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Tiana Stewart

Dr. Pearl

SLA 150 05

December 7, 2017

Reproduction: Whose Right is it Anyway?

Choice. Everyone deserves it. And when it comes to unplanned pregnancies, or even a

pregnancy endangering the life of the mother bearing the child, abortion soon becomes the

prominent issue at hand. Abortion is characterized as the expulsion of the fetus from the womb

and terminating growth during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. It is the cessation of pregnancy

with the intent of removing life or potential life from the product of conception (Kangwa 2016).

Abortion comes in two different types; therapeutic and non-therapeutic. Therapeutic abortion

occurs when the life of the mother of the unborn baby is at stake while non-therapeutic abortion

refers to the case of a pregnant woman who does not want her pregnancy to continue for personal

reasons (Kangwa 2016). The first mention of abortion in a social encyclical -a papal letter sent to

all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church; including policies on religion, political and moral

issues- appears only in 1971, in Pope Paul VI’s Octogesima Adveniens. Here Paul mentions

abortion in the context of Malthusian solutions to the unemployment problem (Kangwa 2016). In

terms of the Catholic Social Teaching (CST), it was Pope John Paul II who effectively turned

the tide on popular thoughts, forcefully introducing abortion into the realm of CST. In his 1995

encyclical Evangelium Vitae he addressed the issue at great length, placing it in the context of

social justice. Whatever the case is behind someone’s reasoning of choosing to opt out of a

pregnancy, the topic of abortion has become an extremely controversial, contemporary

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sociological and ethical debate. The topic is associated with ethical decision making. Yes, it is

important to take the value and rights of an unborn human life into account, but on the other

hand, so is the welfare of the pregnant woman who needs to be protected from mental, physical,

and social harm (Kangwa 2016). Both medical practitioners and religious leaders grapple with a

number of relevant questions pertaining to whether or not abortion is the the best, right, wrong,

or last resort option to handle a situation of unplanned or a risk pregnancy.

As we learned from reading David J. O’Brien and Thomas A. Shannon’s Catholic Social

Thought: The Documentary Heritage, Catholic Social teaching, like everything else Christian,

begins with the person and message of Jesus (O’Brien, Shannon 2). The CST follow nine main

principles: Human DIgnity, Solidarity or Common Good, Charity, Subsidiarity, Social Justice,

Preferential Option for the Poor, The Natural Right to Property, Possession vs Use, and Unity.

Social justice then becomes the central and specific virtue of Catholic social thought and

determines the proper scope of this discipline (Williams 653). It has articulating principles of

solidarity, subsidiarity and the common good. The common good requires a social organization

that provides for and defends human rights, the first and most basic of which is the right to life

(Williams 2006). From our in class reading, Stephen Prothero’s God is Not One, we were taught

of the Catholic custom of having a pope. “Their special powers have extended since 1870 to

papal infallibility, the ability to speak without error on matters of doctrine and morals” (Prothero

80-81). This is where the value of encyclicals comes into play. Applying the principle of social

justice with encyclical guidance from the pope to contemporary society, abortion in the eyes of

Catholic Social Teaching becomes a major injustice that they are overwhelmingly not in favor

of. The volume of abortions has become a major concern to the CST and it underscores the social

nature of the problem. Abortion has now been made one of the most serious social justice issues
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of all time with 46 million abortions performed worldwide each year. They strongly believe that

human life begins at conception. Any act leading to termination of a pregnancy constitutes

murder. It is not dealing with the simple random killing of unrelated individuals, but with the

circumscription of an entire class of human beings (the unborn) as non-persons. They believe

they are being excluded from the basic rights and protections accorded to all other human beings

(Williams 2006). Protection of the rights of the baby before and after birth is of paramount

importance to the CST (Kangwa 2016). Abortion is what they believe in their Christian

conscience to be a deliberate attack on the innocent life of the unborn; the most vulnerable

members of society. It involves the absence of any chance for informed consent while the unborn

is silenced before having the opportunity to speak (Kangwa 2016). If human dignity depends on

anything other than simple membership in the human race—be it intelligence, athletic ability,

social status, race, age, or health—abortion then brings them to immediately find themselves

having to distinguish between persons who count and those who don’t (Williams 2006). From

Pope John Paul II’s Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life)1995, He brings to attention how The

Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church,

it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as “good news” to the people of every age and culture

(John Paul II GoL). Life is a blessing they feel, not a mistake. He makes it known to Catholics

worldwide that “every threat to human dignity is felt in the church’s heart. It affects its faith and

engages its mission of proclaiming the Gospel of Life – a proclamation especially pressing

because of the new threats to the life of individuals (abortion) and peoples, especially where life

is weak and defenseless (John Paul II GoL).

