Oh, Yes, It’s Still All About Abortion

You might think that the key issue of our time centers on COVID, or Afghanistan, or China, or Russia, or immigration, or inflation, or taxation, or any of a dozen other issues…and you’d be wrong. There is really only one issue that definitively separates people politically, morally, and, yes, religiously: abortion. 

Not too many years ago, party politics was not divided on abortion. Many Democrats were openly pro-life, and consistently voted against legislation supporting abortion. And, yes, one also encountered Republicans who were openly “pro-choice” and voted accordingly. Things have certainly changed. Today’s Democrat Party universally supports abortion. To be a pro-life Democrat, an extremely rare breed of politician, is to be condemned by the party’s state and national leadership, to receive no party funding — really, to be cancelled by the party, to be purged. 

Last week the state of Texas banned abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, and the Supreme Court of the United States let it stand. The response from the left has been both predictable and horrendous. AOC was, of course, among the most predictable, as were the nation’s most prominent Catholic politicians, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden. 

AOC — or as she’s sometimes called, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) -- was furious with those she labeled "Christian extremists." Her exact words: "Christian extremists are passing forced birth laws to intimidate and cut off abortion services – including for victims of rape, incest, and child abuse. While we fight back, know you still have options. Pills can be mailed to your home discreetly.” 

I guess “Christian extremists” is the new code word for faithful Catholics and pro-life Evangelicals, who actually represent a significant hunk of the nation’s population. In fact, I suspect they far outnumber the dwindling number of Americans who favor abortion under all circumstances. But for AOC everything is political; she has no moral foundation and seemingly is unable to discern either good or evil. 

Then we have the “devout Catholics” in powerful political positions. For example, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was almost apoplectic in her anger at both Texas and the Supreme Court. Check out her tweets:

“SCOTUS’s failure to block SB8 [the Texas law] has delivered catastrophe to women in Texas. This radical law is an all out effort to erase the rights and protections of Roe v Wade.”

She then added: "every woman, everywhere has the constitutional and moral right to basic reproductive hearth care. We will fight SB8 and all immoral and dangerous attacks on women's health and freedoms with all our strength."

Note her description of abortion as a "moral right" and her claim that any attacks on abortion are "immoral and dangerous." How despicable a charge from someone who just loves to describe herself as a "devout Catholic." She clearly demonstrates a complete lack of moral understanding. Sadly, Pelosi isn't alone here, but is joined by every other Catholic Democrat politician in Washington, including our president. (If anyone knows of a pro-life Catholic Democrat in either house of Congress, please let me know.)

What did President Biden have to say on the subject? His comments are also as predictable and despicable as the others. For a man who just a few years ago openly proclaimed that human life begins at conception, Joe Biden has certainly changed his mind. He called the Texas law "an unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for almost fifty years." He went on to say, "The most pernicious thing about the Texas law, it sort of creates a vigilante system," and then added, "It just seems -- I know this sounds ridiculous -- it's almost un-American, what we're talking about." Yes, Mr. President, it does sound ridiculous, as does so much of what you say.

The president, the speaker, AOC, and all the rest have been joined, perhaps not surprisingly, by the Satanic Temple in the fight against the Texas Law. On September 5th the Temple spokesman, Lucien Greaves (photo below) released the following statement on the Temple's letter to the FDA asking for support of their "abortion rituals."

“I am sure Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — who famously spends a good deal of his time composing press releases about Religious Liberty issues in other states — will be proud to see that Texas’s robust Religious Liberty laws, which he so vociferously champions, will prevent future Abortion Rituals from being interrupted by superfluous government restrictions meant only to shame and harass those seeking an abortion.

“The battle for abortion rights is largely a battle of competing religious viewpoints, and our viewpoint that the nonviable fetus is part of the impregnated host is fortunately protected under Religious Liberty laws.”

Isn’t it interesting how the Satanists call a woman, who is the mother of an unborn child, an “impregnated host.” In truth, it sounds like one of the latest euphemisms that have rolled out of the CDC. Personally, I have always believed abortion is Satan’s work, that which he devotes most of the limited time that remains for him and his legions of demons. He apparently has plenty of helpers to further his nefarious work.

