Causes and reasons for an Abortion

            Among several homicides a year, quite a few snowstorms a year, and numerous environmental catastrophes a year, abortion is one of Canada’s greatest catastrophes that measures past the unimaginable magnitude of any form of injustice. An abortion is a medical term that refers to ending a pregnancy through a procedure that kills the unborn baby in a pregnant woman’s womb. Abortion has emotionally ripped apart thousands of women, and has massacred thousands and millions of unborn babies. In fact, every twenty-three seconds, a child dies without ever seeing the light of day. However, seeing this harmful side, who then in the right mind would kill their own unborn baby? This is especially shocking for women to be doing as they create a special bond with their babies through a pregnancy and are supposed to love their babies unconditionally. Well, whether women want to kill their own baby or not, some usually have no choice according to the women. This is because of many contributing factors that are related to money and financing. They are as follows.  

Influence from others or circumstance             

                In a survey that was conducted, seventy percent of women that chose to abort their baby believed that it was immoral to do. The reason many of these woman who believed abortion was immoral got an abortion was because they were pressured from many people and were pressured by circumstance. The truth is, hundreds and even thousands of woman every year get unwanted abortions in order to please someone else or because they are being pressured by someone. In an additional survey, eighty percent of the women that had gotten an abortion and are experiencing post-abortion problems stated that “they would have carried their child to term if they had more support from friends and family.” This shows how much influence others have on pregnant girls and how much they pressure a girl to get an abortion. For example, in the online document, one woman stated that her family did not agree with her decision as they did not support her decision to keep her baby. She mentioned that her significant other would not support her emotionally or financially and that all the people she cared about told her to abort the baby. The pregnant girl ended her statement by stating that “I was scared to not do it because of how my family and boyfriend felt. I’m so angry at myself for giving into the pressure of others.” Unfortunately, this woman is no longer alive as the emotional pain of the abortion caused her to attempt suicide shortly after the abortion. This shows how much pressure the girl got to get an abortion, which ultimately forced her to get one and do something she did not want to do, which emotionally and morally destroyed her, and eventually led to her tragic suicide. In conclusion, tons of women every year get abortions they do not want or feel comfortable with. The majority of these woman have mentioned that they have gotten these unnecessary abortions to satisfy someone or because they have been forced or coerced to get one by their sexual partners, parents, social workers, counselors, employers, or school administrators.  The people that were just mentioned above all influence a girl tremendously in their decision to get an abortion. The amount of influence each person has on the girl depends on the girl’s age and how close the girl’s relationship is with that person. For example, many women have stated that a boyfriend or parent has threatened to throw them out onto to the street if they failed to comply, and refused to get an abortion. Some have said that a boss had given them an employment ultimatum if they did not get an abortion which seriously pressured some girls to get one. Also, some girls, as mentioned at a source, were afraid of being social outcasts in high school and having a certain reputation which would make them feel ashamed. These girls stated that they were forced and pressured by circumstance to get an abortion against their will. Lastly, in a survey that consisted of 252 post-abortive women, more than fifty percent of the women said they felt “forced” and “influenced” by others to get an abortion.

