Abortion a Catholic Issue?  Says who?

Many pro-lifers have scratched their heads over the years, wondering how abortion came to be, according to those who are in favor of abortion on demand, a “Catholic issue.”

It is clearly not just a “Catholic issue,” as it stretches the entire breadth of our society.  It affects all age groups and both genders, and goes across all cultural and ethnic dividing lines.  How, then, did it come to be identified as “Catholic”?

Dr. Bernard Nathanson, a former abortionist, wrote about an early pioneer of the abortion movement, Lawrence Lader, who played an important role in shaping the early battles over abortion.  His writings were widely published and widely read.

“Today’s News and Views” from May 10, 2006, says, in part:

Lader conjured up an enemy against which the newly created National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (later re-christened the National Abortion Rights Action League and, more recently, Naral Pro-Choice America) could hurl taunts, accusations, and charges of persecution. The target was, of course, the leadership of the Catholic Church.

In his book, "Aborting America," Nathanson recalled Lader's lecture about the importance of demonizing the Catholic Church hierarchy.

"Historically, every revolution has to have its villain ... Now, in our case, it makes little sense to lead a campaign only against unjust laws, even though that's what we really are doing. We have to narrow the focus, identify those unjust laws with a person or a group of people. A single person isn't quite what we want, since that might excite sympathy for him. Rather a small group of shadowy, powerful people. Too large a group would diffuse the focus, don't you see. ... It's got to be the Catholic hierarchy. That's a small enough group to come down on and anonymous enough so that no names ever have to be mentioned, but everyone will have a fairly good idea of whom we are talking about."

Indeed, Lader's accusations were so vituperative that Nathanson, who was Jewish, wrote, "It passed through my mind that if one substituted 'Jewish' for 'Catholic,' it would have been the most vicious anti-Semite tirade imaginable."

Now the next time someone tells you it’s only a problem with Catholics, you can let them know where their thinking comes from.

To read the rest of this interesting explanation, go to the NRLC website, www.nrlc.org and click on the “News and Views” link.  You can also get articles like this Dave Andrusko e-mailed to you on a regular basis.

Today's News & Views    May 10, 2006

RARTL Updated July, 2006