Facing the Realities of Abortion

Today, thousands of pro-life activists will rally in Washington, D.C. for the 49th annual March for Life. With the Supreme Court of the United States potentially poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, Catholics should be more committed than ever to examining our approach to the realities of abortion and affirming a culture of life. But one prominent Catholic seemingly questioned the Catholic Church's response to abortion in a recent interview.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Father Patrick Conroy, former U.S. House of Representatives Chaplain, suggested that "good Catholics" could support abortion rights. Father Conroy posited that "a good Catholic in our system could be saying: Given women in our system have this constitutional right, our task as fellow Christians, or as Catholics, is to make it possible for her to optimize her ability to make the choice."

Approaching abortion solely as a constitutional question is very theoretical. This is a temptation for people on either side of this issue or any other. In his Apostolic Exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium," Pope Francis warns us that "it is dangerous to dwell in the realm of ideas alone, of images and rhetoric." He calls this "masking reality." But the Pope insists that "realities are greater than ideas."

The Church's teaching is not merely a set of ideas; it responds to questions posed by the realities of life in light of what God has revealed. After 2 thousand years, the Church has developed expertise in the human condition precisely because she holds that realities are greater than ideas.

The Church has been consistent about the reality of abortion: it is wrong. This teaching is rooted in experience. Abortion is not merely an idea, but a tragic reality that takes innocent lives and often leads to a lifetime of regret for women. Nor is the Church's teaching on abortion a mere idea but a response of love, a call to protect the unborn child in the womb and the well-being of the mother. Certainly, it is important to engage these issues in an intellectually rigorous way. Likewise, discussions on rights in our society are vitally important. But the Church's response is not merely an abstract discourse about rights or an intellectual claim, it is a call to act that is rooted in the reality that every human life is a sacred gift from God.

The Church's teaching is confirmed by the lived experience of women who, facing crisis pregnancies, seek help at pregnancy centers. There they are met with respect and compassion and, through the wonder of ultra-sound machines, are given the opportunity to see for themselves the irreducible mystery of the human person alive in their wombs. Often those around them have urged them to seek an abortion. But as mother after mother has attested, none of those influences compare to the reality of the life that is within her. Reality is greater than ideas.

Sadly, abortion is an all-too common reality in low income and minority communities impacted by poverty, inequity, and injustice. The choice to abort or not is very real. A just society, however, looks at the whole of reality: the reality of the mother's needs and the reality of the life and dignity of the unborn child in her womb. Standing on the abstract language of "rights" alone does not get us there.

We have a responsibility to build a just society. But we cannot do this while remaining complacent to an immense injustice which has taken over 60 million innocent lives. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., citing St. Thomas Aquinas, wrote "Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." When the law is unjust, when it fails to uplift the good of the human person, we stand on the other side of the law and we work to change it for the better. Thankfully laws can change.

As a man, I will never be placed in the situation of a mother facing a crisis pregnancy. But as a priest I have been privileged to encounter women who came seeking the love and mercy of God after an abortion. They were told this choice would solve their problems, but often, decades later, they are still coming to grips with the decision they made. The pain of these women isn't an idea. It's a reality.

Faced with the reality of abortion, the Church responds not merely with words but deeds: the efforts of pregnancy centers, the love and respect parishioners offer to expectant mothers through "Walking with Moms in Need", the witness of the Sisters of Life, and abortion healing ministries.

Realties are greater than ideas. Rather than simply supporting a bad idea, let's work together to make the culture of life a reality.

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore is the Chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities.