by Christopher Ziegler
New Jersey Pro-Life Witness
Twitter Handle @CZWriting
reprinted from Times of Trenton with author’s permission
(Editor’s
Note: Mr. Ziegler wrote this piece in response to several articles marking the
42nd anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. Supreme
Court decision on Jan. 22, 1973, that legalized abortion.)
This is the question I believe a person should answer when
deciding his or her position on abortion: Is the fetus human or something less
than human?
That is, does a fetus, existing in utero, constitute a human
life? If our answer to this question is “no,” we have very little cause to say
abortion is wrong and should be illegal. But if our answer is “yes,” then it would
be heartless not to say abortion is wrong and should be illegal.
I found it curious that most discussions about abortion
avoid asking this vital question. Instead, they focus on a series of peripheral
issues, such as the passage of recent state laws meant to limit access to
abortion. But before we can address the rightness or wrongness of these laws,
we must first determine the rightness or wrongness of abortion. And we cannot
do that until we decide whether the fetus constitutes a human life.
Many pro-choice advocates dodge this question by recasting the
issue as pertaining solely to women. When I was pro-choice, I would defend my
position by claiming that the issue was really about women’s reproductive
rights. I told myself that because it sounded a lot better than the truth,
which was that I wanted to do certain things without having to face certain
consequences. Saying that I supported women’s rights made me feel deep, when in
reality my position was cowardly.
The Achilles’ heel to such arguments is this: What about the
baby girl in the womb? Wouldn’t she have rights, too? For, surely, at least
half of all the aborted would have grown to be women. To deny their rights,
merely because they cannot plead their case, would be unfair. Hence, this invocation
of women’s rights is simply a dodge to avoid the real question.
If the fetus is not human, there is no need to invoke women’s
rights. But if it is human, then no one’s reproductive rights can trump someone
else’s right to life.
Some men prefer to say, “It's a woman’s choice,” because this is
an easy way to absolve themselves of responsibility. It unfairly puts the
burden on the woman whether or not to abort. But there has never been an
abortion where a man was not at least half responsible.
If these men were willing to consider their share of
responsibility, there probably would be fewer unwanted pregnancies in the first
place.
I do not mind the fact that many Americans are pro-choice. I
used to be one of them, and it would be foolish to expect unanimity on all
issues. But I do very much mind the fact that those who call themselves
pro-choice do not more honestly state their position. They should be more open
about what they honestly believe — that a fetus is not a human life. And then
they should have to defend that position.
Instead, they typically raise issues that don’t help us answer
the question one way or another. Planned Parenthood, for example, cites a study
that claims 1.06 million abortions were performed in the U.S. in 2011, down
from 1.21 million in 2008. I’m not sure what, if anything, this is supposed to
prove.
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| 18 weeks from conception |
If the fetus is not human, it would not matter if there were 5
million abortions one year and five the next. Conversely, if the fetus is
human, then one abortion, performed any year, is too many.
Many will say that a fetus is not a human life, but only a
potential life. This argument is superficially convincing, because it is easy
to fudge what we mean by “potential.”
However, what we mean by “human life” does have a precise
scientific definition. According to National Geographic’s “In the Womb,” at the
moment of conception, “an individual unique set of DNA is created — a human
signature that never existed before and never will be repeated.”
Unfertilized eggs and unused sperm are potential life. But a
fertilized egg, from the moment of conception onward, is no longer a potential
life. It is an actual human life, already in progress. And what astonishing
progress it makes in an unbelievably short span of time!
Some will admit that abortion ends life; yet argue that homicide
is justifiable in certain circumstances, including cases of abortion. But
anyone who has felt the softness of a newborn baby knows this is heartless.
Pretending the condition of a newborn is somehow radically
different during the period of gestation is just wishful thinking.
Abortion
is, in fact, the worst form of murder, because it involves dismembering the
helpless and innocent. That is why I mark the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade by considering the millions of men and women who have lost their chance
at life.
Mr. Ziegler is
celebrating The Feast of the Presentation, Feb. 2, 2015, by renewing his
consecration to Jesus through Mary.
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| Woman of Gen: 3:15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. Did you enjoy this piece? We have more on abortion: |
