Pro-Life World View | July 5, 2024

Ensuring women don’t have abortions they don’t want is something even “pro-choice” people should support

“I was angry [at] my mother for encouraging me to get an abortion. I was mad at my boyfriend for (unwillingly) giving me the feeling that he didn’t want this child and therefore also encouraging me in the direction of getting an abortion. I was mad at people who would have liked it if I had the child but didn’t pressure me enough.” (Anonymous message on ShoutYourAbortion.com)

Unwanted abortions are common and a phenomenon that those who proclaim themselves as “pro-choice” ought to join pro-lifers in eradicating.  The authors of the article ask the question, “Could anyone… read this woman’s lament and describe her abortion as a truly free choice?”  

Many women decide to abort their child because of pressure from others.  Citing research from 2023, the authors highlight that as many as 24% of women who had an abortion felt coerced or didn’t want it.  The article unpacks this phenomenon, making suggestions as to how to stop unwanted abortions from occurring.  Although the setting is America, much of the article is relevant to New Zealand.

Catholicism and the truth about ideology

This featured article digs into several key questions:

1. How can an ideology be used to attack?
2. What is “ideology”?
3. Is Catholicism itself an ideology?’   (Spoiler alert – Catholicism is not an ideology!)   

Given how various ideologies are promoted (or attacked) in today’s cultural wars, this short article provides helpful insights into identifying when ideology is present and when it’s not.

Women deserve to know they can reverse in-progress chemical abortions

Many pregnant mothers turning to abortion want assistance that will help them choose life, and they ought to be given every opportunity to do so, even if an abortion is already underway. Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) is one such intervention that can assist a mother in choosing life.

APR is “a regimen of progesterone, an essential hormone in gestating an unborn child, that counteracts the harmful effects of the abortion drug mifepristone. In the best-case scenario, if taken at the right time, progesterone can stop mifepristone from cutting off nutrients to the unborn child, allowing the mother to carry a healthy baby to term.”

Pro-abortion activists frequently assert that APR is unscientific and even harmful.  The evidence strongly indicates otherwise, and the fundamental issue discussed in the linked article is why the availability and effectiveness of APR are not included in the informed consent process for chemical (medical) abortions.  Given the ease of access to chemical abortion drugs and the continued growth in this method of abortion, a much greater awareness of both the availability and effectiveness of APR is essential.

Ireland’s proposed hate speech law could “censor the entire internet”

Ireland has a so-called hate speech bill before its Parliament, driven by what some critics say is “elite panic”, giving rise to attempts to stifle discourse and open conversation.  The bill includes such provisions as it being an offence to possess material that could lead to “hatred” in Ireland, although the term “hate” is left undefined.  Ireland is home to the headquarters of several social media platforms, including X and Facebook; therefore, if passed, the legislation potentially could make such media company leadership accountable to the Irish Parliament. The question is consequently raised: could the legislation have the effect of censoring the entire internet?

Letter of the Polish Bishops’ Conference on the Protection of Life

“Almighty God is the Giver of Life, which is why He is present in the conception and life of every person,” writes the Polish Conference of Bishops.

The letter to the faithful exhorts them to protect human life to the fullest extent.  The motivation for the letter is the growing political pressure to introduce legal abortion in Poland, which is one of the last developed countries in the world still providing full recognition of the humanity of the child from the moment of conception (fertilization).  The Bishops say in response to these pressures, “Every person of good will should oppose this.”   

It is a beautiful letter that we can all take to heart.  Let us pray that the faithful in Poland will indeed provide a strong and clear message to their political leaders in defence of life from the moment of conception to natural death.

Irish Bishops decry assisted suicide proposal as a ‘Failure of Hope’

Ireland is actively considering legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia, which is the recommendation in the Parliamentary Final Report of the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying. In response, Ireland’s Catholic Bishops have issued a Statement entitled “Freedom to Live Fully, Until Death Comes.”  The bishops remind the faithful and the Irish people of the perennial teachings of the Church on life and death, including that:

“[T]he deliberate taking of human life, especially by those whose vocation is to care for it, undermines a fundamental principle of civilised society, namely that no person can lawfully take the life of another.”

Let us pray that Ireland does not add to the international catastrophe with yet another example of a deadly and immoral law.

The power of story in the gender indoctrination of children

The use of stories to indoctrinate children with certain gender ideologies is both deliberate and, sadly, effective.  This article discusses a study published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, which found that stories about so-called “transgender children” can manipulate children’s beliefs about gender.  The authors of the study, who appear to be supportive of this kind of indoctrination, are quoted in the article as saying:

“[Y]oung children may have difficulty grasping transgender identities, as such identities may be perceived as conflicting with two essentialist beliefs: that gender is immutable and that gender is biologically determined,” and “Indeed, even many adults struggle with how to understand and accept transgender people.”   

FLI Comment:

We would submit that the difficulty in grasping so-called transgender identities by children and adults alike is because of the innate sense and understanding of the biological fact that men are created men and women are created women, and biology cannot be changed no matter how hard one tries to do so.

Parents, Please Turn Off Your Phones

“Who thinks their phone is more important than their kids?”  The author of this short, punchy and highly readable article asked this question in a poll at a parent workshop. No-one said yes!  Unfortunately, actual parent behaviour in most cases suggests otherwise – our example matters.  A thought-provoking wake-up call?  Read the article, and decide for yourself.

Why shouldn’t ‘examined emotions’ have a role to play in bioethics?

Language and our emotional responses matter, especially when dealing with life-and-death issues like abortion and euthanasia. This excellent article illustrates the impact of language and the importance of examining emotional responses. The author is a professor of bioethics and a teacher of future doctors.  She writes of startling concepts like “the wisdom of repugnance” and how “‘Examined emotions’ are safeguards against ‘malignant normalisation’ – unethical conduct metastasizing – spreading – and becoming seen as ethically acceptable through familiarisation.” 

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