Here is a copy of a letter from the South
African Catholic Bishops Conference. It was emailed to the members of its mailing list today. If you are not yet a
member of the mailing list of the SACBC, go to their website here and sign up as a member.
Abortion
on demand was legalized in South Africa
Fifteen
years have passed since abortion on demand was legalized in South Africa. Since
then it is estimated that over one million unborn children were denied the most
fundamental of rights, the right to life. We remember those one million babies.
Those aborted fifteen years ago would now be in grade 9 or 10, bringing joy to
their families and planning their own futures. Those whose lives were
‘terminated’ ten years ago would now be playing on the streets of our towns and
villages in the evenings and singing and praying with us in our churches on
Sunday. We regret that those children of God were denied the right to be born
into God’s world and to enrich it with their own unique gifts and talents. We
will never fully realize what we have missed because the law says “abortion is
fine”.
When
the legislation was being discussed those in favour of it said it would save
some mothers from the dangers of what has become known as “back-street
abortions”. We question if this has in fact been the case. On almost every electricity
pole along the streets of our cities and towns there are advertisements for
‘safe and painless’ abortions. They are outside the Head Office of the
Department of Health in Pretoria and on the boundary walls of our schools. If
the advertising is so public and so widespread, then the demand for those”
back-street abortions” must be high.
The
position of the Catholic Church on abortion is clear and unambiguous. Just
because the law says it is legal does not make it morally right. Each unborn
child is created by God, “knit together in (its) mother’s womb” (Ps139.13).
That unborn child is a human being with a human life that must be protected. He
or she has a right to life, a right that must be respected by the mother and
protected by the state.
Another
right that must be respected by the state and its agents is that of
conscientious objection. Those who believe that abortion is morally wrong have
a right to refuse to participate in the medical procedures.
All of
us, parents, teachers, members of the Church, must understand what a young girl
is going through when she realizes she is pregnant. She needs our love, our
support, our understanding and sometimes our forgiveness. We in the Church are
committed to helping unmarried pregnant girls and couples tempted to take the
abortion route in whatever way we can. We will never condemn, just as Jesus
refused to condemn (John8.11)
As we
remember the many children who have been aborted since February 1997, we also
remember the mothers of these children. Just as we do not condemn a pregnant
young girl, we do not condemn her if she made the mistake of procuring an
abortion. Only she knows how much she has suffered as a result. She needs help
and healing. We invite her to come and speak to one of our priests or counselors
so that we can be part of reconciling her to God and bringing about healing.
Archbishop
Buti Tlhagale, OMI,
On
behalf of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference
30th
January 2012
One million innocents murdered? Dear God have mercy on us.
ReplyDeleteWe really have become the society of death haven’t we? Can God truly just ignore and just forgive all of this and not get angry at us? I do indeed wonder.
I think the one million may be under stated. I am not so sure we have the best records on the number of abortions performed.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless it is still horrifying and sad that women feel so hopeless that they resort to this. As a society we also have a lot to answer for. Where we're we when those women needed help and support?