Life Matters —The Newsletter of the Respect Life Office of the Diocese of Rockford
By Patricia Pitkus Bainbridge, Associate Director,
Respect Life Office
December 2002

Patricia Bainbridge is the author of a Lifelines column published the first Friday of each month in The Observer, official newspaper of the Catholic Diocese of
Rockford, Rockford, Illinois.

“PRO-CHOICE” CATHOLIC POLITICIANS?

It is not unusual for pro-choice for abortion politicians to use their religion in an attempt to woo Catholic voters. They often boast that they serve their parishes as lectors, parish council members, or members of a variety of committees.

One of the most egregious recent examples of this scandal surrounds Jennifer Granholm, the newly elected Governor of Michigan who describes herself as “100% pro-choice [for abortion].” She serves as a lector in her parish. What she and other pro-abortion public figures fail to recognize is that in 1989 the National Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote that “No Catholic can responsibly take a ‘pro-choice’ stand when the ‘choice’ in question involves the taking of innocent human life.”

Ms. Granholm and other so-called pro-choice Catholic politicians need to be reminded of Living the Gospel of Life (#32) which clearly states, “We urge those Catholic officials who choose to depart from Church teaching on the inviolability of human life in their public life to consider the consequences for their own spiritual well being, as well as the scandal they risk by leading others into serious sin. We call on them to reflect on the grave contradiction of assuming public roles and presenting themselves as credible Catholics when their actions on fundamental issues of human life are not in agreement with Church teaching. No public official, especially one claiming to be a faithful and serious Catholic, can responsibly advocate for or actively support direct attacks on innocent human life.”

I THINK…THEREFORE I AM PRO-LIFE

French philosopher Descartes is probably best known for his statement, “Cogito, ergo sum—I think, therefore I am.” Over the years many individuals have added various words to complete Descartes’ declaration. Many of these additions have represented rather inane ideas.

A noted exception is a bumper sticker recently observed in the Rockford area that stated, “I Think…Therefore I Am Pro-Life.” This message offers both pro-lifers and those who advocate abortion an opportunity to reflect on why they believe what they do about abortion.

Most abortion apologists (including the majority of the dominate media culture) continually attempt to portray pro-lifers as unthinking, emotional, uneducated religious fanatics who just blindly follow what their religious leaders tell them without really thinking for themselves. What these pro-choice for abortion individuals fail to recognize or in some cases refuse to acknowledge is that authentic pro-life people do think and have valid reasons for their positions. Some pro-life individuals are self-described atheists and agnostics—hardly following the lead of religious leaders. Others are faithful to the Church’s teaching recognizing the wisdom and rationality in its unambiguous pro-life stance.

The truth is that the pro-choice for abortion individuals are the ones guilty of not thinking rationally. The arguments offered to support abortion are emotionally charged, illogical and simply cannot be defended on the basis of sound analysis! There are a number of abortion apologists who are very articulate speakers—they sound very convincing in their attempts at defending abortion. However, an honest and dispassionate look at the scientific evidence coupled with sound and consistent reasoning leads intellectually honest people to come down on the side of life for the pre-born.

In all fairness, there are individuals who are unable to adequately articulate or even fully understand why they are pro-life and this is unfortunate. We encourage anyone who wants to learn more about the life issues to contact the Diocesan Respect Life Office.

Copyright, 2002