one’s very nature as a rational being made in the image of God. All possessors of human nature are valuable – no exceptions. How valuable? Irreplaceably valuable, since each human is unique.
 
If one accepts this premise, then the logic of the argument is inescapable. The unborn child is without doubt human. She possesses her own unique DNA, and she develops her own skeletal system, organs and appendages. While reliant upon her mother for nutrition, she is in no way a mere “part” of her mother’s body. To intentionally kill such a human being in the womb, as occurs in abortion, is a horrific offense against human dignity, a failure to respect a being of inestimable value.
 
Loss of potential
A second way to see the evil of abortion is to notice how it destroys the potential goods that the child might have brought to the world.
 
The child in the womb is a person, not a “potential person.” There are no potential persons – as the philosopher Robert Spaemann puts it, one is always either a “someone” or a “something.” There is no middle ground.
 
However, the already-existing child in the womb has the potential to develop in various ways and to accomplish certain things, and abortion absolutely nullifies these potentialities. As the Radiance Foundation succinctly made this point, “She can do super things if she is born.”
 
Life is the good that is at the foundation of other goods. In destroying the life of a child, we also destroy the additional good things in the future that would flow from her life.
 
We might put this same argument in a different form. Abortion reflects the logic of a closed system opposed to change. It is the logic of a pond turned brackish, lacking fresh water, “No new life for us; a baby will be disruptive.”
 
By contrast, to welcome a new human life is to welcome change, to solidify the chances for new things to occur. To have a baby, or to give a baby up for adoption, is to introduce someone into the world who might one day make the world a better place. Children are nature’s revolutionaries.
 
A call to action
One could grant the logic of these two arguments, but still pose a practical objection: What am I supposed to do about it? Few of us are preachers or teachers. We rarely find ourselves in discussions about abortion. How can we possibly help bear witness to the Church’s teaching about human life and human dignity?
 
Here is one immediate suggestion – the yearly 40 Days for Life prayer campaign to end abortion is set to run this fall from Sept. 26 through Nov. 4. Throughout its time in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, the campaign has seen many unborn lives saved and an abortion facility here in the city close its doors.
 
But, there remains work to do. Several abortion facilities remain open, often targeting poor and at-risk mothers.
 
We can stand up for these women, and above all for the rights of children in the womb, by joining in this 40-day peaceful prayer vigil outside of one of the city’s abortion facilities.

40 Days for Life kick-off rally, 40-day prayer vigil 
From Sept. 26 to Nov. 4, everyone is invited to join other Christians for 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion. The kick-off rally is at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at St. James Catholic Church, 4201 S. McKinley. Everyone is also invited to peacefully pray during a 40-day vigil in the public right-of-way outside Trust Women South Winds 1240 SW 44th Street (SE corner of Blackwelder and SW 44th). For more information, to volunteer or be a captain for a parish group, contact Erika Martinez at (405) 615-7642 or 40days4life@gmail.com; visit http://40daysforlife.com.
The vigil in Norman will be at 2453 Wilcox Dr. (behind the Braums on 24 & Lindsey). The opening ceremony and Rosary for Life in Norman is at 6 p.m. Sept. 23 at the United Way Plaza with Fr. Irwin. Contact Connie Lang, Jlang9@cox.net, (405) 249-1041 or visit  40daysforlife.com/norman.