(LifeSiteNews) — I was interviewed by a survivor of a failed procured abortion who forgave her mother, therefore it became imperative for me to share some thoughts on the prevalent practice of procured abortion today.
No matter how “advanced” contraceptive methods are used, a woman can still become pregnant. And many times the solution to the problem – many call it a “right” – is procured abortion. It is a legal practice in many countries; there is already one country that founded its homeland on procured abortion by including it in the constitution, and there is even government support to carry it out.
To make matters worse, people who pray silently in front of an abortion facility sometimes end up in prison. Procured abortion is the emergence of a society that, fostering the culture of death and being more willing to kill than to love, has lost its way and is advancing towards its eventual destruction.
Since some professed Christian men and women are in favor of procured abortion, I will try to answer the question: Is procured abortion an act of love for one’s neighbor for a Christian or an act of iniquity and malice?
Is the unborn child a human being?
The most common argument in support of procured abortion is that the unborn is not a human being.
However, if we look at the Catechism of the Catholic Church #366, it says that “The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God—it is not ‘produced’ by the parents—and also that it is immortal.”
The Catholic Church has pronounced itself on the subject, and very clearly, in the declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on procured abortion – Quaestio de abortu, of November 18, 1974. Below are some excerpts of the declaration:
“6. … In the Didache it is clearly said: ‘You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder the infant already born.’ Athenagoras emphasizes that Christians consider as murderers those women who take medicines to procure an abortion; he condemns the killers of children, including those still living in their mother’s womb, ‘where they are already the object of the care of divine Providence.’ Tertullian did not always perhaps use the same language; he nevertheless clearly affirms the essential principle: ‘To prevent birth is anticipated murder; it makes little difference whether one destroys a life already born or does away with it in its nascent stage. The one who will be a man is already one.'”
“7. … the Second Vatican Council, presided over by Paul VI, has most severely condemned abortion: ‘Life must be safeguarded with extreme care from conception; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.'”
“12. … From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the mother, it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth. It would never be made human if it were not human already.”
In the instruction Donum Vitæ of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on respect for human life in its origin and on the dignity of procreation, dated February 22, 1987, section I.1 states:
“…the conclusions of science regarding the human embryo provide a valuable indication for discerning by the use of reason a personal presence at the moment of this first appearance of a human life: how could a human individual not be a human person?”
In the encyclical Evangelium Vitæ of Pope St. John Paul II on the value and inviolability of human life, March 25, 1995, there is a whole section, “Your eyes beheld my unformed substance” (Ps 139[138]:16): the unspeakable crime of abortion, from 58 to 63, which, because of its length, is not included here.
In the instruction Dignitas Personæ of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on certain bioethical questions, September 8, 2008, in section 5 it says:
“Indeed, the reality of the human being for the entire span of life, both before and after birth, does not allow us to posit either a change in nature or a gradation in moral value, since it possesses full anthropological and ethical status. The human embryo has, therefore, from the very beginning, the dignity proper to a person.”
In a homily of Pope Benedict XVI on November 27, 2010, he said:
“Cultural trends exist that seek to anaesthetize consciences with spurious arguments. With regard to the embryo in the mother’s womb, science itself highlights its autonomy, its capacity for interaction with the mother, the coordination of biological processes, the continuity of development, the growing complexity of the organism. It is not an accumulation of biological material but rather of a new living being, dynamic and marvelously ordered, a new individual of the human species. This is what Jesus was in Mary’s womb; this is what we all were in our mother’s womb. We may say with Tertullian, an ancient Christian writer: ‘the one who will be a man is one already’ (Apologeticum IX, 8), there is no reason not to consider him a person from conception.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks about procured abortion in numerals 2270 to 2275, where, among other things, it states, “the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm caused to the innocent person who is killed, to his parents and the whole of society.” It is as heinous to kill an unborn child as it is to kill a child already born, so we are facing the criminal slaughter of innocent unborn children. Those who commit these unconscionable crimes with their children are modern-day Cains, whom God will ask on the Day of Judgment: Where is your offspring?