Personal Reasons
             A vast majority of woman (over 90%) want abortions for personal reasons. These personal reasons can be broken down into several sub-reasons. Firstly, 21% of women believe that they are not financially or economically well enough and are afraid that they won’t be able to afford to look after a baby which prompts them to get an abortion. Another 21% of women do not feel that they are ready or fit for the responsibility of raising a child and decide to get an abortion to take this burden off their shoulders. 16% of women feel that their life would be altered too much by the birth of a baby. This is because many women are looking to further their education or career, indicating that they have plans for the future, which does not allow time for them to raise a child at the present moment. Some women in this position say they are looking after an elderly parent, which again does not allow them any time to bring up a baby at the current moment. 12% of females get an abortion because they feel that their relationship with their partner is in difficulty or danger. These women are afraid of losing their partner by telling him they are pregnant, and decide to get an abortion in order to avoid anymore tension from being placed on the relationship. 11% of teenage girls choose abortions because they do not want to be tormented at school and be called inappropriate names for becoming pregnant. So, to avoid any harassment, these girls choose abortions and they kill their own baby. In addition, many of these pregnant teenagers choose abortions because they feel as if they are too young and are not fit to be mothers. These girls believe they will not be able to raise the baby effectively and efficiently, and decide to kill the baby impulsively with an abortion, without even giving birth first and trying to see if they could make it work (Raising the baby themselves). Lastly, 8% of pregnant women choose to get an abortion for the personal reason that their children are all grown up, and they do not want to raise another child so late in their marriage, or because they feel they have all the kids they want. I find this reason to be very stupid because when a woman gets married in a Church, they agree to welcome all children in their life no matter what the circumstances are. After conducting a survey at school, I found out that 85% of the grade 10 students I surveyed believe life begins at the moment of conception. However, despite this high number, almost 42% of them agreed with abortion as the best option to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy. I believe that this number is so high because many of them think that this is the only way to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy, and do not know any solutions other than abortion, so they become pro-abortion. This is I think another reason why pregnant girls get abortions because they think that they have no other options, other than abortion. Many of these personal reasons in which women get abortions for are fueled and influenced by other factors, as influence alone is one of the reasons for a woman getting an abortion. These influences or sparks of abortion include pressure from a girl’s parents to have an abortion, the woman feels that she lacks the emotional and physical strength to go through another pregnancy and raise a child; the woman believes that raising an additional child would short-change her existing children, the woman is a student and/or without a partner and feels that raising a child would be too difficult and disruptive for her life, and the woman doesn’t want other people to know that she has become pregnant. In addition, some women’s personal reasons are sparked by physical abuse from a parent learning of their pregnancy, or by being tossed out onto the street if the woman’s parents learn of her pregnancy.   

Medical Reasons
            About 6% of women get abortions because the women or the fetus has a medical problem. Some women who seek abortions for this reason get them because their fetus might have been exposed to some kind of alcohol or drugs, which may cause the fetus to be genetically damaged, thus, leading women to get abortions so they do not have to raise a child like that. Furthermore, the fetus may have a birth or genetic defect, or any kind of health problem which causes many women to contemplate abortion. Most partners who find out their child will be born with “Down’s Syndrome” or an identical defect choose to have an abortion. Some teenage girls who become pregnant choose an abortion, as pregnancies at a very young age are dangerous and the teenage girl is scared. Next, some women may develop eclampsia during the pregnancy. This involves a sudden increase in blood pressure, and an onset of seizures. The results can be fatal to both the woman and the fetus. This used to be called “toxemia of pregnancy”. If this happens, most women terminate their pregnancies (abortion) to save their own life, which ultimately kills their baby. The last medical reason for which women choose to get abortions for is because they might be having a multiple pregnancy. This is a pregnancy in which the woman is giving birth to not one, but three, four, or even five children. Due to this, some or all the fetuses will end up with various long-term health problems when they are born, or some will not even survive the birth at all. Thus, a woman gets an abortion in order to kill a few of the fetuses in her womb, so the remaining fetuses will be born normally without any health problems.     

Abusive Sexual Acts
             1% of women get an abortion because conception occurred due to an abusive sexual act. This reason to get an abortion is the least common among women, but several women get an abortion for this reason. These women choose to get an abortion because conception has occurred after a rape or an incestuous relationship, and the woman does not want to raise a child conceived this way. The fact that the pregnancy occurred from a rape, for example, indicates violence to some women, and some women do not want to bring into the world a baby that was conceived this way.  

Methods of Abortion

             Abortions can happen in many places, they can happen in hygienic hospitals through controlled medical treatments, or in unhygienic environments through illegal (back-street) and homemade procedures which tend to be unsafe. However, many controlled abortions tend to be more expensive which is why some women turn their heads and choose the illegal “backstreet” procedures instead, which are done in unsafe and unhygienic environments.  

Illegal abortion methods

            Many illegal abortions are carried out using ancient surgical methods. Some of these primitive and dangerous surgical methods include injecting poisonous solutions into the womb of a woman, or inserting objects intended to dislodge the fetus. These methods not only kill the baby, but they also harm the woman who is getting the abortion. These kinds of abortions are referred to as “backstreet abortions” because they are often done by someone with no surgical training, and in an unhygienic and badly-conditioned environment that is of great secrecy.    

