Reply #129: I am pro-choice because of my religious beliefs.

[The White Tree]

Not that my church supports what I believe but here is it:

This a a LTTE I sent (never published) to the NYTimes on 10/22 regarding this issue.

As a Catholic, I agree with Charles Chaput, Catholics have an obligation to work for the common good and the dignity of every person. However, that obligation can take many forms. Giving to charities that feed the poor saves lives, helping those in need may restore dignity. But no Catholic is obligated to have to save every single life in the world.

Catholics are also taught to judge not, lest we be judged. To assume that women who get abortions are criminals worthy of harsh judgment and punishment, I think, over steps our bounds. For Catholics to judge any women for her choice is wrong. To force women to do what we as Catholics want is wrong. We can persuade, we can hope, we can help, but we cannot force our will on another. That goes against our faith.

It’s discouraging that an archbishop of my faith doesn’t understand this.(end of letter).

It is for this reason that I remain resolutely pro-choice. If my wife got pregnant and the doctor said, after she had gotten pregnant, that she could die by having the baby, I would hope that I could respect her choice in whatever action was taken. And believe me that is not an easy decision because I love my wife more then anything and I am almost positive that her choice would be to have the baby and risk death. I don't know if that'd be my choice. Either way I would not judge her. If I won't judge my wife in this way, then how can I judge any other woman in that way.

However, that doesn't mean I like the thought of a million abortions a year. The middle ground then is that we have to all focus on the issue of stopping unwanted pregnancies through education, all education including abstinence, and support as part of a strategy to prevent abortions. I think that is where the Democratic platform should go on this.

After all the pro-life platform as I understand it is really untenable - making abortion illegal will not stop abortions from occurring. Anyone who believes that is seriously deluded. So if the best case scenario is to reduce them, then we should work to do what works best to reduce them and that has strongly been proven to be education and increased economic opportunity for the lower class. The middle ground is to find a way to allow a persons faith to enter into that. As John Kerry said - a womans choice is between her, her doctor and her God.

Sorry for the long post. This is something I really struggle with. Hope this is useful to you.