This week marks the 40th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.\u00a0 On Friday, January 25th, many will unite to march in Washington.\u00a0 There will speakers and Masses said in support of life.<\/p>\n
There are many people who argue abortion is about a woman’s right to choose what to do with her body.\u00a0 A woman does have a right to make choices about what she does with her body but this is limited to her body.\u00a0 When a woman chooses to engage in physical relations with a man, she must realize that pregnancy is a possible result of her actions.\u00a0 She has made her choice.\u00a0 The baby is not an extra part to her body.\u00a0 I realize that in the case of rape, it was not her choice then.\u00a0 Rape is a\u00a0terrible <\/em><\/strong>crime that ranks among the worst crimes and sins that can be committed.\u00a0 As terrible as rape is, we must still stand for life.<\/p>\n Our Catholic Church sees life as a gift.\u00a0 Our Church also believes that life begins at conception, not just when the baby emerges from the womb.\u00a0 Some argue that the baby is not alive on its own until it emerges from the mother’s womb.\u00a0 Before then, the baby is totally dependent on the mother for life.\u00a0 This is absolutely correct.\u00a0 The baby in the womb is totally dependent on its mother for life.\u00a0 However, the baby is still totally dependent on others for life after birth too.\u00a0 After birth, a baby is no longer exclusively dependent on their biological mother.\u00a0 Others can care for their needs but a newborn baby could not survive on its own.\u00a0 The point when life begins is not determined by a baby’s independence.<\/p>\n I ask the question, “When does the baby become a unique individual?”\u00a0 When the egg cell and sperm cell come together, they form a new genetic makeup with a unique identity that belongs only to that baby and will never be exactly repeated.\u00a0 I believe that makes it an individual with rights, including the right to life.<\/p>\n On Sunday, the Knights of Columbus Council in Ithaca led a Rosary for Life.\u00a0 The Knights were present and joined by both our Senior High and Middle School Youth Groups from the parish, along with a few parishioners, and myself.\u00a0 It was about 25 degrees with winds over 20 mph but we prayed the Rosary outside by the Monument for the Unborn that stands by our Catholic Charities Office and our parish school.\u00a0 It was not a good day to be outside but life is important enough to put up with the weather.<\/p>\n The timing of this Rosary for Life does coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the Roe v.\u00a0 Wade Supreme Court decision and the March for Life.\u00a0 Yet, while our prayers centered on the question of abortion, our prayers also included prayers for the aged too.\u00a0 The respect for life of the aged is decreasing.\u00a0 People think they have a right to end their life whenever life doesn’t seem worth living when the health begins to decline.<\/p>\n When health declines, life does become difficult and painful.\u00a0 It is still not for us to decide.\u00a0 We do not have to receive medical treatment that does not seem worth it.\u00a0 I remember the difficult time my family had deciding to withdraw the ventilator for my mother but it was a decision to stop treatment that the Church recognizes as acceptable.\u00a0 It was not a decision to end her life.\u00a0 The ventilator is artificial treatment and we are not bound to receive it but that is a far cry from taking a lethal dose of a medicine to end a life.<\/p>\n Life is a gift from womb to tomb, from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.\u00a0 A life might seem inconvenient.\u00a0 It can be difficult.\u00a0 It is a gift.\u00a0 It is not\u00a0ours to decide to end.<\/p>\n Peace,<\/p>\n Fr. Jeff<\/p>\n P.S. For further reading check out the section of my website called “Social Teaching and the Respect for Life.”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week marks the 40th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.\u00a0 On Friday, January 25th, many will unite to march in Washington.\u00a0 There will speakers and Masses said in support of life. There are many people who argue abortion is about a woman’s right to choose what to do with her …<\/p>\n