Medical abortion methods in controlled environments

            So, what other methods are there for an abortion? For one, an abortion can happen naturally through a miscarriage. This method cannot be carried out by a doctor and can happen to any pregnancy at any given time. However, an abortion can also happen through multiple abortion procedures that are chosen relative to the stage that the pregnancy is in, that include surgical or medicinal methods. In a pregnancy of about nine weeks, drugs are used which differ from country to country, but the most common ones used in Canada are methotrexate and misoprostol. This is considered a medicinal procedure or abortion method. The methotrexate drug stops the embryo’s cells from dividing which prevents further development. After, Misoprostol is then inserted into the vagina which causes the womb to contract. This, in turn, expels the embryo from the womb within a week which causes a woman to experience cramping and bleeding. Other medicinal abortion methods include labor induction methods, saline abortion, urea, and prostaglandins. Another method considered to be a medicinal method of abortion is using emergency contraceptives. The emergency pill is used by women as an emergency contraceptive. This method is a series of pills that women take and is a method that is used after intercourse. This method acts to either delay the release of an egg from the ovaries, or to prevent the implantation of the fertilized egg. This method has caused a lot of controversy and is considered to be a method of abortion, because its effect occurs after fertilization which therefore kills the embryo/baby.  

Surgical abortion methods in controlled environments

            Along with several medicinal abortion methods, many women turn to surgical methods in order to terminate their pregnancy and kill their unborn baby. One of the most common surgical methods is called suction aspiration (surgical aspiration, vacuum abortion, suction dilation and curettage (D&C)). This method is used approximately for 90% of all abortions in Canada and is generally used between six and fourteen weeks of a pregnancy. Suction curettage (suction aspiration) can be done under general anesthesia, but it is usually done in a clinic with local anesthesia injected into the cervix of a woman to control pain. In this method, the cervix is forcefully opened with a compressed seaweed preparation called laminaria. Sometimes, prostaglandin misoprostol is used to soften the cervix and make it easier to expand, instead of using “compressed seaweed preparation”. After the cervix is dilated, a hollow plastic tube is inserted into the uterus through the cervix and attached to a suction machine. The suction machine is then turned on and tears the fetus into small parts, which are sucked through the tube into a collection bottle. Frequently, a sharp loop-shaped knife called a curette is then put into the uterus to release any remaining tissue so that it can be suctioned out.  When the suctioning is completed, the physician conducting the abortion must observe the fetal parts and tissue in the bottle to see if the abortion is fully finished and the baby is dead. The next method is used by less than 1% of Canadian women who get an abortion and is called menstrual aspiration. This method is very similar to suction aspiration; however, menstrual aspiration refers to an early abortion from three to ten weeks after conception, and uses a syringe for suction not a suction machine. In this method, a thin hollow tube is inserted into the slightly opened cervix. The tube is than attached to a large syringe and the embryo is suctioned out. Other surgical abortion methods that take place in Canada are dilation and evacuation, dilation and extraction, and hysterotomy and hysterectomy (caesarean delivery as an abortion method).  

           

The beginning of Life

              In a debate involving abortion, there are many points that are brought up, however, one of the central issues in this debate is “when does life begin?” The main aspects of this question are whether life begins at the moment of conception, or when a baby is born in order to classify abortion as murder or not. In our hectic society, there are several opinions about when life begins. Many societies and organizations around the world believe that life begins at the moment of fertilization/conception, while others have the belief that life begins when the baby has been born. Moreover, there are groups of people that believe life begins in a stage that occurs between the two major stages stated above. Some of these groups believe that life begins when the baby first moves in the womb of the woman, while some believe it begins when a fetus has the ability to survive outside the mother’s womb. What is stated above is what the majority of people in a secular world believe the beginning of life is. Religion, nonetheless, says something different than what most people in our society believe to be the beginning of life. The Roman Catholic Church believes that life begins at the moment of conception which is when a woman’s egg is fertilized by a man’s sperm. Buddhism, like Catholicism, states that human life starts at the moment of conception, just like in Hinduism which it is stated that the soul enters the womb at the time of conception. Judaism clearly states that life begins not at the moment of conception, but at the moment of birth, while in Islam teachings, it is taught that a soul enters the fetus at 120 days, not at the moment of conception. As mentioned above, different people in our society and the various religions in our world have different teachings and opinions about when life begins, which is why this debate will probably never be settled. However, one thing that all religions can agree on is that abortion is wrong and should be forbidden.   

