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  • Title: Roe v. Wade. Reality check.
    Author: Segers MC.
    Journal: Conscience; 1998; 18(4):37-8. PubMed ID: 12178890.
    Abstract:
    For US Catholics, abortion, as predicted in 1968 by Robert Drinan, has become a public policy question that places the church in the position of "sinning by the use of its prestige and power against the sincerely held convictions of non-Catholics and non-believers, or as a group which failed by silence to speak up when misguided men and women changed the law to permit the extermination of undesirable and unwanted human beings." During the 25 years since the Roe vs. Wade decision, Catholics for a Free Choice has made a sustained effort to respond to this dilemma by providing an alternative view within the church and larger society. Abortion should remain legal to protect the desperate women who would otherwise resort to unsafe abortion. Also, the tradition of Catholic legal realism dating from Thomas Aquinas notes that good lawmaking requires the possibility of compliance and enforceability. If antiabortion laws are not enforced, are not obeyed, and are subject to widespread noncompliance, they are not sound law. Because the morality of abortion remains questionable, society should use noncoercive measures to reduce its incidence. Catholic moral teaching and Catholic views on social justice could make a positive contribution in this regard. Abortion has been a central issue for Roman Catholic political participation in the past 25 years as the National Conference of Catholic Bishops has attempted to reverse the Roe decision. During this time, Catholics for a Free Choice has provided an important alternative forum.
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