Now why can't Canadian Bishops write something like this?
Open letter from the Cardinals of England and Wales and Scotland calls for a change of minds and hearts on abortion
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If the pregnancy is unwanted it can be easier to argue that it is somehow in the interests of the child not to be born because the child will not be welcomed.
At times, the life of the child is seen as an unnecessary limitation on the mother and the father. The child’s life is placed in opposition to theirs.
When this happens abortion can be portrayed as the lesser of two evils which removes an obstacle to the “success” of the parents’ lives.
Yet life, especially new life, is ultimately never a deprivation. It is a gift that always enriches; a promise filled with hope. We should never let ourselves be persuaded otherwise.
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Developmental biology makes increasingly clear the beautiful and intricate processes of continuous development and growth of the single unique organism which is formed at conception. That is when our lives started.
From that point on, there is a new human life which is neither the life of the father nor the mother. In 2007 we understand better than ever before, because we have seen it with our own eyes, the wonderful process of life that is brought to an end by abortion.
The 1967 Act was intended to solve the problem of illegal abortion, on the basis that it was a major cause of death in pregnant women. Yet our countries now perform nearly 200,000 abortions every year.
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The Catholic Church throughout the world has been constant in its opposition to abortion as morally wrong, and has been determined to give voice to the silent cry for love and recognition that belongs to every human life.
The Church has for many years in our countries been at the forefront of offering practical, emotional and spiritual care to women and babies in need. It has sought, too, to help the many women, and men, who suffer grief, pain and loss following an abortion experience.