               

The Effects and Dangers of an Abortion

             An abortion is a medical term that refers to ending a pregnancy through a procedure that kills the unborn baby in a pregnant woman’s womb. Many women, annually, choose an abortion to terminate their pregnancy in order to prevent them from raising an unwanted child.  Abortions that are done legally are usually very safe as they are done by trained medical staff in hygienic surroundings, unlike “backstreet” abortions. However, even legal abortions that are done safely by trained professionals allow for many minor complications to occur in women after the abortion. Some women have stated that they had bled for the first month after the abortion, while some had gotten infections after the abortion which had to be treated with antibiotics. If these minor complications are not treated right away, they could become very serious and dangerous, especially ones involving infections.

Short-term health risks/effects

            There are many short-term health effects for women that get abortions. Firstly, a woman may experience acute hematometra. Acute hematometra occurs when the uterus fills with blood and blood clots, generally as a result of retained tissue after an abortion. Symptoms usually occur within an hour of the abortion, and include increasing lower abdominal cramping and an enlarged, tender uterus. Secondly, a woman can experience endometritis as a short-term health risk after an abortion. Endometritis is an infection of the uterine lining and is usually associated with preserved tissue. Endometritis can lead to toxic shock syndrome, which can be fatal. Next, a woman who has an abortion can be a victim of hemorrhaging. Hemorrhaging, or heavy bleeding, is one of the most common short-term health effects of abortion. Hemorrhaging is associated mostly with medical abortion and may be the result of incomplete abortion, or failure of the uterus to contract again following the abortion. Other short-term health risks/effects include uterine perforation and lacerations, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), cervical lacerations and injury, gastro-intestinal disturbances (nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea), convulsions, saline poisoning (salt poisoning, hypernatremia), uterine rupture, embolism, anesthetic reactions, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and morality.  

Long-term health risks/effects         

            Along with the minor and short-term health complications listed above, there are also several serious and long-term complications/effects that may occur in women after they have abortions. These risks usually increase depending on the number of abortions that a woman has had. One of the most serious dangers and effects associated with abortion is cancer. Women that have had abortions have twice the chance of getting breast cancer and have an increased chance of getting cervical, ovarian, and liver cancer. This is likely due to the disruption in natural hormonal changes that occur with pregnancies. Next, a woman that has had an abortion may have problems in future pregnancies. This results in an increased chance of pre-mature births in future pregnancies which is not good for babies. Provoked abortion has been found to increase pre-term birth (before 33 weeks after conception) and early pre-term birth (20-30 weeks after gestation) in future pregnancies. The risk increases with more abortions. Abortion can cause cervical damages that result in a useless cervix, which is a risk factor for pre-term birth. Furthermore, abortion frequently leads to cervical or uterine damage that can result in handicaps in a girl’s future infants. Also, an abortion procedure can damage a woman’s reproductive organs which can cause her to become sterile and infertile, thus, preventing her from having children in the future. Lastly, another long-term health risk/danger associated with abortion is death. This is a very rare risk as there is a death rate of one in every 100, 000- 200,000 procedures; however, it does sometimes occur and is usually because of hemorrhaging, infections, embolism, and complications from the administration of anesthesia during an abortion. This is one of the most fatal effects and dangers of an abortion, but it is also the one least likely to occur.   

Psychological health risks/effects  

            In addition, women who have had abortions and have experienced that procedure also experience several psychological effects that are not very pretty. Firstly, women who take part in abortions show higher levels of generalized anxiety when they are compared to women, who have carried a baby to term and have given birth to it. Anxiety is never healthy is not something anyone should be experiencing. Secondly, several women that go through with abortions are more likely to score in the high-risk range for clinical depression, than women who carried their babies to term. Around 20% of post-abortive women undergo some form of mild-depression, while around 10% of post-abortive women will experience persistent depression. Another psychological effect of an abortion is drug abuse. Women that experience abortions have been associated with an increased rate of substance abuse, especially young women. Young women who have aborted a child have a significantly high rate of drug dependence than young women who have never been pregnant, and pregnant young women who have given birth and carried to term. Next, a woman that has had an abortion may be subjected to post-traumatic stress disorder. Approximately one out of ten people are affected by this disorder and this disorder is usually caused by a “psychologically traumatic event,” such as seeing another person being killed. Symptoms of this disorder can be classified in three different categories. The first one involves re-living the event again in your head, the second one involves avoidance and emotional freezing, and the third category involves changes in sleeping patterns and increased alertness. One study found that at least 19% of women who have experienced an abortion have suffered from “post-traumatic stress disorder.” Moreover, women who have undergone an abortion can experience “loss of pleasure from intercourse, increased pain, hatred to sex and/or males in general, or the development of an immoral life-style. Finally, women who have experienced an abortion have an increased chance of suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts. This is due to the fact that there are several mixed emotions associated with an abortion procedure that traumatize most women. Lastly, as with any death, the killer or in this case the woman that had the abortion suffers from the psychological effects of guilt. Women who have abortions usually feel guilty for killing their baby and their guilty conscience often drives them to insanity and usually suicide.  

