With the historic Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 25 overturning Roe v. Wade, the landscape of the abortion debate in America has dramatically changed. This decision is undoubtedly a victory for the pro-life cause, for which the Catholic Church has been on the front line for nearly 50 years. But the fight is far from over.
The legal regulation of abortion now returns to state legislatures that must decide in each state, through the ordinary process of lawmaking, to what extent abortion will be permitted, if at all. That means we can expect the national conversation about abortion to intensify in the months and years to come.
It is more important now than ever for abortion opponents to engage abortion advocates with reason and charity to shine light on this issue. This will require us to move beyond the usual slogans. To do that well, I suggest three things: First, listen charitably. Second, affirm what is good. And third, return to the fact that abortion is the direct and intentional killing of an innocent human being. This last point is vital. As abortion is debated in the legislative bodies of our states, we must not lose sight of the basic truth of what abortion is.
For example, the most oft-repeated pro-choice slogan is “my body, my choice.” When we hear this shouted at us, it can be tempting to shout back something equally dismissive. But if we listen to what is being said and affirm what is good in the argument, we can then redirect the conversation to what abortion really means.
In the case of “my body, my choice,” we can affirm the good of bodily autonomy. We can agree that no one should be forced to have something done to their bodies against their will. Sexual assault and rape are prime examples of grave violations of bodily autonomy. Arguably the most extreme act against bodily autonomy is murder.
Now let’s apply this to abortion, which is an act of deadly violence against the body of a vulnerable and innocent child in the womb. Shouldn’t that child have the right to protection against assaults to his or her body?
Another slogan you’ll hear is “women’s rights are human rights.” It is easy to affirm the good in this statement. As a matter of justice, women should have the same rights as men. Our faith teaches us that both men and women are created in God’s image and, while different, are equal in dignity. Now let’s return to the truth of abortion. Why should equal rights for women require license for them to kill their unborn children? That’s a ghastly suggestion. And considering at least half of the 60 million babies who have died from abortion since 1973 have been female, it begs the question: Why don’t they have equal rights?
I’ve recently seen the argument that abortion is the prescribed treatment for women who suffer miscarriages, suggesting that women won’t be able to receive proper medical care if abortion is outlawed. We should acknowledge the pain of the many women who suffer from pregnancies that fail through no fault of their own. These women need proper medical care, which often involves the removal of the deceased baby.
In medical terminology, any procedure that removes an embryo or fetus from the womb is classified as an “abortion,” even if the child is already deceased. This is a fact I wish were more widely known; many women, grieving after a miscarriage, are shocked to receive a bill for an “abortion” from the hospital.
But laws prohibiting abortion simply do not apply to these procedures. They address only what are known as “elective abortions,” which are performed to end the life of a living preborn child. That is the “choice” pro-choice advocates attempt to justify.
Pro-life advocates are frequently accused of not caring about mothers, or not caring about children after they are born. This talking point skirts around the issue of abortion altogether. Our response should be the same: Listen to their points, agree with what is good, and refocus on the truth of abortion. We should not deny that to be truly pro-life means caring for people at all stages, and sometimes people fail in this regard. The pro-life movement is huge, and not everyone who is against abortion is a saint. But the accusation that pro-life advocates in general care only about the unborn simply doesn’t ring true.
After affirming the importance of caring for children, families and struggling mothers, it is an easy matter to illustrate how the pro-life movement has been doing this for decades. Here the Catholic Church really shines. The Church is arguably the largest pro-life organization on the planet, and it’s also the world’s largest charitable organization.
All we have to do is point to the many Catholic hospitals, pregnancy care centers, homeless shelters, rehab centers, food pantries, women’s homes, and the charitable work done by groups such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Knights of Columbus. But we don’t need to brag. The debate is not over how much charitable work pro-lifers perform, but about whether children in the womb deserve legal protection.
In addition to these common pro-choice talking points, we are likely to hear in the media stories relating the plight of women in crisis pregnancies, meant to evoke an emotional response of sympathy for legal abortion. Instead of turning a deaf ear to these accounts, we should do the same as I have outlined above. Listen with charity. Affirm the dignity of these women and the reality of their needs.
Women deserve equal rights. Struggling mothers need our support. The Catholic Church and other pro-life organizations already do so much to support families in need, but we can and must continue to do more. Ending the life of an innocent child is never the solution to any problem. There is always a better way. That is the truth of abortion that we cannot lose sight of in the months and years to come. Helping women in need to find that better way is a huge part of what it means to build a culture of life.
Deacon Matthew Newsome is the Catholic campus minister at Western Carolina University and the regional faith formation coordinator for the Smoky Mountain Vicariate.