Confused Nun wrong about abortion

Sister Joan Chittister

There has been a lot of chatter on the Internet about a quote from Sister Joan Chittister, a Catholic nun and author of over 50 books, regarding her views on the Catholic Pro-Life stance on abortion.  She said:

"I do not believe that just because you're opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don't? Because you don't want any tax money to go there. That's not pro-life. That's pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is."

I believe that a quick refresher on history, and her own religion, would easily show Sister Joan that she is incorrect in her assertions here.  For one thing, 99.9% of all people lived in poverty for 99.9% of history, meaning that 99.9% of children born were born into poverty.

This is a fact that cannot be disputed.  Most people thoughout history lived under totalitarian dictatorship-type governments, and most commoners had no chance to acquire any wealth or material property.  People hunted, and fished, or worked on farms every day just to put food on the table.

The role of the Church suggests that it is the responsibility of parents to provide for their children, even if that means making personal sacrifices.  Of course that's aside from the fact that procreating, giving birth to children, and keeping them alive, is essential for humanity to continue.  Had a majority of impoverished parents aborted their children throughout the course of history, most of us would not exist today.

The Bible also teaches about personal responsibility, accountability, charity and justice. These are all things that must come from individual choice, not by government mandate.  Surely it is noble to give to the poor, but it is not noble for a government to force such by government edict and taxes.  Social justice, redistribution of wealth, which is what this nun is hinting at, does not teach responsibility and accountability, and it surely is not charity nor justice.

My dad once said that once two people are married, they should have children regardless of their financial status or material desires.  My dad is right. Had our parents, grandparents and great grandparents decided to wait for the ideal time, or wait for government handouts, none of us would exist today.

So while pro-choice pundits may think that this nun, who may be one of the smartest and nicest people in the world, "Brilliantly Exposed “Pro-Life” Hypocrites With This Hard-Hitting Quote, they are wrong. Nothing is more valuable than life.  And once aborted, there is no chance at all,

5 myths about pro-life poeple

Kristen Walker wrote a nice article at lifenews.com called "Five Myths About Pro-life People and How to Refute Them."

1.  We're Brainwashed:  She said that most people are inundated by the pro-choice argument.  It's usually portrayed as a "sad but necessary thing." An example she gives is the movie Dirty Dancing, where young, impressionable people are exposed to a young woman who gets an abortion with a "dirty knife," and then a real doctor is called and the girl is fine.  Such pictures of abortion show it in a positive light, and have succeeded at "brainwashing" the younger generations to accept abortion as normal.  Most people are not exposed to the pro-life argument in this manner, and so people usually come to be pro-lifers on their own.

2.  We're violent:  This is an easy one to refute.  They say we are violent because pro-lifers have killed eight abortion doctors since 1973.  However bad this is, their side has killed over fifty million babies since 1973.  So it's clearly safer to be an abortionist than an unborn baby.

3.  We're religious, conservative, and old:  The truth is, there are many democrats who are pro-lifers, although they seem to be on the decline in Washington.  There are also people who do not believe in God who simply feel it is wrong to kill an innocent child.  And, to top it off, there are many young people who have not been "brainwashed" by the liberal elite establishment.  The truth is, more and more young people are supporting the pro-life movement. There is also a rise in the number of Catholics who vote for pro-choice candidates, so this myth seems to have no merit to it. Not all pro-lifers are religious, conservative and old: Check out Secular Pro-Life, Pagans for Life, or Atheist and Agnostic Pro-Life League.

4.  We're hypocrites if we oppose abortion but don't oppose the death penalty:  Well, I do oppose the death penalty, so there is not argument here.  I explain why I oppose the death penalty here.  Plus, even if I supported the death penalty you can't compare the killing of a guilty person who chose to commit a crime to that of an innocent unborn child who never had a chance to make a choice.

5.  We have an ulterior motive:  Common ulterior motives that we are often accused of are: taking choice away from women, stopping unmarried people from having sex, and making pernicious girls feel bad about themselves. The truth is, we are pro-lifers because we care about women and their children.  We want to prevent women from committing "legal murder," and we want to save the lives of their innocent children.