Is the Roman Catholic Church the model for Life? Part I: Catholics for Choice is wrong

A recent post of mine raised the question as to what kind of example do those who are religious and pro-choice set. In short, it’s a bad one, and it is a contradiction to be a person of faith and still advocate for killing the least of us. Nevertheless, groups like the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) still exist, with there even being a page, “Tools for Faith Leaders,” which advises faith leaders to act from a pro-choice position.

The RCRC has a host of religious groups which are listed as “Coalition Members.” However, it is noteworthy that Catholics for Choice is the sole “Catholic” group listed. In the Catholic section of the “Faith Perspectives,” provided by the president and vice president of Catholics for Choice, this group seeks to seriously distort Catholic teaching.

It is also worth noting that not only are there no other Catholic groups as “Coalition Members,” but that there are no Catholic priests listed as past board members or donors, or present board members. But sadly, both past and present board members, as well as donors, include reverends and rabbis.

Catholics for Choice, in their “Faith Perspectives” page, from Spring 2008, says in the first paragraph:

We are part of the great majority of the faithful in the Catholic church who disagree with the dictates of the Vatican on matters related to sexuality, contraception and abortion.

They will tell also tell you:

In Catholic theology there is room for the acceptance of policies that favor access to the full rangeof [sic] reproductive health options, including contraception and abortion.

This may be confusing, considering what the Catholic Church’s doctrine says about abortion, quite clearly. Catholics for Choice even has a sub-headline titled, “Catholic Teachings on Abortion Have Changed Over Time.” One such reason given is that “[t]he Catechism contains only six paragraphs on abortion.” Perhaps this is because no more are needed. Regardless, this still does not strengthen or weaken the Church’s stance if the Catechism was able to sufficiently communicate her stance in “only six paragraphs.”

Catholics for Choice tries to make another point, and in doing so, causes a distraction by mentioning that “[w]hile the Catholic church has long taught that abortion is a sin, the reasons for judging abortion sinful have changed over time.” Whatever the reason for abortion being a sin though, it still is a sin, as the act of a direct abortion still intentionally takes away an innocent life.

While the Cathechism does contain “only six paragraphs on abortion[,]” they are nevertheless important ones. They appear under the section “PART THREE LIFE IN CHRIST, SECTION TWO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, CHAPTER TWO “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” ARTICLE 5 THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT.” There is much to discuss in this part of the Cathecism, with other issues pertaining to life besides abortion. Again though, this does not mean that the Church’s stance will change.

These six paragraphs:

2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.⁷²

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.⁷³My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.⁷⁴

2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:

You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.⁷⁵God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.⁷⁶

2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. “A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,”⁷⁷ “by the very commission of the offense,”⁷⁸ and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.⁷⁹ The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:

“The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being’s right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death.”⁸⁰

“The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined. . . . As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child’s rights.”⁸¹

2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.

Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, “if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual. . . . It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence.”⁸²

2275 “One must hold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it, but are directed toward its healing the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival.”⁸³

“It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material.”⁸⁴

“Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities. Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity and identity”⁸⁵ which are unique and unrepeatable.

Besides the Cathechism, other Catholic resources on the Church’s teaching of abortion include Catholic Answers, Catholic News Agency, and EWTN.

The Church’s teaching is clear. One may disagree with the words of the Church and where she is coming from, but it becomes more problematic to try and distort the actual words to suit one’s purpose, as Catholics for Choice has attempted to do.