Letter to the Editor: Let’s partner with pregnancy resource centers that provide life-affirming alternatives

The third annual Quincy 40 Days for Life prayer vigil is taking place during Lent. I am among those praying. No doubt, thousands of passers-by have seen us nearly every day.

This year we join with volunteers at 660 peaceful local campaigns in 64 nations. The number of campaigns has continued to grow since launching in 2007. Our purpose is to raise awareness that more than 60 percent of abortions are now drug-induced abortions, and that several of the pharmacies have received or are in the process of receiving certification to supply and sell the two-pill abortion regimen.

Our purpose, too, is to help bolster the resolve of other pro-lifers who see us. First and foremost, we are out on Broadway near 18th Street to pray that those who favor abortion, a practice that unjustly takes the life of a defenseless human being, have a change of heart and mind.

As I stand there meditating with my “Pray to End Abortion” sign, I’ve had time to reflect on why so many people are supportive of an act that kills an unborn very small human being.

1. There are those for whom it is financially profitable — those who perform the act, run the businesses that perform the act or dispense the pills that cause the deaths.

2. There are those for whom abortion provides a convenient way to eliminate an undesirable situation — those whose lives would be disrupted by having a baby — less freedom, more expenses more responsibilities, future plans put on hold. They may feel desperate and without hope. Within this group are people who wish to live lives with less accountability — sex without accepting the responsibility if a new life were to be conceived.

3. There are those who promote (demand) abortion as a right “over one’s own body.” However, the preborn baby is his/her own person with a unique set of DNA. Autonomy over one’s own body does not mean autonomy over another person’s body.

4. There are those who cite pregnancies due to rape or incest as reasons to justify all abortions. Having an abortion will not remove rape; it adds to the pain. As heinous as these acts are, human dignity is not defined by the circumstances of conception. This pre-born baby deserves to live.

5. There are those who think they are helping others by insisting that abortion be available to eliminate the others’ “problem” pregnancies. Those problems pale in comparison to the reality of killing one’s own preborn baby. Bottom line: this unborn baby is as much a human being as any of us, with only his/her size, level of development, environment and degree of dependency different from ours.

Legality is not the same as morality. Abortion’s availability does not necessitate that it be made use of. A much more humane response to a pregnancy would be to provide as much assistance as possible to both the mother and to her preborn baby.

Let’s all work together to make abortion rare. Let’s promote abstinence and more chaste lifestyles. Let’s support women during their pregnancies and after childbirth. Let’s partner with pregnancy resource centers as they provide life-affirming alternatives that respect the dignity of the mother and her unborn child. 

Jane Haas
Quincy, Illinois