Others on the left describe the horrors that will surely afflict us because of the Texas law. In a Newsweek Twitter thread, one pro-abortion reader feared the consequences of the likely survival of so many disabled babies: "You can't screen for Down syndrome before about 10 weeks, and something like 80% of Down syndrome fetuses are aborted. If red states ban abortion, we could see a world where they have five times as many children with Down syndrome, and similar numbers for other disabilities." He went on to fret the reaction of the world's progressive nations if we don't kill these unwanted children in the womb. Can you just imagine how embarrassing that will be?

Beautiful Down Syndrome Twins

Of course, this man might have been influenced by those who blazed that horrendous trail decades ago. As Princeton Professor Robert P. George reminds us, "Sometimes it's worth remembering that what became known as the Holocaust did not begin with the murder of Jews, or Slavs, or Romani. It began with the killing of the disabled and cognitively impaired. They were regarded as 'useless eaters' and declared 'Lebensunwertes Leben' [lives unworthy of life]." Of course, millions of Jews came later.

And they call us pro-lifers, “fascists.” Remarkable isn’t? But the left always accuses its enemies of its own greatest sins.

In addition to the Texas legislature and governor, an archbishop has also stepped out in courage. In an Washington Post op-ed, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone supported the Texas law and publicly chastised President Biden and Nancy Pelosi by declaring that Catholics cannot support abortion. In Archbishop  Cordileone's words: "You cannot be a good Catholic and support expanding a government-approved right to kill innocent human beings...This is hardly inappropriate for a pastor to say. If anything, Catholic political leaders' response to the situation in Texas highlights the need for us to say it all the louder." He went on to suggest that excommunication of Catholic leaders who publicly support abortion must be considered.

Brothers and sisters, pray for our country. We need the saving, merciful power of God.

Atheism and Down Syndrome

Richard Dawkins — I know you’ve heard of him...you know, the outspoken atheist biologist from Oxford — has once again come out and said something worthy of note. And again his target is babies born with Down syndrome. This time he advised parents who discover their unborn child has Down syndrome to “abort it and try again.” His reason? “It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.” He then added, “It seems to me to be plausible that if a child has any kind of disability, then you probably would increase the amount of happiness in the world more by having another child instead.” (You can read an article addressing Dawkins' comments here.)

I know several wonderful people born with Down syndrome and, believe me, their presence in the world has added significantly to the overall happiness of humanity, certainly to that part of humanity that knows these people. (By the way, in a later interview Dr. Dawkins admitted not knowing anyone with Down syndrome.) But we shouldn’t be too hard on Professor Emeritus Dawkins. After all, he’s a committed atheist, so his position is really a logical outgrowth of his worldview. Any true atheist must take a utilitarian approach to everything, even matters of life and death. If we are simply the products of a cosmic biochemical lottery, humanity’s survival would seem to demand we do all in our limited power to ensure only the most “perfect” among us live — you know, to keep the human race pure. Hmmm...I think I’ve heard something like this before. Anyway, in this sense Dr. Dawkins is merely being consistently atheistic. 

But even a true atheist can make philosophical errors. Dr. Dawkins, for example, speaks of the immorality of permitting Down syndrome children to be born, and yet how can such a concepts as morality and immorality even exist within the atheistic worldview? Where, indeed, would morality come from? Certainly not from God or natural law or even cultural traditions. Or perhaps, for the true atheist, morality is like truth, a kind of movable feast, a flexible concept simply adjusted to fit changing situations. How did Pope Benedict XVI describe it? Oh, yes, the “dictatorship of relativism.” (You might want to read Benedict's homily on the subject, preached to the Church's cardinals. Here the link: Pope Benedict XVI: 4/18/2005.)

It must be hard to be an atheist, always having to adjust what you believe and how you view the world, based on the changing appetites and designs of humanity. How blessed you and I are, people of faith who believe in a loving God who not only created each of us in a unique act of love, but then revealed His will for us so we can live happy, fulfilled lives in this world and spend an eternity of happiness with Him in the next. Pray for Richard Dawkins. God desires the salvation of all.  

Tragedy and Joy

Down Syndrome is a genetic condition typified by the presence of an extra (third) chromosome 21 in the body's cells. Its cause is still unknown. It is usually not an inherited condition and occurs among all races, nationalities, and socio-economic groups. Although the chances of having a Down Syndrome baby increase with the age of the mother, younger mothers still give birth to the majority of Down Syndrome babies.

