The Day Humanity Became Cheap
Some of you may remember January 28th 1988: it was that awful day in which the Supreme Court of Canada released its judgment on the Morgentaler Case, thereby removing the abortion provision from the criminal code. I was working on my Masters back then, and I was sure the judgment wouldn’t last. Well it’s been 20 years. Since then the doors have been swung wide open to the progressive degradation of human dignity in Canada. The issue of abortion has been almost completely absent from public debate in this country, which is why it is heartening to see David Frum’s article in today’s National Post. It is the kind of debate that we need to hear. And if you’re up to reading some heart-wrenching stories of women who have gone through abortions and if you’re ready to hear some of the deep scars they have been left with, read the recently-published diaries put together by Yvonne Floraczak-Seeman, called A Time to Speak. Mrs. Floraczak-Sleeman, who herself had 5 abortions, puts together the 14 most commonly-heard myths about abortion (a simple procedure, its legal so its ok, it’s my body, it’s just cell tissue, whatever) and answers them with the testimonies of people who have lived through this horror. If you want a glimpse of some of these stories, listen to a recent interview with her on Catholic Answers. It really brings home why it is a good thing to do some penance for all the victims of the tragedy of abortion.
I always find John Paul II’s writing in Evangelium Vitae a chilling reminder of what has really happened:
Conscience Itself Darkened
The end result of this (abortion on demand) is tragic: not only is the fact of the destruction of so many human lives still to be born or in their final stage extremely grave and disturbing, but no less grave and disturbing is the fact that conscience itself, darkened as it were by such widespread conditioning, is finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between good and evil in what concerns the basic value of human life.
I understand your article on the consequences of abortion and I am sure that women need to be educated more of the many devastating after-effects of abortion. However, should we be returning to a society that dictates that a woman must go through with her pregnancy? That is a completely different subject than what you have presented here.
I believe your title is misleading as well…there was never a specific day when Humanity was cheapened. Humanity was cheapened over the course of all the wars that were fought and lives were lost. Humanity was cheapened when six million Jews went to their deaths.
The reality of the situation is that not all life fruitions to its full blown purpose. Only a small percentage of sperm actually gets to fertilize an egg (in many species). That is the harsh reality of life on our planet. There is much creation but a lot of it is cut short and incomplete. Therefore I would argue that the “Kingdom Of God” here on earth reflects life not always blossoming to its potential. I have not even touched on the bible and its lack of clarity as well as reconciling this issue and with the banning of condoms resulting in full blown AIDS epidemic in Africa. (The effectiveness of abstinence will have to be dealt with on another day).
Take care,
Robert
“…the banning of condoms resulting in full blown AIDS epidemic in Africa.”
This is ludicrous and the subject has already been touched upon a few months ago (see comments)…
here
http://adventus.org/en/ericnicolai/preventative-repentance/
“However, should we be returning to a society that dictates that a woman must go through with her pregnancy?”
We never had that society, Robert. There were always alternatives for women to escape bringing a healthy fetus to birth and there will always be. What the current situation is, is an abortion-on-demand mindset, paid for by the taxpayer, and resulting in an intolerable war on the unborn.
At worst (from your perspective) we would be returning to a society where getting an abortion might return to becoming as difficult as getting, say, a building permit.
It is possible that I have been misunderstood. I would like to make clear that I do not believe personally that abortion should be used as a form of birth control.
“What the current situation is, is an abortion-on-demand mindset, paid for by the taxpayer, and resulting in an intolerable war on the unborn.”
Jayd, you should know better. We live in a democratic society and we voted politicians in that developed this policy. Gay marriage, abortion and other issues that go against the Church are accepted as status quo today because it has been generally supported by the population as a whole. The Conservatives have not voted on any of these matters although that may due to them being in a minority government.
“At worst (from your perspective) we would be returning to a society where getting an abortion might return to becoming as difficult as getting, say, a building permit.”
This would not be totally true. Outlawed abortions in the sixties often led to unhealthy and unsanitary practices which usually resulted in a risk to the woman’s health.
