What's Wrong with the Cathoic Anti-Abortion Crusade?

However, Dr. Steinfels' set of biological markers at eight weeks could still help fuel the Catholic anti-abortion crusade against legalized abortion in the first trimester (i.e., twelve weeks after conception).

 

In fairness, I should also say that Dr. Steinfels discusses what he terms five missteps of the Catholic anti-abortion movement in the U.S. (pages 16-17). In addition, he says that the movement for women's equality "is a global world-historical development" (page 17). As a result, he pointedly criticizes the Roman Catholic Church for its "lack of highly visible solidarity with women's struggle for equality" (page 17).

 

Now, my own position is that the Roman Catholic bishops are mistaken in their emphasis on biological markers regarding life. In my estimate, the key issue in the abortion debate is not what constitutes biological life, but what constitutes a human person.

 

With this distinction in mind, I would say that an infra-human life-form emerges when the sperm joins the egg at the "moment of conception."

 

I would then say that the infra-human life-form emerges as a distinctively human life-form when the fetus is able to live outside the mother's womb -- in short, at the moment of viability. Yes, to be sure, the moment of viability is also a biological marker.

 

But the moment of viability does not occur by the end of the first trimester. As a result, legalized abortion in the first trimester should be not just legally acceptable to Americans, but also morally acceptable.

 

Of course I do not expect the U.S. Catholic bishops or Dr. Steinfels to be persuaded by my reasoning here, because they are predisposed to using the biological markers that they favor.

 

So the abortion debate will continue.

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