I suspect most of you reading these words know someone with Down Syndrome. I have known many in my life, and each has been a blessing to me and many others.

Sadly, though, because these children require additional care -- a euphemism for sacrifice -- the enlightened of our increasingly self-centered society believe Down Syndrome children are too inconvenient to live. They want all parents to enjoy the "good life" to the fullest. How can they do this if they must care for a child with special needs? And, of course, we cannot ignore the additional costs that must be borne by society. Wouldn't it be better and cheaper if these children were never born?

For example, Iceland, that small island nation in the North Atlantic with a population of only about 350,000 people, is very proud of the fact that it has eliminated Down Syndrome. That's right. According to the Icelandic government, no Down Syndrome babies are now born in Iceland.

How did they accomplish this? Simple. They killed them all before they were born by aborting them. And for this Iceland celebrates.

But there's more to the story. The people of Iceland celebrate these abortions with prayer cards. Yes indeed, according to an Icelandic pro-abortion, prenatal counselor, she gives parents "a prayer card with the footprints of an aborted baby. Parents can keep these footprints and prayer cards as a memento of their aborted child." This is so repugnant it is beyond comment and speaks for the depravity, the decadence of our modern Western Civilization. How far we have fallen since the days of Christendom. (For more, see this report: Iceland Kills 100% of Babies with Down Syndrome.)

Iceland is not alone. Most of Western Europe is following the same path. In Germany the growing abortion rate for Down Syndrome babies is causing some to make parallels with the Nazi policies of the past. (Read about it here.)

Sadly, we see similar policies in the United States where far too many Down Syndrome children meet their deaths through abortion. Pro-life political solutions are increasingly difficult to implement because the courts at all levels are so infected with a pro-death bias. Just last December the Ohio state legislature, in a rare act of political courage, passed a law, which Governor John Kasich signed, prohibiting the abortion of Down Syndrome babies.

Pro-Abortion Protestors in the Ohio Senate Chamber

The ACLU -- an organization dedicated to supporting the civil liberties of everyone except the unborn and Christians -- sued, claiming the law was unconstitutional. (Read more here.) The ACLU and its fellow travelers simply couldn't stand the idea that one of these little ones might actually be born. And, then, like a true member of the pro-death hive, U. S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Black agreed with the ACLU and blocked the law, calling it an invasion of privacy. Imagine that! To save the life of the most innocent among us has become an invasion of privacy.

Fortunately -- although I suspect too few will notice -- the Holy See has spoken explicitly about the attempts to eliminate Down Syndrome children through abortion, referring to it as a "great hate crime." (Read more here.)

Pope Francis and a Down Syndrome girl

That so many in our so-called civilized world wish that these children of God cease to exist is more than troubling. It is nothing less than a return to barbarism. Actually, barbarism is probably too kind a word since most barbarians would probably choose to cherish and not dispose of these beautiful souls.

Let me write briefly about one young man. I met Michael several years ago when he became one of our parish altar servers. But Diane and I really came to know Michael well when he and his mom, Judie, joined our Thursday team at the Wildwood Soup Kitchen. Michael's dad, Glenn, also joined this ministry when we needed someone to sweep and mop the floors at the end of the day, and Glenn volunteered. It became a true family affair. Dear Glenn returned to the Father just a few months ago, and we miss him dearly. But Michael's strong faith, the same childlike faith Jesus asks of all of us, gives him the assurance that his dad is now with his God interceding for his family. 

My good friend, Michael

I cannot imagine life without Michael. He is our source of joy at the Soup Kitchen. When he arrives with his mom for our second shift, he always seeks me out with a "Hi, Deacon!" followed by a welcome hug -- the very best medicine to relieve my occasional grumpiness.

Everyone at the Soup Kitchen, volunteers and guests, love Michael. How could we do otherwise? His ever-present smile, his cheerfulness, and his willingness to do anything asked of him has turned Thursday mornings into a special time for all of us.

I have come to realize that Michael's greatest gift is his ability to teach the rest of us. One morning, shortly after he and Judie joined our Thursday team, I asked Michael if he were having a good day. Of course he replied with an enthusiastic, "Yes!" And then Judie laughed and added, "For Michael, every day is a good day. He never has a bad one." Indeed, Michael views the world as a blessing and teaches us to strive to do the same.