Child sacrifice in the Bible
The Catholic Church is very clear about procured abortion. Let us see what the Bible says about child sacrifices to pagan gods: “You shall not give any child of yours to pass before Molech; you shall not profane the name of your God in this way. I am the LORD.” (Lev 18:21). Child sacrifice is a sin that will lead to death:
“You shall say to the Israelites, ‘If any man among the Israelites or among the strangers who dwell in Israel gives one of his sons to Molech, he shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him to death. I Myself will turn My face against that man and exterminate them from the midst of his people, because he has given one of his sons to Molech, making My sanctuary unclean and profaning My holy Name. If the people of the land close their eyes to that man who gave one of his sons to Molech, and do not put him to death, I Myself will turn My face against that man and against his family, and will exterminate him from among his people, him and all who like him prostitute themselves after Molech.” (Lev 20:2-5).
This practice continued despite warnings, for Molech is named in 2 Kgs 23:10, Is 57:9, Jer 32:35, and Ac 7:43. But in the unborn child, we have already seen that “To prevent birth is anticipated murder; it matters little that the life already born is suppressed or that it is made to disappear at birth. He who is on the way to becoming a man is already a man.”
The consequence of a procured abortion, where the womb that forms that child rejects him and sends him to death without a name and any remorse, spilling the innocent blood of unborn children, is that a murderous initiation is being made, a human sacrifice that gives worship to the devil, since it is a homicide and an abominable crime.
To the promoters and those who profit from procured abortions, apply these words of Jesus Christ: “You are from your father, the devil, and you prefer to do what your father wants. He was a murderer from the start; he was never grounded in the truth; there is no truth in him at all” (Jn 8:44). And with the millions of procured abortions of the last times, we collaborate with the devil to separate humanity from God towards evil, which is reflected, among other things, in the multiplication of wars and divisions all over the planet.
And a passive attitude that closes its eyes to the seriousness of these crimes is inadmissible and as condemnable now as it was in ancient times.
Human sacrifices and Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Aztec people made human sacrifices as part of their rituals to honor their gods. Still, from the 16th century, with the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Indian Juan Diego in 1531, there was a massive conversion of the Indians to Christianity, estimating nine million conversions in nine years – something unthinkable by human effort, which reminds us of the conversion of Nineveh by the warnings of the prophet Jonah, something humanly impossible.
The Fiat of the Virgin Mary, a cry for the life of the unborn
Let us contemplate the Fiat of the Virgin Mary, which can help humanity to open its eyes and stop offering human sacrifices that give worship to the devil. Mary’s answer to the Angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” clearly shows that telling Her that She was to be a mother was not in Mary’s plans, but to remain a virgin was, even though She was married to St. Joseph (see Num 30:4-8, St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Augustine are of this position).
Mary’s Fiat, that response, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word,” is upsetting from the perspective of today’s society: She did not calculate that when St. Joseph found out, he probably wouldn’t understand how She could have gotten pregnant. Would not a selfish “no, thank you” to God’s invitation have been less risky and compromising and have allowed Her to continued living Her life’s plans?
To give this Fiat, Mary’s trust and abandonment to God was complete and total – a trust that Divine Providence will take care of our vital future; it only wants our will, our heart. It is to think: this is humanly impossible, but let God’s Will be done and not mine: He is the Lord of past, present, and future history, and “We are well aware that God works with those who love Him” (Rom 8:28).
We may think that besides the joy of doing God’s Will, Mary could have had the pain of leaving Her life plans, but Her plan was to love until it hurt! It was a Fiat with a blind trust, a love that overcame by far the fears proper to our fragility, like that of a child with her parents, who will protect her in the face of dangers.
She had the love lacking in Adam and his wife, who did not love until it hurt and gave in to temptation – a loving filial Fiat that was unbreakable in the face of adversity, such as having to flee to Egypt or witnessing the most infamous death Her Son had at the hands of the rest of Her children. A selfless Fiat that bore the fruit of the Word become flesh, the Author of Life giving us life in abundance, and bringing Salvation to all humanity, one single family.
This Fiat of Mary shows us that Jesus Christ also wanted to be unborn, and in this way shows that all the unborn are true persons: the Unborn Jesus Christ is our Lord! This Fiat also gives us a good perspective to look at today’s procured abortions: is there not something of comfort, of lack of generosity with life, of being far from Jesus Christ? We are in a world fixed on consumerism and comfort, where instead of having children we have pets.