The condom issue, I agree is ludicrous. The rational behind is the same for refusing a band-aid when getting a cut. The condom provides a shield against disease. That is a fact. The real issue here would be how effective the teaching of “abstinence” to teens that are full of hormones as the viable alternative to the use of condoms.
Lastly, I get irritated with the circular logic that “God” is against abortion, condoms because it has been proclaimed by the bible and various religious elite. If God were truly against it, He would have definitely not allowed it to be present and obtainable to mankind. To argue to the contrary is simply to abandon one of God’s great gifts to man - rational thought.
The devastating impact of contraception and abortion, where the refusal to bear life leads to one, then to the other, is having a devastating effect on our birthrate. The flaw,up to this time, has been to treat the issue of pregnancy and birth with an individualistic approach, ignoring that society has a real interest in a positive outcome. This individualism is reinforced by culture: media messages, propaganda shaping public attitudes, unchecked consumerism where the possession of things becomes more important than having children or creating family. Ultimately, this kind of demographic crises leads to the collapse of a civilization, and its replacement by a more vigorous one that is able to self-reproduce. You can’t avoid the outcomes that are the result of the violation of natural law.
I think in all the debates I’ve ever read concerning the abortion issue, I’ve never come across “Well, the majority has voted for it and they win.” If that were the case John Paul II would never have penned his magnificent Evangelium Vitae. So you’re breaking new ground there, Robert.
Robert P. George is the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, where he lectures on constitutional interpretation, civil liberties and philosophy of law. He has summed up the Catholic position in his book “The Clash of Orthodoxies”, a book you desperately need to get a hold of, if you want to go on to a Catholic website and attempt an intelligent exchange on the issue.
The Life Of A Human Being Is Intrinsically Good –
The wrongness of abortion follows from the truth – fully accessible even to unaided reason – that the life of a human being is intrinsically, and not merely instrumentally, good. As a good Christian, I believe that each human life is a precious gift from God. But even if one doesn’t share that belief, reason nevertheless grasps the truth that human life is intrinsically, and not merely instrumentally valuable.
Reason detects the falsity of the dualistic presuppositions of secularism’s belief that human life is merely instrumentally valuable. It identifies the unreasonableness of denying that every innocent human being – irrespective of age, size, stage of development, or condition of dependency – has an inviolable moral right to life.
Reason affirms that if any of us has a right to life, then all of us have it; if we have it at one stage of life then we have it at every stage of life; if we have it at the middle then we have it at both edges.
There is no rational argument that anybody has been able to come with – and the best and the brightest in the academy have struggled for more than twenty-five years to do so – that shows that a healthy thirteen year-old or a forty two year-old has a right to life, but a comatose eighty year-old or an unborn child has no right to life.
There is no rational basis for distinguishing a class of human beings who have a right to life (and other fundamental human rights) and a class of human beings who do not. This is the moral core of the great ‘self-evident truth’ upon which the United States was founded: the proposition that all human beings are ‘created equal.’”
Of course maybe your Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not guarantee equal rights to life under law, I could be wrong. Maybe it does say “Some men are created equal and we’ll decide moral issues by majority vote.” In which case you have my sincere apology for butting my south of the border two cents in.
Your secularist arguments are not only completely irrational from the Catholic perspective, you really have to understand they are offensive to the Catholic faithful who enjoy Fr. Dowd’s site and who come here to share and deepen their faith.
You need to practice the same deference we would expect from a holocaust revisionist from posting on a site dedicated to the memory of Jewish holocaust survivors. It’s just simple decency, don’t you think?
I’m not here to debate you. I will explain the Church’s position to you and to point out the errors of your thinking. But I don’t think I need your condescending “You should know better,” etc. etc. I DO know better, by the way.
My fellow believers and I will not be lectured to on our beliefs by a secularist twenty-something. This is not an Amazon discussion forum; we come here to contribute, to question and to debate in a spirit that encourages understanding of our faith.
Jayd,
Well you have pegged me as a secularist and you have misunderstood some of my arguments but that is ok. I will play the part that you have labelled me.
