THE154-D01 and D04 Faith, Justice, and Catholic Tradition
Final Term Paper
We learn from the beginning of the Christian faith that we are made in the image and likeness of God. This first moment of creation was God breathing life into the earth and creating life. “Everything that is, the visible and invisible, the known and the unknown, owe their being to God.” (Marthler 67) Nothing exists on this earth without the act of God creating it. He is forever present in everything. At the moment of creation he intervened once. Now we experience his act unfolding. As Edwards says, “all of this is God’s work, brought about by God working in and through the laws of nature over immense lengths of time and with great patience.”(4) Now what does this have to do with abortion?
Abortion is a serious political and religious issue. It is the removal of a fetus from a women’s uterus to end a pregnancy. It is the center of much debate primarily between the church and state. Currently the law states that abortion is legal; meaning that women have the right to choose whether or not they would like to continue with their current state of pregnancy or terminate it. The Church however has its own laws and guidelines set, and has a very strong opinion when it comes to the topic of abortion. Separate from the Church there are there are currently three positions that can be taken in the discussion of abortion; Pro-choice, Pro-life: another group of people who believe that there are special circumstances in which an abortion could be classified as necessary yet for the most part they believe that is morally reprehensible.
An individual who describes themselves as being Pro-life believes that life begins at conception and that terminating a pregnancy is the murder of an unwanted child. They consider an abortion as a complete destruction of God’s creation and a disruption in God’s plan for all of us. This is where the Church stands. According to the Catholic faith, Catholics believe God is present in all things and acts through every species on earth. “When human beings first emerged in evolutionary history with their capacity for self-reflection and freedom, they emerged into a world of grace” (Edwards 135) God gave himself in love for us, and asks for that love in return. Abortions is failing in this, it is a sin. It is a complete rejection of creation. Since God is present in all things that means that he is present in the making of that “unwanted” fetus therefore no one has the right to interfere with his plan. As Pop Pius XI states in the encyclical Christian Marriage when discussing abortion, "What could ever be a sufficient reason for excusing in any way the direct murder of the innocent? This is precisely what we are dealing with here. Whether inflicted upon the mother or upon the child, it is against the precept of God and the law of nature: 'Thou shalt not kill.' “The commandments are a set of guidelines given to Catholics showing them how to live their lives according to God’s will. Abortion is the breaking of the fifth commandment “thou shall not kill.”
Those who are Prochoice do not see abortion as murder. They first do not recognize that life begins at conception. “Everything that is, the visible and invisible, the known and the unknown, owe their being to God.” (Marthler 67) The world began with God. He is the Creator and we are experiencing his act of creation unfolding. Therefore the life that is “not recognized” according to them is a clearly a life according to Church because it is a part of God’s creation. God is present in that unwanted fetus; it is a direct rejection of God’s creation to terminate it. Pro-choice supporters also believe another justification to have an abortion is because women have the right to their own body; meaning that they have the right to choice whether or not they would like to continue with their pregnancy. This is against what the Church believes as God as the Almighty, only God has the power to create life on earth along with taking that life from earth. No human has the ability to do so. These positions of the Church and its beliefs in abortion have been around for centuries. In 210 AD Tertullian wrote "In our case, a murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while as yet the human being derives blood from the other parts of the body for its sustenance. To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to birth. That is a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in its seed" (Apology 9:8) The third party in the Pro-life/Pro-choice discussion stand on the grounds of if the woman happens to become pregnant for outstanding circumstances and cannot continue with the pregnancy for emotional or physical reasons an abortion is may become necessary while it still remains immoral. This position is not valid either in accordance to the church because life begins at conception. The church believes in the sanctity of life. So whether it is the life of an infant or an older woman at stake both lives are equally important. “God does things for us and the understanding that God’s doing of things for us is personal.” (Edwards 69). When we reject life in an abortion we are rejecting creation; which is really a rejection of God’s love and a refusal for us to personally receive grace. God is always present in the Word and the Spirit, always breathing life into the process, always engaged, always responsive, and always achieving the divine. The primary experience of God is through his making of the world. We as humans cannot explain it, it is one of God’s mysteries we just experience it. Secondary causes come through grace which is presented to us in life moments some miniature, some miraculous. We could experience the birth of a new baby or the death of a beloved family member. “Experiences of grace are mediated by secondary causes: we encounter others in our world and find in these encounters openness to a Holy Order, present in a mysterious way beyond concepts and words.”(Edwards 68). Every time a baby is aborted, the chance to experience God’s love and grace disappears. The Church recognizes the relationship God has with his people in the form of a covenant. Then covenant is God’s promise to his people to live. When we break his commandments we are breaking the covenant God made with us which is a rejection of love and is principally sin. Christians “meet the risen one in the experiences of grace that occurs in the midst of life.”(Edwards 101) It is though our choices Christians can experience the resurrected Christ in everyday life. The moments of simplicity or of finding joy or love in something is a moment of grace. Therefore we can experience the risen Jesus through this. “According to Jesus, the proper response to the grace of God is love of God with one’s whole heart and love for one’s neighbor as one’s self.” (Edwards 136) When we show love we are acting towards fulfilling the covenant God placed in us. Catholics show God their appreciation for God through their actions and choices. This is why the Catholic Church finds it morally reprehensible to take the life of an unborn child, because it is the removal of God’s creation in the world without God being the force behind it. “God creates because God wants to give God’s self in love to creatures” (Edwards 93) According to Catholic teachings since God created the world and everything in it we do not have the right to tamper with what is God’s creation.