Mary invites us to repentance, She reminds us that Her Son is always waiting for us with open arms to give us His forgiveness and boundless love. The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ and the Most Immaculate Heart of Mary want us to give Them our hearts, that we take refuge in those two hearts, to learn from the annihilation of Jesus Christ in an unborn Child to annihilate our ego, because we were created to love: “My son, give me your heart” (Pr 23:26).
Today’s heroines
This phrase I heard not long ago, “I make peace, one diaper change at a time,” has resonated with me: everything is connected, and my daily act of love toward my children brings peace to the world. Jesus Christ is very clear when He says, “In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me.” (Mt 24:40), and there is nothing more small, defenseless, and innocent than an unborn child.
Single mothers, underage mothers, mothers abandoned by their boyfriends or husbands, those who had a child after being raped, those who decided to have a child despite pressure from an unwilling man, those who have a child even though their life was at risk, etc., these are our heroines, our Abels of today, because they prioritized life without calculating how it would look in society or to their family, or the inconveniences, or their subsistence.
The unborn is the Temple of God or is on the way to being so and is sacred ground, the most precious thing in the universe. Let us give thanks to the Fiat of Mary for Her conceiving even though She was not planning it and it seemed impossible, an act of courage and trust, where love won in Her blessed Heart, from which all humanity has benefited.
Let us yield control of our lives to the Providence of God that leads to life, and if a woman becomes pregnant, let her give thanks to God: how many would like to be mothers and cannot! To be a mother is to love until it hurts, it is a lifelong commitment, but we already know that to follow Christ, to be Christians, is to embrace our cross and also to enter into His ocean of goodness, with the hope of eternal life and joy. But also to be a mother is to be filled with joy for a fruitful love that forms a family, for those children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Because life is a gift, and the unborn is the miracle of life cradled in the womb of a woman, who counts on our love, our welcome, our closeness, our compassion, our tenderness, and our presence.
Those who would have procured abortions again
For those who would abort again because they consider the unborn a heap of biological material and disagree with what has been said so far, I tell them that I do not judge them. We are all sinners in the Church, and there is always room for one more. I gladly offer you to have a sincere conversation. I ask you to pray to God and to ask for the intercession of our Mother Mary, so that Jesus Christ may speak to your heart and give you strength in difficult situations to evaluate other alternatives.
Also, contemplate our Mother Mary’s yes to life, so that the yes to the Will of God becomes the song of our life, receiving the help of the Word in our fragility, that tells us “be courageous: I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33). And finally, distancing yourself from the “truths” of the society in which we live, a society with its back turned to God that often wants to show as good a culture of death; and get closer to the truths that Jesus Christ gives us in the Gospels that lead to life in abundance.
Vigil of Prayer for Nascent Life
Let us pray together this prayer of Pope Benedict XVI at the Vigil of Prayer for Nascent Life on November 27, 2010:
Lord Jesus,
Who faithfully visit and fill with Your Presence
the Church and the history of mankind;
Who in the admirable Sacrament
of Your Body and Blood
You make us partakers of divine life
and You grant us to savor in advance
the joy of eternal life;
we adore and bless You.
Prostrate before You, source and lover of life,
truly present and alive in our midst,
we beg You:
Enkindle in us respect
for all nascent human life,
let us see in the fruit of the mother’s womb
the admirable work of the Creator;
open our hearts to a generous welcome
of every child who comes to life.
Bless the families,
sanctify the union of spouses,
make their love fruitful.
Accompany with the light of Your Spirit
decisions of legislative assemblies,
so that the peoples and nations
recognize and respect the sacredness of life,
of all human life.
Guide the work of scientists and physicians,
for progress to contribute
to the integral good of the person
and let no one suffer suppression and injustice.
Give creative charity to administrators
and economists,
to know how to intuit and promote
sufficient conditions
in order to enable young families to open up
calmly to the birth of new children.
Comfort the married couples suffering
because of the impossibility of having children,
and in your goodness provide.
Educate everyone to take charge
of orphaned or abandoned children,
so that they may experience the warmth of your charity,
the consolation of your divine Heart.
With Mary your Mother, the great believer,
in whose bosom you assumed our human nature,
we expect from You,
our only true Good and Savior,
the strength to love and serve life,
waiting to live always in You,
in the communion of the Most Holy Trinity.
Diego G. Passadore is the author of Mary, the New Woman.