           

Solutions to prevent Abortion

            Abortion is an issue that is on the rise; however, whether you choose to believe so, it is something that most women who do actually get abortions believe is unethical and wrong. So, what can we do to reduce the number of girls who get abortions?   

Prevent unwanted pregnancies from occurring  

            Firstly, we can make sure that the pregnancies do not happen in the first place. An abortion can only occur if a pregnancy occurs, so if the number of pregnancies is minimized, the number of abortions will also be minimized. Ways this can be done is by encouraging girls more frequently to participate in abstinence and to refrain from having sex, which will prevent them from becoming unwillingly pregnant and possibly having an abortion later. Also, we can dedicate more PSAs on television to abortion in order to clearly outline the dangers of abortion. This way, ignorant women can be educated about the dangers of abortion and the physical and emotional price that they have to experience after undergoing an abortion. Women, by having this knowledge, can make a decision about having sex with others which can possibly result in an unwanted pregnancy, and can decide if it is worth it or not. What I mean is, they can decide whether they will take the chance of having sex and getting unwittingly pregnant and possibly getting an abortion afterwards, which has numerous negative side effects. With this abortion knowledge, a woman can truly make a conscience decision about whether she will do anything sex-related that may result in her getting an abortion afterwards.   

Encouraging women to be responsible during their pregnancy     

            Secondly, we can prevent abortions by encouraging women who are pregnant to be more active and responsible during their pregnancy. A responsible woman during a pregnancy would go to get their baby checked more frequently at the hospital. This can prevent abortion because as mentioned above, many women get abortions because they find out that their baby will be born with genetic defects. However, if the woman was more responsible and visited a doctor more often during their pregnancy, they may be able to catch some sort of illness/birth defect their baby has at an early stage so that way, the baby could possibly be cured before it is born and abortion would not be necessary. Along with that, women should be encouraged to behave responsibly during their pregnancy so they do not drink or smoke during their pregnancy, so their baby does not become ill or get a defect which is something most women get abortions for. Also, women should be educated more about how to maintain a healthy pregnancy so they know that they should not drink or do drugs during the pregnancy, as they harm babies and give them defects, which prompt women to get abortions when this happens. As mentioned above, this can be accomplished by providing more PSAs (Public Service Announcements) in the media involving healthy pregnancies, so women gain that extra knowledge when it comes to pregnancies. This, ultimately, would prevent abortions as well and is a solution to prevent abortions.  

Adoption

            Lastly, we can prevent abortions from occurring by showing women who are contemplating abortion that they have options. This is because many women choose abortions because they believe they are not financially well enough to support a baby, or because they are too young to nurture one. However, this should not push women to get abortions as this is a problem that can easily be solved. If a woman is having these concerns, she can wait until the baby is born and then can put it up for adoption as there are many families who would be willing to provide for the baby if she cannot. This can be achieved through many organizations that specialize in taking in a girl’s baby and putting it up for adoption. This method of adoption is another way we can prevent girls from getting abortions and killing an innocent baby. This solution is one that is very heart-breaking for girls to do, but it is better than a girl getting an abortion and killing their baby. This is because this solution ensures that their baby will be raised right and will be provided for, instead of being killed through an abortion. Although both abortion and adoption will cause a girl to have guilty feelings, they will be much less severe with adoption because the girl will know that her baby was not killed by her, and is alive and well even though it is not living with her. These solutions show us that all the reasons as to why girls get abortions are stupid, they can be prevented by these solutions, and that abortion is not the number one thing for a girl who has an unwanted pregnancy to get.

