This essay was written by Dr. Arthur C. Donart, Ph.
I grew up in a pre-Vatican II Catholic Church. I studied for the Priesthood in a Franciscan minor seminary for two years. There, one learns not to question authority, or Church teaching for that matter. We memorized the Baltimore Catechism page by page, word by word, questions and answers.
Example, “Why did God create man? God created man to love God and serve God, so he can be happy with God, in this world and the next.” “Which are the chief creatures of God? The chief creatures of God are angels and men.” I thought, so, what about women? You see, I was raised in a very authoritarian and patriarchal cultural.
Never did I ever think to question the Pope’s teaching, or the Bishop’s teaching, or even the Priest’s. So, naturally, when abortion became a big issue, I simply bought their logic uncritically. I happily spouted their slogans and supported the cause–that is, before I was seriously challenged.
Unbeknown to my wife, she was the first to challenge my thinking. We were married in June of 1960. In December of that year, she started bleeding, and our doctor quickly admitted her to the hospital. She must have been five months into her pregnancy, when the doctor informed us that she had just had a spontaneous abortion. I had never heard of such a thing until then.
Naturally, we felt saddened. What we lost was our expectation. What we did not lose was a baby. Later our sister-in-law was expecting their first child. That child was born dead. Can you imagine holding a lifeless baby! The sorrow is immense. They named their baby and had a private funeral service for her. Later, reflecting on the experience, I realized that there was a huge difference between a five-month fetus and a stillborn baby. There has to be a sense of proportion.
Our Church is generally nuanced in its moral teaching. “Thou shalt not steal,” for example, is not an iron-clad Commandment. If you are starving and have no money to buy a loaf of bread, it is better to beg than steal. However, lacking success at that, one might steal a loaf of bread from someone who has a surplus of bread. Stealing it from an elderly lady who has barely anything to eat herself would not be legitimate. Stealing a dollar from a wealthy man, because you feel you need some money to buy bubble gum, would be sinful; but it would be only a small peccadillo. However, if you should steal it from a poor person, that would be serious sin.
Given the various stages of development of the fertilized ovum (egg), I could not understand the Church’s failure to apply the principle of proportionality. This became especially hard for me, as I taught health and sex education. I knew that the uterus sloughs off roughly one third of all fertilized ovum. According to Church teaching, that would make God the number one abortionist. That would be nonsense! RU 482 simply mimics nature, but its use is condemned by the Church. Could it be that the Bishops are wrong, by not taking a more nuanced approach?
Five children later, my wife had another spontaneous abortion. This time I held the fetus in my hand. At the hospital, I gave the fetus to the Obstetrician, who told us that my wife needed a hysterectomy. She had a uterus abnormality, and he informed her we were lucky to have had any children. Truly, I believe that children are a gift from God.
But I also believe in the Jewish and Muslim traditions of requiring an abortion, if carrying the fetus to term will cause the death or serious injury to the mother. As a hospital Chaplain, I was present when a young teenage girl was brought to the emergency room having been raped by 11 young men in their early 20s. The doctor proposed to the parents that she receive a drug to prevent pregnancy. The parents were also Catholic. They looked to me for guidance.
All I could say was, “Pray quickly, and follow your conscience.” The girl’s mother simply left the room. Her dad turned to me and asked, “If it was your daughter, what would you do?” I replied, “Give her the shot.” When the doctor returned to the room, he asked for their decision. The father replied, “Give her the shot,” and he signed the paper work.
Sister Diana Ortiz was repeatedly raped and tortured in Guatemala. As a result, she became pregnant. The pregnancy was causing her mental health to deteriorate, to the point that she had made several attempts to kill herself. Four of her trusted friends took her to an abortionist. Were they wrong? I don’t think so.
I am still “Pro-Life,” but I am not anti-abortion. I believe my Church could be much more helpful, if it would be more nuanced in its teaching on the subject. I wish the “Pro-Life” movement would be more honest and quit calling opponents “baby killers.” I wish that some of our Bishops, who use this issue to drive their flocks to vote for politicians that are anti-abortion–but obviously not Pro-Life–would re-think what they are doing.
There is a popular saying, “Our children are the future of our Nation.” If this is true, then make education truly free for all our children, from pre-school through university. Eliminate child poverty. Improve child care.
These are profoundly Pro-Life issues. It is not enough only to be pro-birth.