Pro-Choice

I just wrote a 700-page book on this subject. Essentially, I found that especially, "Christian" antiabortionism does not really follow the Bible. More specifically, Catholic anti-abortionism does not follow the Catholic Church's real tradition.Pro-Life anti-abortionists don't really know the Bible, or the Church.

As it turns out,1) the Bible itself never mentioned abortion by name; while furthermore, if it alludes to it at all, it seems to have ordered priests to perform it, in Num. 5.15-30.But especially 2) Psalm 139 regarded the fetus in the womb as not yet "formed" enough, to be completely human; 3) an idea that was accepted and refined by St. Thomas Aquinas, the foremost theologian of the Church (1917 Canon, 589 1366). Who said that the young embryo could not be formed enough to accept a "soul," or human spirit.Or 4) as we would say today in science, the embryo's brain is not developed enough, to have the defining and distinguishing characteristic of human beings: a human intelligence or spirit.What does the Catholic Church really say on this subject? Given the finding of both Science and Theology, that the embryo is not really a full human being, recently 5) Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, warned against putting too much, dis "proportionate" emphasis on abortion, in elections; concluding that voting for Pro-Choice, pro-abortion political candidates, "can be permitted" (Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, "Worthiness to Receive," footnote, 2004).More recently, 6) Cardinal McCarrick, former head of the USCCB, confirmed c. 2007 etc., that the fanatical, "one issue" Catholicism, that insists that we must always vote for the most anti-abortion candidate - that insists that God is ordering us to "vote Republican" in every election - was dis- "proportionate," imprudent, and wrong. Since it ignores many other, more important issues.

Anti-abortionists insist that the embryo is a human being; and that killing it is murder therefore; even mass murder, given the number of deaths involved. But a more careful study finds that the embryo is not a human being, according to science and theology. While in any case, there are other far more important issues, that involve many more deaths, if we neglect them.There are many more important issues than abortion. Like, as we add in our own book, Health Care; avoiding unjust and unnecessary wars. Especially important is avoiding environmental disasters. Like the plagues, floods that have historically (and biblically) already killed hundreds of millions of indisputably human beings. It is important to go past the narrow obsession with abortion; to consider the many other issues, disasters, that have already killed hundreds of millions - and that will kill even billions more. Unless we attend not just to the "one issue" of abortion; but to these other, more important issues, after all.There are many, many more important issues that should get our attention in elections, aside from the "one issue" of Abortion. As confirmed for Catholics, by the Pope and the saints, as it turns out. Or for that matter, as confirmed for all that call themselves Christian, by the Bible itself.Finally, surprisingly, it is only a better Theology that really shows us the truth.Who knew that Theology would turn out to be so important?God?

- Dr. Brettongarcia, Ph.D