Tag Archives: religion

Papal Encyclical Sends Clear Message on Value of Life

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By Maria Gallagher, Legislative Director
gallagher@paprolife.org

I firmly believe that abortion is a civil rights issue–in fact, the most critical civil rights issue of our time. People of many different faiths–or no religious faith at all–can come to the conclusion that human life needs to be cherished and protected, no matter what the individual’s age or stage of development.

popefrancis42That said, faith leaders do play an influential and essential role in helping their congregations understand the importance of respecting life throughout its beautiful spectrum.

So it is newsworthy when the most Googled faith leader alive says something on the issue of abortion.

Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, Laudato Si’, is about the environment. Yet some pundits were surprised to see that it contains a pointed reference to abortion. The encyclical states:

“Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion. How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties? If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of the new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away.”

Pope Francis is sending a clear message–you can’t use your concern about the health of the environment to justify the killing of unborn children. It is especially significant because the Pope’s intended audience here is not just people who attend Catholic church on Sundays–but all people throughout the world.

The pontiff also talks about human life being a gift. Such a concept used to be a given in our society. However, with the push toward aborting babies who have disabilities, there is increasingly an effort to deny this fundamental fact of life.

But this is hardly the first time Pope Francis has spoken out about abortion. Before he became the leader of the Catholic Church, he once stated, “Defend the unborn against abortion even if they persecute you, calumniate you, set traps for you, take you to court or kill you.”

These are not the words of a man ambivalent about abortion. They are the thoughts of an individual who sees children as the world’s greatest resource–and knows the devastation caused by our modern throwaway culture. And it’s a message that’s not meant for people of one particular faith, but for all people of good will.

What Major World Religions Say about Abortion

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Is abortion a religious issue? Some say yes, others say no.

At the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, we believe abortion is a human rights violation that people of all faiths and no faith can work together to end.Unborn baby picture

Today, I found a helpful outline of world religions and abortion beliefs. It comes from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, a British organization. It helped me to understand the foundation of various religious beliefs about abortion, and I hope it will help you, too.

Here are just a few. To view the whole list, click here.

Islam teaches that life begins at conception and is created by God. The unborn child has certain rights such as the right to care, protection and life. Abortion on any grounds is forbidden in the Islamic holy book Al’Quran. “Do not kill or take a human life which God has declared to be sacred.” (Chapter 6,verse 151)

The Torah, or Jewish law, forbids the taking of innocent life and stresses that human beings are made in the image of God. Maimonides, a twelfth century interpreter of Jewish law declared: “A descendent of Noah who kills any human being, even a foetus in its mother’s womb, is to be put to death.” The only exception was if the mother’s life was in danger. However, even though traditional Judaism condemns abortion, there has been considerable argument within the Jewish community since the 1960s about whether abortion is permissible.

In Buddhism there is no central authority on ethical matters but the Dalai Lama has spoken in favour of abortion under certain circumstances. In 1993 he said: “Of course, abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative, generally speaking. But it depends on the circumstances. If the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent, these are cases where there can be an exception.” (Quoted by Clive Erricker in Buddhism, Hodder & Stoughton, 1995 (page 119))

Young, Diverse Generation Is Taking on Pro-Life Mission

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I do a lot of online research about pro-life issues, and I always seem to find something new and interesting – and usually not directly related to the thing I was researching.

That’s what happened the other day when I stumbled across this graphic from the Public Religion Research Institute. abortiondiversitybyage

The graphic compares older pro-lifers and younger pro-lifers based on religious affiliation. The older generation of pro-lifers is mostly made up of white Evangelicals, Protestants and Catholics; while the younger generation of pro-lifers is much more diverse.

According to PRRI, “Americans who oppose abortion today look significantly different from their older counterparts. They’re less white, less religious, and have attained higher levels of education. As the anti-abortion movement ramps up efforts to recruit a new generation of advocates, these changing demographics will demand new strategies.”

Our diversity is a reason to celebrate. This graphic shows that the pro-life message truly does resonate with Americans from all walks of life. It’s just further evidence that our mission is strong.

As we approach October, which many Christians celebrate as Respect Life Month, I think we need to keep our changing demographics in mind. The man standing next to you during 40 Days for Life may not be Catholic. The woman holding a Life Chain sign down the street may not be Evangelical. The family donating diapers to the local pregnancy center may not be religious at all.

I just encourage everyone to keep this in mind this fall as pro-lifers gather together at events all across the state. Let’s continue to welcome and build new relationships with pro-lifers in our communities. United, we can become an even stronger force as we work to protect and value every human life.

Secular Pro-Life Arguments

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This week, a Pew poll reported that one third of adults under age 30 have no religious affiliation. That is the highest ever recorded.

Pro-lifers should take notice of these changing demographics. We’re a group that tends to be strongly religious, and that’s a good thing in my opinion. But not everyone listening to us is, and, for that matter, not everyone in the pro-life movement is.

It’s important for us to remember that the right to life is not just a religious issue. But the right to life is a truth – every human life from conception to natural death is valuable and should be protected. And the great thing about truth is that no matter what angle you approach it from – religious, social, ethical, scientific – you still come back to the truth.

So, here are some secular pro-life arguments for the growing number of “unaffiliated.” These four points are from the group Secular Pro-Life:

First, science proves that a fetus is a human being. Thanks to modern technology, we know that life really does begin at conception.

Since we know that a human life does begin that moment, we then must ask whether that life is a person. When we look at theories about personhood, we see that, second, there is no agreed-upon, objective distinction between a human being and a person.

So, since we cannot definitively prove the difference, we must, third, agree that a human being merits human rights – from the moment of conception.

And fourth, a woman’s bodily integrity – the idea that no person has the right to use another person’s body against their will – is not sufficient to justify most abortions.

To read more about the secular pro-life movement, click here and here.

Responding to ‘Isn’t God the greatest abortionist?’ and other difficult questions

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Every pro-life advocate faces difficult questions from time to time. Some are philosophical, others bizarre.

Strange was what came to my mind when an angry caller confronted me with this: “God causes pregnant women to miscarry, so isn’t God the greatest abortionist?”

It threw me off guard. I had never heard the pro-abortion side make that case before, and I didn’t know how to respond. However, the caller wasn’t interested in listening, and went on with the questions before I could give much of an answer.

The question, perhaps, is more common than I realized, because just a few days later I read an article responding to the very topic.

Scott Klusendorf from Life Training Institute boils down the question to this: “Does it follow that because nature (or God) kills people we may deliberately do so?”

Klusendorf takes the argument beyond the womb, and the true implications of the question becomes clear. If it’s ok to kill a baby inside the womb “because God does,” is it also ok to kill an impoverished infant in a third world country or an older resident in a nursing home? They have greater risks of dying. Does an act of nature such as a hurricane or tsunami that kills dozens of people justify the deliberate killing of a human being?

It is important to prepare for these arguments — but not just to learn to recite the pro-life response. We need to think and truly discern the heart of the question. Then, the next time an unexpected question comes up, we will be better prepared.