Being Pro Life for yourself Pro choice for others QUESTION from Jordan January 4, 2002 To Whom it May Concern,
Over the years I have thought about the views of both Pro - life advocates and pro-choice advocates and have from that come up with my own perspective . It troubles me b/c it is a subject that divides so many people and in my opinion, unecessarily. I would never have an abortion, not b/c I think I'll go to hell for doing it(in my eyes God doesn't have a degree of sin chart to refer to to determine which sin is more sinful than another). I would give the baby up for adoption if it was made from a rape.
I don't like abortion but I don't think it is right to make laws telling people they can't have them. I am pro choice for others. God gives us free will and it's not up to us to make that decision for good or evil for someone else. I know in things like murder where it effects another human life it is necessary to make things laws but not this in my opinion. Pro - lifers say that the baby is not given a choice when you have an abortion but on the same token a baby is not given a choice when you choose to conceive a child.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I would appreciate any opinion or new way of looking at it you might have.
ANSWER by Mr. Troy Martz on January 9, 2002 Dear Jordan:
First, thank you for your question and interest in this important issue. Your question is a common one, probably inspired by the numerous politicians and other public figures who want to straddle this issue to please everyone.
The real problem lies at your original objective: to come up with my own perspective. The only problem is that you (nor I nor anyone else) do not get to decide what is good and what is evil. Good and Evil are NOT matter of opinion, they are objective realities. It doesn't really matter what I think or my opinion, what matters is what is Truth. My role is to seek and discern what is true and good, regardless of how I would LIKE things to be or what I think SHOULD be true and good. Your statement God gives us free will and it's not up to us to make that decision for good or evil for someone else. is flawed in its understanding of Free Will, Good, and Evil. A better expression is God gives us free will, and it's up to use to choose between Good and Evil. Evil is evil, it doesn't matter whether it is for you or me.
Let's look at the facts and see if we can discern the Truth. You acknowledge (correctly) that murder is wrong. [Note that not everyone agrees with you and you still maintain that it is necessary to outlaw murder.] Would it be wrong to murder a new-born child which is obviously a person? Of course, as any reasonable person would agree.
What is the difference between murdering a child 10 seconds after birth and murdering a child 10 seconds BEFORE birth? Nothing, but that is the only distinction in Partial-Birth Abortion (all but the head is delivered, then the brain is sucked out through the a hole cut in the back of the head -- all without even anesthetics for the baby!). Again, most reasonable people with the nerve to face this issue agree that this barbarism is violent, cruel murder. Remember, this person is only 20 seconds younger then the one in the previous example.
The argument is that the second child is not yet out of the womb and therefore not a person. The problem is that whether or not you are a human person doesn't depend on where you are. You would certainly agree that you don't become less (or more) of a person simply because you move from one location to another. It doesn't depend on what society thinks either. A child in the inner city does not have less inherent value than a child in a mansion, regardless whether society treats one better. That is because your value as a person does not come from society or from any other human source. Your value as a person comes from your being created in the image and likeness of God. My opinion of your value is irrelevant since your value is a Truth, not subject to my approval. If I fail to see your value as a person, it is because I am wrong and reject the Truth and does not effect your value.
Now, let's look at our child again. Go back another 20 seconds, and then another, and another, on back through the entire pregnancy. At what point does it stop being a human person? Biologically, as long as it has a distinct DNA from the mother, it is separate human body. That distinct DNA is created at the time of conception, from that point on only nutrition is added to the growing baby.
Look carefully at the previous paragraph. You will note that these are not my opinions, rather clear description of the facts of science. It is like gravity, you may not like it but that doesn't mean that you can fly!
What I find amazing is that the Church has been teaching this truth for 2000 years! Only in the recent decades have science been able to confirm the Truth that the Church has taught since the Apostles. I see that as another sign that the Catholic Church is the Church founded by Christ and preserved throughout time as He promised: He (the Holy Spirit) will guide you into all truth. But that is an issue for another forum . . .
This truth was recognized by one of the 20th century's greatest authors and philosophers:
A person is a person, no matter how small.--from Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
Words to live by.
May the Peace of Jesus Christ who is the Truth be with you,
Troy
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