Abortion Raises Some Tough Questions
Christ and his Church abhor abortion. So why aren’t we tackling the wider issues that cause such widespread ‘violence in the womb’?
Beverley A Wood, Durban – It is a very sad reality that we, as mother Church, have become so silent on abortion. Perhaps the fault lies with us women. We are in the best position to be able to raise “hell” about the seemingly cold and detached manner in which unwanted babies are disposed of. We are also in the best position to raise the many issues that come to mind when tackling the issue of unwanted pregnancies.
The adage, “There can never be peace in the world while there is violence in the womb”, rings so true.
Questions that Demand Answers
- Is it because it is easy to ignore those who cannot speak for themselves?
- Is it because an unwanted pregnancy is a tough subject to broach, even with close family?
- Is it because a baby can be disposed of and nobody need know?
- Are the circumstances surrounding the conception embarrassing or threatening?
- How is it acceptable for doctors to terminate pregnancies when the expected child has some form of disability?
- What does a woman do when forced into a situation which results in a pregnancy she is not prepared for?
- Why is it that men are allowed to walk away and the woman left to deal with this on her own?
- How do you tell a woman living in dire poverty that abortion is not an option? How will she accept that?
- Is it OK that we are quite prepared to denounce abortion and then walk away from the situation? What does she do when she is lost, lonely and afraid?
- A woman is brutally raped and falls pregnant — how does she live through nine months of pregnancy and then at least 18 years with a child that constantly reminds her of a horrific period of her life?
- Fathers or other relatives raping children, women beaten into submission by men using their physical strength to overcome any objection to taking what they want, young girls using their bodies to overcome poverty, yes, promiscuity, and the list goes on.
Church Can Help Women in Crisis
How do we as Church respond to these challenges that are foisted upon women on a daily basis?
Abortion is a grave sin, I agree with that, but the discussion around abortion must continue, with both feet on the ground, as it were.
Providing homes for the moms and babies, without some effort in dealing with the sometimes brutal social realities that underpin abortion, is just placing a plaster over a life-threatening wound.
This topic belongs under the heading of “Family Life”. How many of our parishes at least have a ministry which focuses on Family Life? I would be very interested to hear of any, how they have been established, and how they deal with the myriad challenges that families face on a daily basis.
When you tackle abortion, you inevitably “open up a can of worms” — but we cannot avoid it.
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