In case we’re not clear about abortion

Pope Francis cuts through the clutter:

“I was thinking on the attitude of sending the kids back before they are born, this horrendous crime, they send them back because it’s better like that, because it’s more comfortable, it’s a great responsibility – a very grave sin.”

Yes, we should be about more than just calling abortion sin, and that includes helping women who are pregnant and working to improve conditions for women overall.  But it also includes renouncing the cultural norms that necessitate certain aspects of the abortion culture.  For many, abortion is simply the last line of defense against the results of a permissive, hedonistic lifestyle.

Much has been made recently about the economic hardships surrounding abortion, along with the occasional swipe at us boorish, pig headed men.  True perhaps.  But in college, the majority of girls who talked about the subject were firmly on the side of abortion, and were willing to declare their willingness to have one, if push came to shove.  I knew fellows who used to joke that there were few more beautiful words that a girl could utter than ‘don’t worry, if I get pregnant I’ll get an abortion.’  As best as I can tell, most of them were not dirt poor, though they did count economic hardships as a reason for wanting to keep abortion legal, available and convenient.

So while we move into the debate with compassion, love and a willingness to look at the different causes and needs around the subject, we don’t want to get sucked into partisan avoidance either.  Financial well being is certainly a major factor behind many abortions – but not the only factor.  If we use the financial aspects in order to avoid other causes, or to score political points, then we do a disservice to the horrendous crime that, according to Pope Francis, is abortion.