I guess I'd call myself a pro-choice, pro-life, anti-abortion Catholic. I think I'd agree with most Catholics that abortion is not a good thing, and I think I might even go so far as to say that being opposed to abortion is part of being Catholic. Still, I can't buy the idea of attempting to eliminate abortion by passing criminal laws against it. I'd much prefer to see unwanted pregnancies eliminated by birth control - but of course, Rome has taken a stand against that, too. I suppose it's standard conservative thinking that criminal sanctions are the best way to control wrongdoing - so if abortion is wrong, we should pass a law against it and put people in prison if they break the law. It's that simple - all the talk show hosts say it's so. The current administration in the Vatican is conservative and seems to have bought into talk-show mentality, so they figure abortion should be illegal.

Mind you, people who oppose abortion don't see it as a religious issue, like Jews or Moslems eating pork. They see it as a moral issue, something that is either right or wrong for everyone, not just for adherants to a particular religious code. If politicians say they are "personally opposed to abortion" but cannot allow their religion to interfere with their government position, that's evading the issue. Many anti-abortion people equate abortion with murder - and most people would readily agree that murder is universally wrong, not just a religious prohibition. I can't bring myself to equate abortion with murder, especially in the early stages of pregnancy - but I do believe that it brings about the loss of a life or a potential life, and that, to me, is wrong. I will also agree that at times women may have valid reasons for terminating her pregnancy - but the loss of her child will still be a cause for grief for me.

I suppose you could argue the issue on when life begins, but it's not really a discussion that satisfies me. I think the question of when life begins is a philosophical one, not a scientific matter. There are two logical moments that can most reasonably be defined at the beginning of life: the moment of conception, and the moment of birth. It's hard to define birth as a momentary thing - it's more of an ongoing process. Conception, on the other hand, does happen more-or-less in a moment; but the immediate result really doesn't seem to have the essence of whatever it is that makes us human.

Of course, then you get into another philosophical question: why should we value life at all, and what's so bad about killing anyhow? Many people who oppose abortion are very self-righteous about their "right" to kill criminals and military opponents. So, maybe we'd better not get off on that question.

Once upon a time, I interviewed a doctor who was medical director of a unit of Planned Parenthood. After I finished my business, I asked if I could ask some of my personal questions about abortion, and he was very happy to talk with me. He said he performed about three or four abortions a year. He said abortion is never a cause for celebration, and that doctors don't like doing abortions. Sometimes, he was appalled by the reasons women gave for wanting abortions, or by women who had one abortion after another. Still, he found that most women had thought the matter over carefully, and had chosen abortion because they saw no reasonable alternative. Planned Parenthood tries hard to deal with the grief and the negative aspects of abortion - but it's still usually a very sad event.

Then there's another issue - even if you believe abortion is murder, will legislation stop it? I think that a criminal law is practically unenforceable if a large minority in a community (or nation) disagrees with it. We learned that lesson with Prohibition, and we learned it with abortion before Rowe v. Wade. If we enact a law the people won't support, all we do is create a criminal subculture that will continue doing what they've always done, without any legal or safety control.

It's an uncomfortable time to be a liberal in the Catholic Church. Most American and European Catholic priests are liberal or at least moderate, but the Big Guys in Rome are primarily conservative; and there is a very strong and vocal conservative minority among the laity. These people take the term "pro-choice" and automatically change it to "pro-abortion" - even for people like me who oppose both abortion and criminal prohibition of abortion. On the other hand, they very religiously call themselves "pro-life" even though they are vey obviously "anti-abortion." They've taken out full-page newspaper ads labeling various Catholic politicians "pro-abortion" without even giving substantiating information - and then they condemn these politicians for attending Mass and receiving Communion.

The Mass and Communion are a very sacred part of my religious belief, and I hate to see them made into a political football. I think THAT's appalling.

Another thing that really bugs me is that in the United States, the right-wing interests have taken ownership of the "pro-life" movement, making it impossible for people to effectively oppose abortion without buying into the the entire right-wing agenda. I can't bring myself to support Bush's Iraq fiasco, his destruction of environmental programs, his support of capital punishment, or his failure to support social and anti-poverty programs.

I do wish John Kerry would say something that indicates at least some opposition to abortion. I thought Bill Clinton was quite eloquent when he said abortion should be "safe, legal, and RARE." I wish Kerry would at least buy into a position like that.

I think it's worthwhile for us all to look at this issue from all perspectives. It's not just a religious issue, and those who oppose abortion certainly have many valid reasons for calling it wrong. It may well be the only alternative for certain women in certain situations, but it is never a decision to be made lightly. The whole thing is a very difficult issue.

But as for receiving Communion, I certainly hope that Kerry continues to do it, and that priests don't turn him away. I'm sure it won't be hard for him to find priests who will welcome him to Mass - but I think he would be wise to avoid making an issue of it, and he should avoid attending Mass in a church where he's likely to be turned away.

Catholics and non-Catholics sometimes tell me that if I think the way I do, I should find myself another church.* I don't buy that. The Catholic Church is MY church, as much mine as it is the Pope's. I don't care to let the right-wingers take over my church, and I'll keep fighting to keep it open to everyone.

-Joe Offer-

*I have never heard a priest or bishop suggest I should leave - it's just right-wing extremists who don't think I'm qualified to be Catholic, along with outsiders who view the entire Catholic Church as monolitically right-wing.