I have always believed that the cultural war we are waging for life will not be won through political action. We may win the occasional skirmish in legislatures and courts, but because it is a spiritual war, ultimately it will be won only through the action of the Holy Spirit, "the Lord and giver of life." We must, therefore, pray constantly that God will enter and change the hearts of those who have embraced the culture of death.

Perhaps people like Frank Stephens, a man with Down Syndrome, can help the Spirit change those hearts. Take just a few minutes to watch the following video of his testimony before Congress:

And then there's Charlotte "Charlie" Fien, a 21-year-old British woman with Down Syndrome and autism, who recently delivered an impassioned plea to a United Nations group. A U.N. "expert" had just argued for the prenatal eradication of disabled children. The following video is Charlotte's moving response:

Thank you Frank; thank you, Charlotte; and thank you, Michael for showing us the way to the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Pray for life!

Culture of Death

Did you hear about the Oregon couple who sued their healthcare provider because their daughter was born with Down Syndrome? That's right, it seems the parents of little four-year-old Kalanit Levy are very upset because Legacy Health of Portland failed to identify the girl's condition prenatally and want to be compensated for this "wrongful birth." Had they known of their daughter's condition before she was born, Ariel and Deborah Levy stated they would have aborted her. Kalanit will require all kinds of extra care that her parents are apparently unprepared or unwilling to provide, so they wanted $14 million from Legacy Health. Read more here.

Yesterday a jury apparently agreed that the "parents" should be compensated and awarded them $2.9 million based on the estimated lifetime costs of their child's care. Attorneys who deal with these cases agree that to win a wrongful birth lawsuit "parents must argue that they would have terminated the pregnancy had they been fully informed." And so this Oregon jury in effect decided this one little girl should not have been born. Hers was a life not worth living. And the Levys have been paid off...for what? For not aborting Kalanit because they would have had they only known? Are they then rewarded for doing what thousands, probably millions, of parents do every day: give birth to and take care of their disabled children, not because they have to but because they love them?

The political left seems to be particularly bothered by these disabled children because they represent an overt rejection of abortion, and these days everything is about abortion. Abortion is the political left's cause célèbre against which all else is measured. And so anyone who knowingly gives birth to a disabled child -- e.g., one with Down Syndrome -- better be prepared to be denounced. Back in 2008 when Sarah Palin was added to the Republican ticket, Carol Fowler, the chair of the South Carolina democratic party stated that the Alaska governor's “primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion”; in other words, she hadn't aborted her Down Syndrome son, Trig. Then, on Trig Palin's birthday in 2011, Jack Stuef of the popular leftist blog Wonkette not only attacked Sarah Palin but also three-year-old Trig:

"Today is the day we come together to celebrate the snowbilly grifter's magical journey from Texas to Alaska to deliver to America the great gentleman scholar Trig Palin...What's he dreaming about? Nothing. He's retarded."

It would seem the left's mandate to adhere always to political correctness does not apply to them, and certainly not when abortion is involved.

According to lawyers.com courts have found it difficult to seat juries in these wrongful birth cases because they have to immediately disqualify those with strong pro-life views and there are just so many of us. I find it particularly disturbing that my support for life would disqualify me as too biased when the person who wrote the above comments on Wonkette would be completely acceptable.

Read again  the words of Pope Paul VI in his monumental encyclical, Humanae Vitae (1968), in which he warns of the consequences of the contraceptive mentality:

17. Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.

Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife.

Consequently, unless we are willing that the responsibility of procreating life should be left to the arbitrary decision of men, we must accept that there are certain limits, beyond which it is wrong to go, to the power of man over his own body and its natural functions—limits, let it be said, which no one, whether as a private individual or as a public authority, can lawfully exceed. These limits are expressly imposed because of the reverence due to the whole human organism and its natural functions, in the light of the principles We stated earlier, and in accordance with a correct understanding of the "principle of totality" enunciated by Our predecessor Pope Pius XII.

I'm afraid we, as a people, have allowed this power over life itself to pass "into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law."

Let us pray for life every day:

Heavenly Father, your cosmic gaze focused on dust and you fashioned in your image and likeness every man and women: give us, we beg you, a keen eye to recognize that image so that respect for all human life becomes our way of life. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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