Florida Catholic | Archbishop Favalora's Column

Not my baby!

How one man’s personal experience changed his views on abortion.

Published: 01.11.08

My dear friends,

They say experience is the best teacher. That was certainly the case with a young man I met many years ago. He told me he never really questioned the pro-choice position on abortion until he and his wife decided they wanted a child.

They had an extremely difficult time conceiving. When his wife finally told him she was pregnant, he was elated. That is when he realized, as he told me, that what his wife was carrying at that very early stage was not an amorphous blob of cells but a baby, the child of their longing.

To get involved in pro-life work, call the archdiocesan Respect Life Office at
305-653-2921, e-mail ilovelife@bellsouth.net, or go to www.respectlifemiami.com.

The thought of losing that child to miscarriage was unbearable, this young man told me. That is when he realized what “pro-choice” really meant: the legal right to kill one’s unborn child.

Until then, this young man had accepted the terminology used to mask the reality of abortion: fetus, unwanted pregnancy, termination of pregnancy. His wife’s pregnancy had swept away the rhetoric and allowed him to grasp a fundamental truth: What he and his wife were expecting had been a baby all along, from the moment of conception.

Without realizing it, this young man, who was Catholic, had switched from being “pro-choice” to being “pro-life.” Personal experience had taught him that the church’s teaching on abortion is based both on scientific fact and religious tenet. Life begins at conception: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jer 1:5).

Sadly, few people think about that reality until they come face to face with an unplanned pregnancy — their own, a girlfriend’s, a spouse’s. Sadder still, many women are forced — by parents, boyfriends, circumstances — to have an abortion despite knowing, in their hearts, the tragic truth of what they are doing.

Abortion is such a controversial topic that most people prefer not to discuss it. Politicians hide behind the “I’m personally opposed but …” banner.

Can you conceive of any politician using the same phrase to explain his position on cruelty to animals? Would anyone argue that domestic violence is a “private matter” between a husband and his wife?

Yet few people stop to think about the lack of logic inherent in the pro-choice argument. Few people, even Catholics, take the time to know exactly what the church teaches on abortion and why. Few people know the facts surrounding the reality of abortion in our country today.

Florida Bishops' Statement on the 35th Anniversary of
Roe v. Wade

As we prepare to mark the 35th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in our nation, I urge you to do some research on these issues. The Florida Catholic Conference, which represents all the bishops of Florida, has put together a very informative Web site that includes an interactive program to test your knowledge of the issues surrounding abortion. (See box.)

The conference’s Web site also includes links to places throughout the state that provide material, emotional and spiritual support to women in crisis pregnancies, and to those seeking to heal from the hurts of past abortions. Abortion is a serious moral issue for Catholics, one that we must not be afraid to learn about, talk about, pray about and do something about.

Not my baby!

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