Abortion, the issue that will never go away

And in other news, the Catholic Church is still against abortion. Despite the back and forth of the election cycle, the bishops have confirmed the centrality of the Church’s teaching on abortion.

The US bishops just concluded their regular fall meetings in Baltimore and issued this statement on abortion. While there’s nothing new regarding Church teaching, the statement clearly sets forth that the bishops, as a group, accept and even promote this teaching. Why now? In light of President-elect Obama’s assurance to pro-abortion groups that one of the first things he will do as President will be to sign FOCA (Freedom Of Choice Act), a law that would mandate federal funding of abortion, force hospitals to perform abortions, and override any state limitations on abortion. (Aside – how do we make abortion numbers go down – another stated claim of the Obama campaign – when all restrictions on abortion are lifted?) Here’s the case for the bishops’ action:

The fundamental good is life itself, a gift from God and our parents. A good state protects the lives of all. Legal protection for those members of the human family waiting to be born in this country was removed when the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. This was bad law. The danger the Bishops see at this moment is that a bad court decision will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.

While this next passage could be interpreted as a way out for those Catholics who voted for a pro-abortion politician, the statement overall makes clear that we cannot turn our back on the issue of abortion, not to mention the countless lives (mostly women and the unborn infants) who are directly impacted by abortion:

The recent election was principally decided out of concern for the economy, for the loss of jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and around the world. If the election is misinterpreted ideologically as a referendum on abortion, the unity desired by President-elect Obama and all Americans at this moment of crisis will be impossible to achieve. Abortion kills not only unborn children; it destroys constitutional order and the common good, which is assured only when the life of every human being is legally protected. Aggressively pro-abortion policies, legislation and executive orders will permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans, and would be seen by many as an attack on the free exercise of their religion.

It’s a good statement. Now that they’ve drawn a line in the sand, it will be interesting to see if the bishops articulate any consequences to go with the demarcation… From a CNS news story, Bishop Paprocki, an auxiliary of Chicago, is doing just that:

Addressing the full assembly of bishops on Tuesday afternoon, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Chicago said that Catholic hospitals would be forced to close if FOCA passes, since they would refuse to perform abortions. “I don’t think I’m being alarmist,” Paprocki added.

The entire body of bishops agreed with Bishop Paprocki in their statement, saying, “It would threaten Catholic health care institutions and Catholic Charities.  It would be an evil law that would further divide our country, and the Church should be intent on opposing evil.”

Stay tuned…