Where is this country going? I, like many, many others, am outraged and disgusted by the recent legislation passed in the State of New York. The actions of New York Democratic legislators and Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Catholic, must be condemned.
The euphemistically named Reproductive Health Act makes abortion legal, even after the unborn child is viable, so long as the abortionist makes a “reasonable and good-faith judgment” that abortion will protect the pregnant woman’s health. It states that “every individual who becomes pregnant has the fundamental right to choose to carry the pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an abortion.” But the law removes any protection for children born alive after abortion. Can infanticide be described more clearly than this?
Similar legislation has been put forth in Virginia, as well as New Mexico, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont, allowing abortions for basically any reason up to birth without any limits. Why are the Democratic leadership in so many states taking these extreme positions?
Allowing the murder of children up to the moment of birth is clearly evil. God is the author of life and for any state government to allow the murder of children is indefensible, deeply immoral and disturbing. The church’s commitment to the protection of human life from conception until natural death is well-founded and grounded in sacred Scripture.
As Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., and Chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, recently wrote, “This legislation is evil, pure and simple. And it shocks the conscience to see such evil legislation greeted with raucous cheers and standing ovations. Most grieving to our Lord of Life is that those who advocate for abortion put their eternal souls in jeopardy.
“It is sickeningly dishonest to claim that women’s lives or health depend on intentionally killing their children. This is especially true for late-term abortion, which always involves the purposeful destruction of a child which could have been born alive, with much less risk to the mother, had they both received real healthcare.”
This extremist position has moved from ‘abortion as a choice’ to ‘abortion is healthcare’ — a women’s health issue. Clearly the subtle influence of Satan is at work in the minds and hearts of those in the pro-choice movement. The Evil One has captured their hearts and minds of pro-abortion advocates, convincing them of this great lie that a woman has the right to do anything with her body.
This divulges a total lie of faith, especially for Christian pro-abortion advocates. The teachings of our faith reveal that we have been created in God’s image and likeness and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. When one removes the spiritual nature of the human person created in God’s image and likeness, which includes their body, this type of cultural chaos ensues.
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:15, 19-20).
Legislation like this shows how far our culture has fallen into depravity, and how far it has moved away from a gospel of love. This level of autonomy flies in the face of the God who is the creator of all life. It is evident that those who create these laws rarely think about how their decisions in this life will affect their eternal life.
What is equally disturbing is the Senate’s failure to pass the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S. 311) to protect babies who are born alive after an abortion. This Act would require any health care practitioner present when a child is born alive following an abortion to give the same degree of care to preserve the life and health of the child as would be given to any other newborn. And, after giving such care, it
requires the practitioner to ensure that the child is immediately transported and admitted to a hospital. Why are the Senate Democrats refusing to allow a vote on this important bill?
Children are a gift from God, no matter the circumstances of their conception. Not only do they have a right to life, but if we are to be a civil society, then we have a moral obligation and responsibility to protect them from all harm. A newborn child has a right to the best care possible, regardless of the circumstance of their birth.
How do we as a church respond to these atrocities? We call or write to our legislators and express our pro-life convictions. We continue to pray for the conversion of those in our country who have bought the pro-choice lie. We know that the Gospel of Jesus is about mercy.
As Archbishop Naumann shared in his homily at the March for Life, “Our Lord’s mission is all about mercy. Our pro-life ministry is about mercy: 1) mercy for the innocent and defenseless child in the womb, 2) mercy for frightened and overwhelmed mothers in the midst of a difficult pregnancy, 3) mercy for post-abortive mothers or fathers who deeply regret authorizing the killing of their own child; 4) mercy for the abortion advocates who verbally attack us and label us extremists; 5) mercy for those who wish to disqualify from public office members of the Knight of Columbus or anyone else in whom “the dogma lives loudly”; 6) mercy for abortion clinic workers, volunteers and, yes, even abortionists.”
The pro-life movement has done tremendous work over the last forty-six years of defending children in the womb. We have made great headway in changing many hearts and minds. Perhaps these recent setbacks are happening because the Evil One has taken notice and is urging the pro-abortion movement to greater extremes. In Christ, we will never give up fighting for the unborn, the voiceless and the culture of life. We continue to ask Jesus to fight with us, because he has given his life for all humanity, including the unborn.
