I wish we heard more Sconnie priests talk like this

We hear in the Sacred Scriptures:

"Can a mother forget her infant, [or]
be without tenderness for the child in her womb?" (Is. 15)

Unfortunately, many expectant mothers in our culture have been tricked into thinking thoughts such as 'it is just a clump of cells,' or 'it is only a potential human being'!

Abortion in the United States of America

At last count, 53.5 million direct abortions have taken place in this nation since 1973. That's an average of around 1.4 million a year!

Statistics show that 20% of all pregnancies that take place in this nation are terminated by direct abortion. For Hispanics, the rate is 41%. For African-Americans, the numbers are even worse: for every 1,000 African-American live births in New York there are 1,489 abortions. [2]

The culture of death is supported by all sorts of organizations. For instance, in 2008, Planned Parenthood alone made 324,008 abortion referrals compared to a mere 2,405 adoption referrals. [3]

Abortion in Human History

The practice of abortion did not begin with modern medicine, but had various forms throughout recorded history. In many ancient cultures, there was a sense that abortion violated the sacred and brought about divine punishment. [4]

Ancient Rome in the First Century A.D.

Unfortunately, not all ancient cultures took such a strong stand against abortion. For example, in the 1st century of the Christian era, the Roman Empire legalized contraception, abortion and infanticide.

According to Fr John Hardon, S.J., after a baby was born, it had to be inspected by the father of the family. If the father approved, the child remained alive. We note that every bed next to where the child was born had to have, by Roman law, a large container of water into which the child was to be drowned if the father did not want it. And, just for the record, most baby girls were drowned. [5]

Link between Abortion and Contraception

Fr John Hardon conducted a study of the link between abortion and contraception. He studied societies as far back as 3,000 years before the time of Christ. He found, without exception, that every society that used contraceptives also aborted babies! Throughout recorded human history, there has never been a contraceptive society which has not been an abortive society.

The link between abortion and contraception is obvious. Contraceptives, which are aimed at preventing the advent of new life, often fail. When they fail, people often resort to direct abortion. Statistics show that over 50 % of all surgical abortions take place due to failed contraception.

Let us be clear. If we really desire the end of abortion in this country, we have to get to one of the main causes of the problem. That is, we need to stop using contraceptives.

Read the rest at Renew America

Fr Joseph Redfern serves in the Diocese of La Crosse.