I have simply stated that abortion is legal and therefore law here in Canada. It has become law through democratic processes. There has been no move on the majority to correct this and I am pointing out that abortion has not been opposed by the majority of the masses. I am well aware of the Church’s teachings on abortion and certainly do not need a lecture from you.
“There is no rational argument that anybody has been able to come with – and the best and the brightest in the academy have struggled for more than twenty-five years to do so – that shows that a healthy thirteen year-old or a forty two year-old has a right to life, but a comatose eighty year-old or an unborn child has no right to life.”
You are making comparisons under the assumptions that all life on the planet is the same which it is certainly not - life breeds inequality (human or otherwise). As I have argued before, your whole belief is that God has created life with purpose and completion is not entirely realistic or true. Much of life is cut short and even the creation process involves the majority of living sperm dying. The reality that you do not want to face is that larger amounts of life fails so that the smaller amount of life can flourish. I wish to reiterate that I do not support abortion but I find many flaws with your “God’s Kingdom” and what “God wants”. It is fantasy on your part not the true reality of what we live with.
Your post typefies exactly why the Catholic Church has taken a beating. Since I have been labelled a “secularist” and as you have hinted, I do not conform to your views, I will not post on here again. Mark my words, it is arrogance like yours that will lead to the downfall of the Church. Church attendance, priest enrollments, and basically the Church position in world affairs have all been in sharp decline. Your unwillingness to dialogue with “secularists” on the various issues we all face will further contribute to the “Cabin Fever” syndrome the Church now finds itself in.
Cheers!!!
From Robert on January 27th
“Lastly, I get irritated with the circular logic that “God” is against abortion, condoms because it has been proclaimed by the bible and various religious elite. If God were truly against it, He would have definitely not allowed it to be present and obtainable to mankind. To argue to the contrary is simply to abandon one of God’s great gifts to man - rational thought”.
God allows an awful lot of things to happen in this world that He doesn’t approve of. We call that sin. The fact that some embryos don’t naturally make it to term, doesn’t mean that we have the right to take the life of the unborn. Many people die from accidents, does that mean we therefore have the right to kill people we don’t want? It’s not a very good arguement.
“God allows an awful lot of things to happen in this world that He doesn’t approve of. We call that sin.”
From a moral standpoint, I would not agree with you. If I allowed a crime to take place that I personally abhorred and did nothing to help, would I be righteous enough to judge anyone? I do not believe it to be true. By the same token, a God who does not unquestionably establish His presence without a single shred of doubt would not have the moral and rational backing to judge any human life.
“The fact that some embryos don’t naturally make it to term, doesn’t mean that we have the right to take the life of the unborn. Many people die from accidents, does that mean we therefore have the right to kill people we don’t want? It’s not a very good arguement.”
If I have understood part of this argument, you are saying that all life has a right to exist. Yet the very reality on our planet is survival of one species usually through the killing of weaker species…a predatorial environment if you will. Again, my arguments are not in support of abortion but they are to question the rational and thinking that all forms of life have a right to live when the reality is that even if there are rights, there are no guarrantees…
I apologize for posting this here but please if anyone wishes to further discuss it, you can send me an email at robertj6401@hotmail.com I will not post here again.
Take care
Robert
Robert said:
“From a moral standpoint, I would not agree with you. If I allowed a crime to take place that I personally abhorred and did nothing to help, would I be righteous enough to judge anyone? I do not believe it to be true. By the same token, a God who does not unquestionably establish His presence without a single shred of doubt would not have the moral and rational backing to judge any human life.”
I haven’t promised not to post here again so I would just like to say:
1. If God is God, He who created the universe and everything in it, who established moral laws,it follows that He has the right to judge human beings. And who has said that He does nothing to help, it is more than mankind has rejected His help. I suggest reading “Dinner with a perfect stranger” which gives a good account of all that God has done to establish His presence, in a very readable book.
2.Since as Christians we believe that human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, and the Bible says that He has known us since before our conception, then yes all human life has a right to exist.
sorry I meant He has known us since before our birth