As Catholics we recognize our power of chose as God granting humans with the gift of free will. Creation’s greatest feature was the ability to choose and the gift of free will. Everything God created was good but humans were made in the image and likeness of God therefore they were very good. In the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve were told by God not to eat from the tree of knowledge. This was not God testing them or trying to trick Adam and Eve it was a chance for them to choose to love; when we chose to do the right thing in accordance with God’s will we show love for him. Authentic love is based on choice. Without an option for anything else there is no choice or freedom present which makes the love required. It is through the decisions we make that determine our relationship with God. This is why abortion is seen in the Church as a morally wrong deed. When someone makes a decision to have an abortion or when someone decides to perform the abortion that is a decision using the free will God has given us to reject God.
Catholics are raised in a faith that proclaims that we are all made in the image and likeness of God. “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Therefore we are all the results of direct influence of God. Each of us has an individual soul and each of us are important to God and his plan. Descendants are the way in which we keep creation alive and live out God’s plan. It is through descendants that we show our love for God. So according to Church teachings and traditions the killing of a descendant is the worst act a person can make. It is taking a child that is in the process of making its way into the world and stopping that chance of a life for that baby. This is why abortion is so wrong.
As Pope Pius XI states in his Encyclical on Christian Marriage, “Thus amongst the blessings of marriage, the child holds the first place. And indeed the Creator of the human race Himself, Who in His goodness wishes to use men as His helpers in the propagation of life, taught this when, instituting marriage in Paradise, He said to our first parents, and through them to all future spouses: "Increase and multiply, and fill the earth." When a couple makes the decision to get married that choice is a decision to in essence begin a family with the love that they share, so children are essential in fulfilling that plan. This is why the Church believes that pre-marital sex is a sin. Many people view abortions as undoing a mistake that is why the church teaches us that sex is meant for marriage because babies are a blessing and not a mistake.
Personally I believe that life begins at conception. I am Pro-choice but this is not only because I am a Catholic and believe the practices of my religion. There are actually many things in the Church that I do disagree with but not when it comes to abortion. I believe that it is morally unacceptable to end a pregnancy, according to any situation. The debates over that woman have the right to choose is partially valid in the sense that every human being has the right to choose what they want to do with their own body yet we are not the ones who created that body. Our laws protect us from harming our bodies from drugs and there are laws prohibiting the killing of another person. So what I do not understand is why there are also laws that allow a life on its way into the world to be sucked out and cut up; who is protecting those lives? For Pro-choice activists who do not see a fetus as a life and only believe a human is a life when entering the world; are rejecting the plan of creation. They are rejecting a beautiful gift God is granting them. They are also rejecting an experience of God’s grace, which is God’s love in action. Every human is made in the image and likeness of God therefore it is good and anyone who tries to destroy it is destroying the covenant God made with his people. “Every aspect of history and every experience of providence and grace is an experience of the God of self-bestowing love.”(Edwards 93) God worked in creation and we experience his act unfolding. I see abortion as murder. I do not see abortion as an alternative to anything. So many options are available for woman to prevent pregnancy and if those fail there are currently many options an unprepared mother and/or father can take to provide for the baby they now have. For those who argue that it is truly an issue of woman’s rights they quickly forget that woman who fought for those rights such as Susan B Anthony, and Mary Wollstonecraft believed that the killing of an unborn life is morally unacceptable. “To hold together in one’s heart and mind “love” and the person or group one has learned to hate as the enemy is to already begin to experience the breaking in of this kingdom.”(Edwards 17) Love is an amazing quality that only humans possess. We have been given free will to make the choice to love. To love another person is to help fulfill God’s plan and though acting on that love, children are created and descendants are a continual symbol of God’s love present in the world. “According to Jesus, the proper response to the grace of God is love of God with one’s whole heart and love for one’s neighbor as one’s self.” (Edwards 136) The choice to love is what continues God’s plan of creation. Abortion is bringing that continual plan of bringing love into the world to an end. More and more women feel because of the availability and number of woman who get an abortion that it is the right alternative for them in their situation. The Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court case still stands, so until this changes the option will always be available for woman and will be a huge temptation when faced with a decision of this proportion. So I think the only alternative remains having that option of abortion be unavailable. Once that ends God’s creation can continue to grow but until we all join together in belief that this is an issue that affects innocent lives; someone must protect those lives.
When using free will to choose God, we are choosing to love which is the act of us keeping the covenant with God. Making the Pro-choice decision to end a child’s life that is in the process of development is morally wrong. God’s act of Creation unfolding is an act that is being done for us personally. To proceed with an abortion is the deliberate tampering with God’s plan of creation. Changing these laws that permit it and understanding that everything unfolding is God’s love for us than it is up to us to change it.

Bibliography
Edwards, Denis. How God Acts. Minneapolis; Fortress Press 2010
Marthler, Berard L., The Creed. New London; Twenty-Third Publication: 1987, 1993, 2007
Abortion Facts and Information About Abortion Articles, N.P., 1996-2012, Web 5 November 2011 http://www.christianet.com/abortionfacts/abortiondebatefacts.htm
Ellingsen, Mark, The Church and Abortion: Signs of Consensu, Christian Century, January 3-10, 1990, Web 5 November 2011; http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=749
Alcorn, Randy, Abortion in the Bible and Church History, Christian Answers Network, 2000-2002, Web 5 November 2011; http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-abortioninthebible.html
Pope Pius XI, Casti Connubii, December 31, 1930, Web 15 December 2011; http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121930_casti-connubii_en.html
Knight, Kevin, Church Father; Apology; New Advent Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885 Web 15 December 2011; http://www.scribd.com/doc/11876902/Abortion-and-Religion