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Subject:  Christian Perspective on Abortion is Unequivocal
Source:  Cybercast News Service; April 6, 2001

Christian Perspective on Abortion is Unequivocal
By Nicholas Sanchez

[Pro-Life Infonet Note:  Nicholas Sanchez is the Free Congress
Foundation's Director of Development.]

The black and white debate over abortion has, for a long time, been
convoluted by the proponents of legalized abortion. The pro-abortion
movement began this by refusing to be tagged by what they really stood
for. They were not "pro-abortion", we were informed; instead they were
merely "pro-choice". (This was a brilliant strategic move on their part.
Who in their right mind could be against "choice"? This is America, after
all. We have a dozen different choices for everything. To be against
choice - any kind of choice - is practically un-American.)

Then the "pro-choice" crowd insisted to the listening public that abortion
should not be portrayed as a moral issue. "Keep your Rosaries off of my
ovaries" was an early rallying cry of feminists and their fellow
travelers. For abortion to become acceptable to society at large,
feminists realized that they had to instill in the zeitgeist a belief that
women had this specious "right" to an abortion. This so-called right had
to trump all religious and cultural taboos that might consider such an
action abhorrent.

The public was endlessly lectured by Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem et al.
that instead of being a moral issue, abortion was purely a personal issue
between a woman and her doctor. No mention was ever made of the father of
the unborn child. Apparently this is an issue that is a bit too personal
for the one half of the party that bore responsibility for the pregnancy
in the first place.

Thus, the major selling points of abortion were: one, pro-abortionists
were not quite that scary a gaggle; instead, they were just a merry bunch
of choice peddlers. And two, abortion is a procedure and a debate that is
entirely secular in nature; it would be impossible to attach it to any
moral codes (such as Thou shall not kill).

All of this might explain why we have heard very little throughout the
years from people who claimed to be both believers in God and supporters
of abortion. If having an abortion is no different than having your
tonsils taken out, why should this be a debate that concerns the Church?
It is best, then, to sit back and label religious pro-lifers as fanatics
rather than getting into a debate over whether or not God is in favor of a
medical procedure that would allow the taking of human life.

However, changing attitudes have now caused the pro-abortion community to
dip its toe in an area where devils should fear to tread. And that is in a
self re-examination of the moral/religious implications of an abortion.
Such a move is not at all surprising. After all, for the past few years,
polls have consistently shown that Americans are becoming increasingly
uneasy with abortions. About this same time, polls have shown an increased
attention by Americans to their spiritual life.

Evangelical churches are, by and large, bursting at the seams. And the
Catholic Church has shown signs of revitalization in the United States and
an increased number of young, conservative-minded vocations to the
priesthood. Amid all this newfound religiosity in the hinterlands, some
enterprising activists have found time to step up the activities of a
group called "Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice" (RCRC).

Self billed as a "Pro-faith", "pro-family", "pro-choice" organization, the
RCRC exists mainly to peddle the notion that it is perfectly moral to be
pro-abortion. Indeed, they maintain, the Bible itself shows that abortion
is permissible.

Of course, such a notion is laughable. There is no justification, at all,
for abortion in the Scriptures. And no amount of bending of Scripture can,
with any degree of intellectual honesty, credibly make this argument with
a straight face.

We know that the Gospel gives an account of St. John the Baptist leaping
in his mother's womb, St. Elizabeth, upon the visitation by Elizabeth's
cousin, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The unborn John leapt for joy because of
his close proximity to the Savior of mankind, Christ Jesus, who was
developing in the Virgin's womb.

And if you think that the telling of this event is too sentimental for
proof that Christian thought, guided by the Holy Scriptures, would not
allow for the sanctioning of abortion, then let's look at the other
guidepost of Christianity: Holy Tradition.

There is the "Didache", which is an early constitution of the Christian
Church. Reliable historians date this "catechism" to as early as the
middle of the first century. This would make it older than the Synoptic
Gospels.

On the matter of abortion, the Didache says, "Thou shalt not murder a
child by abortion" (2.2). It also says, "The Way of Death is filled with
people who are ... murderers of children and abortionists of God's
creatures" (5:1-2).

And lest you need more proof of the Christian tradition and its
intolerance of abortion, read the words of some of the early Church
Fathers. St. Basil the Great, a fourth century bishop, once said, "She who
has deliberately destroyed a fetus has to pay the penalty of murder...."

St. John Chrysostom, a contemporary of St. Basil and one of the Church's
greatest orators, also gave a stinging rebuke to those who would "murder
before ... birth."

It is quite obvious that the true Christian perspective on abortion is
unequivocal - such an act is repugnant and unacceptable before the eyes of
God. And while the pro-abortion crowd may be able to manipulate the
English language and the American political system, they cannot manipulate
2000 years of Christian truth, no matter how hard they try.

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