Hot take on abortion for you all
Part of the reason abortion is so highly contested is because of the various "kinds" of abortion that exist but that are all lumped into the one category of abortion
1. One aspect of it is the removal of already deceased babies from the womb, which is a valid thing in the eyes of the Church since the baby's soul is already in the loving hands of God.
2. A second is a life-threatening illness/injury to the mother or fetus which will result in a non-viable pregnancy or spontaneous maternal abortion (aka a definitive miscarriage), which is allowable only if doctors can convince clergy that there is 100% no way to save the baby.
3. A third is if the mother's life is in danger (ectopic pregnancy, for example) but a miscarriage may or may not happen, and this is highly contested in the Church as to whether it's okay or not in this situation to allow an abortion and is usually determined by clergy on a case-by-case basis. Even in cases like ectopic pregnancy, as long as the procedure is meant to save the mother’s life rather than end the pregnancy (aka treatment such as removing a Fallopian tube is acceptable as long as it isn’t a direct abortion) it is generally deemed okay in the eyes of the Church. Obviously this is a very sad case and the women who have to make these choices and undergo the loss of a wanted but non-viable pregnancy deserve love and support, not chastisement.
4. The fourth is the termination of a healthy pregnancy or a pregnancy with a livable disability (Down Syndrome, for example) and is obviously wrong and is never supported by the Church. Termination of a pregnancy where the baby has a disability solely because the baby has a disability is eugenics at worst and is ableist at best.
Obviously the fact that all of these are medically and colloquially considered to be abortions is highly problematic in discussing why the Church is vehemently against certain forms of abortion. Pro-choice people and uneducated pro-life people assume we're against all of them, which is untrue. There are special councils of clergy made to hear the cases of mothers and babies in crisis and they are not unsympathetic to the plights of those mothers and families.
For anyone who is pro-life, I beg of you to look into the truth of what is taught as acceptable vs not so that we can make sound arguments to help save lives.
For anyone who is pro-choice, please understand that what many pro-lifers are arguing for is actually a misrepresentation of what the pro-life movement is actually supposed to be. Being pro-life in the context of abortion means standing up for women and children both, in all stages of life, even and especially when it’s hard. Those who are truly pro-life and are educated on the subject have genuine empathy and compassion for where these women come from when they are considering abortion (or not) and we do our best to help them make healthy choices for themselves and their babies while also providing for their other needs. If you want to see what an actual pro-life crisis pregnancy center looks like and offers (in contrast to PP), feel free to look up the Alpha Pregnancy Clinic of Northern California; you’ll find that a lot more services are offered and all are 100% free to women in need. THAT is what it looks like to be pro-life.
