Unborn children
John Kleinsman
For many years a bill board stood on State Highway 1 just north of Paraparaumu with the simple but profound message: ‘Abortion stops a beating heart’. This phrase cuts right to the heart of the issue and challenges all those inclined to frame the abortion debate exclusively in terms of adult ‘choice’.
In their 2014 election statement the Bishops highlight the Catholic principle of protecting the most vulnerable. The unborn remain amongst the most vulnerable in our society. Ironically, in the last 20 years they have become even more vulnerable because of prenatal-testing technology. The availability of prenatal testing has led to some commentators referring to early pregnancy as ‘tentative pregnancy’, and the
re-emergence of the eugenics thinking of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
It is somewhat encouraging the number of abortions in New Zealand has decreased from 18,382 in 2007 to 14,073 in 2013. However, the fact we still lose the equivalent of a large class-room of children every day puts recent gains into perspective.
It is of great concern there now is a concerted move by many, including the Green Party, to make abortion more easily available in New Zealand. Given both opponents and supporters of abortion agree the present numbers are far too high, it makes no sense to introduce policies that will lead to an increase in numbers again. That alone makes abortion a serious and important matter for the upcoming election.
Taking this issue into account in deciding who to vote for is an important step – but just the first step. The harder step in the name of protecting the vulnerable is to make our families, parishes, secondary schools and communities more supportive for women and their partners who find themselves facing an unexpected pregnancy. This requires us to vote for MPs and parties who will advocate for welfare and employment policies that protect mothers and the children who depend on them.
It also demands of us to look at our own personal involvements in building a positive culture of life. As Pope Francis recently noted, it is too often the case: ‘We have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish’; especially in situations of poverty.
John Kleinsman is the Director of the Nathaniel Centre and lectures for the Catholic Institute of Aoteroa
New Zealand.