Before college, abortion was not a topic that I spent much time dwelling on. I knew it

was a very prominent social debate especially during this time of rapid evolvement and
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individualism, not only in the United States of America but also the rest of the world. It is a topic

that could be debated on for hours with multiple perspectives and viewpoints. The topic brings

lots of emotion to the table as strong beliefs are entwined with taking sides, whether someone is

strongly in favor, strongly against, in between or simply indifferent. I believe it is a topic that

requires people to get extremely personal and vulnerable, especially if they are involved in a

situation involving abortion. And even for those who are not, it is common for people to have

opinions in a topic holding such controversy as this one. I started off in the category of

indifferent. The topic of abortion was not necessarily uncomfortable for me, it was just not

something I felt that I needed to worry about as a young child and teenager. I knew what it was,

if I heard about it I listened, and if not, I kept moving forward. With that being said, having

previously spoken about vulnerability I have decided to become as vulnerable and relatable as

possible in sharing my true thoughts and reasonings in this piece, pertaining to my new interest

in this matter.

College is the time of new discovered freedom and opportunity as well as the chance to

be put in situations I never saw myself in before. For example, before college I did not engage

myself in relationships or sexual activity, which now is a different story. Sexual intercourse is a

normal fact of life. Whether you choose to abstain from it or have it on a regular basis, the point

being, what an individual chooses to do with their body is their decision. Once I became active,

the subjects of abortion and contraception were now at the front of my mind and I soon grew to

become an advocate for them. They were important topics I knew I needed to discuss with my

significant other. It is not coming from a point of passionate feminism, instead a place of

precaution, safety and prevention. As a young woman, I want to know that I have the

opportunities for help and choice if something were to ever go wrong. I do not need someone
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else telling me that my rights are condemned. It is reassuring to know that if anything were to

happen to me against my will, or on accident, I have the option to abort. As shown, the CST is

strongly against abortion, with reasons which indeed are quite valid. The issue I have is when it

comes to who set these rules in stone, and the attribute of choice in the principle of distributism

or social justice that are being taken away. Having the choice of whether not to abort a fetus

should not be up to a pope who at the end of the day will not be taken care of or bearing the

child. Having a child while unprepared, whether it being financial instability or any other

complication is an extremely depressing and emotionally draining situation to be in. Not only

will it affect the parents of the child, but it will bear a toll on the families and child after birth.

Many women are even put in unfortunate situations of rape, molestation, or abuse where they are

held against their will, sexually harassed and impregnated in some cases. Whatever the situation,

the right to abort should always be present. A woman’s sexual reproductive rights also have to be

respected. I do not believe it should be used as a scapegoat for a way to get out of multiple

unplanned pregnancies for one person, but simply having the option is a life saver for many

individuals and couples around the world. An unplanned or forced pregnancy is simply a

violation of a woman’s rights. Pregnancy, as a product of conception belongs solely to a woman

and they therefore have the right to decide whether to keep the fetus or abort it.

Works Cited

Cctwincities.org - Catholic Charities of St. Paul and ... www.bing.com/cr?

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EA6525&rd=1&h=_BJW4ZDyi3kXjIbe6NtGqDmt-1Z3lIhc_bdMMvFXAVY&v=1&r=https
%3a%2f%2fwww.cctwincities.org%2f&p=DevEx,5066.1.
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Kangwa, Jonathan. “Abortion and Christian Moral Decisions: An African Ecofeminist

Perspective.” The Expository Times, vol. 129, no. 2, 2016, pp. 62–75.,
doi:10.1177/0014524616668948.

OBrien, David J., and Thomas A. Shannon. Catholic social thought: encyclicals and
documents from Pope Leo XIII to Pope Francis. Orbis Books, 2016.

Prothero, Stephen R. God is not one: the eight rival religions that run the world--and
why their differences matter. HarperOne, 2011.

Williams, Father Thomas D. “Abortion and Catholic Social Teaching.” Zenit, Zenit,
Zenit.org.

Williams, Rev Thomas D. “Abortion and Catholic Social Teaching.” Usccb.org, New
York: Hacette.

Williams, Thomas D. “Abortion and Catholic Social Teaching .” Vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 645–662.