Is Abortion “Normal”?

The most significant measurement of a society’s values is how it cares for its weakest members. For example, how are the poor being treated? The sick and suffering? The range of metrics extends from the dying to the unborn, when those who are unable to advocate for themselves must rely on others to speak for them. Yet, the act of taking the life of an unborn child, once seen as sorrowful despite its legality, is now celebrated as a fundamental right, regardless of motivation. (We think of the shocking and distressing “Shout Your Abortion” social media campaign that encouraged women to revel in their abortions.) In the desperate and self-serving need of abortion advocates to normalize a mother taking the life of her child, they reject affirming women when they carry an unplanned pregnancy to term. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to celebrate the heroic women who opt to put the well-being of their child before themselves and choose to carry a pregnancy to term, even one conceived in unimaginably painful circumstances? Shouldn’t we be inspiring other women to make the same choice by holding up the selfless example of their peers? If a society is measured by how it cares for its weakest members, it follows that women in crisis pregnancies and their babies should be supported and nurtured to sustain the physical, emotional and psychological well-being of each. This is achieved through a promotion of the culture of life, not of giving into — much less being grateful for — a culture that defaults to death. [Editorial Board, Our Sunday Visitor, 2/20/22] Some believe that parts of our human family … can be readily sacrificed for the sake of others considered worthy of a carefree existence. Ultimately, persons are no longer seen as a paramount value to be cared for and respected, especially when they are poor and disabled, “not yet useful” like the unborn, or “no longer needed” like the elderly. Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, No. 18.