EDITORIAL

Being “Pro-Life” Doesn’t Stop at Birth

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One of the criticisms against those who oppose abortion is that such adherents largely ignore the needs of children and mothers after birth. Canards like this largely ignore widespread evidence to the contrary. Catholic social services provide daily for the needs of children and single mothers; immigrants and refugees; and the materially and spiritually poor. The Catholic Church instituted the first hospitals, orphanages, and schools in this country for the neediest Americans; and the Church continues to fulfill the mandate of Christ to care for the poor, the sick, the aged, and the imprisoned through her charitable outreach. The Church takes seriously the words of Jesus: “what you have done for the least of these, you have done for me” (Mt 25:40).
While combatting the issue of abortion (and other grave injustices like euthanasia and assisted suicide) remains a preeminent priority for Catholics in political life, the Church rightly compels us to address other social issues with great urgency. The more Catholics live their faith authentically, the more they will manifest to the world what it means to be “consistently pro-life.” Thankfully, the Church gives us the resources to contribute to these needs with ease and so live-out what it means to be pro-life, defending each and every human life from conception to natural death. All persons— from the womb to the hospital bed — deserve the greatest care, dignity, and protection.