           

The Catholic Church’s teachings on Abortion

             The Catholic Church is very clear on its view on abortion as the Church is anti-abortion, and does not believe in abortion at all for several reasons. As mentioned above, many groups of people and religions have different perceptions and beliefs about when life begins. However, the Catholic Church is very clear and concise about when life begins and why abortion should be forbidden. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life (CCC#2270).” This shows that the Church is anti-abortion as it believes that life begins at the moment of conception and at that point, a unique life that is created sacred by God begins and deserves the same value, rights, and protection that are granted to an infant, child, or adult. So, due to this, the Church does not believe in abortion as the life of the baby begins at conception and the religion states that all humans are sacred from the point of conception, and should therefore be protected and respected, not aborted/killed. The fact that life begins at the moment of conception, according to the Catholic Church beliefs, means that when a women decides to get an abortion, she is really killing a baby, not getting rid of an unwanted pregnancy. Also, the Church is anti-abortion because aborting a child would cause the woman to sin as they would be killing another person (the unborn baby), as the baby becomes human at the moment of conception.  

           

             This is forbidden in Catholicism due to the fact that it is clearly written in the Fifth Commandment, “You shall not kill.” So, this shows that abortion is not an option for Catholics as the woman would be breaking the fifth commandment which would result in her sinning and killing another living human. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states “Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being (CCC#2274).” This means that a woman has no right to get an abortion and kill their baby as the baby whether it is born or not, is a human and has to be protected and defended, not killed. By getting an abortion, a woman is not only breaking the Fifth Commandment and killing/murdering another human being (their unborn baby), but they are also going against the Catechism of the Catholic Church and are not trying their best to care for their embryo and to protect it. A woman aborting a child would also be disrespecting God as he made all humans special and sacred and because his spirit lives in them, no matter how small that human is. This is because we as Catholics are temples of the Holy Spirit which means we are the bodies of God. So when we do something to harm ourselves, we are also harming God who lives inside of us. This is the same when a woman harms a baby through abortion as they are harming the baby and God, whose spirit lives inside the aborted baby. Furthermore, abortion goes against what the Church teaches and the Church is against it as humans are sacred and special from the moment of conception. They are special and sacred as they were created by God uniquely. So by a woman getting an abortion and killing her baby, she is mocking God’s work and basically saying that the unborn baby is not sacred. This is not true as it was created by God and is sacred, but through an abortion, an unborn human loses their sacredness as they die, which mocks God’s work and goes against Catholicism. This is seen in the Bible where it is stated that, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” More evidence that abortion is immoral, but most of all murder is seen in the Catechism of the Catholic Church which states “Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,"⁷⁷ "by the very commission of the offense,"⁷⁸ and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.⁷⁹ The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society (CCC#2272).”  

            The last three reasons as to why abortion is not permitted by the Catholic Church is because we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we are to apply the “Golden Rule” (do onto others as you would to yourselves) in our lives daily, and because we are called to apply the preferential of the poor in our lives. This means that we are to love all others including unborn babies as much as we love ourselves, and we should not harm them through abortion for example. We should apply the “Golden Rule” in our lives daily and treat others as we want to be treated. This shows just how immoral and wrong abortion is as I’m sure no one wants to be put to death. Lastly, as Catholics, we should put others before ourselves and be advocates of the preferential option for the poor. This includes us loving the poor (unborn babies) just as Jesus loved everyone, putting the needs of the poor (unborn babies) ahead of our own and not murdering them through abortion, and helping or defending those who cannot help or defend themselves (unborn babies). Finally, the only time in which abortion is allowed in Catholicism is in extreme cases. Abortion is only allowed by the Catholic Church in cases in which the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother and abortion is the only way to save the mother’s life. To sum it up, the Catholic Church is anti-abortion because humans are sacred from the moment of conception and are to be respected and protected from that point on. Aborting an unborn baby, however, results in killing/murdering it which goes against the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Fifth Commandment, the Beatitudes, the “Golden Rule,” God, the preferential option for the poor, and basically Catholicism. This is what the Catholic Church teaches about abortion and is why they do not believe in abortion and are anti-abortion.

        

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