Opus 2011-357, Is Life Sacred?

I am pro-life.  I believe that abortion is the killing of a human being.  Homicide can run the gamete from first degree murder to justifiable.  It depends on the situation.  The vast number of abortions are first degree murder.  A life is taken by calculation and planning for personal convenience.  At the other end you have an ever shrinking blip of cases where the physical life of the mother is honestly at risk.  With modern medicine this is rare, but it happens.  I believe one form of this is called octopic pregnancy where the egg lodges in the fallopian tubes and is guaranteed to kill the pregnant woman.  In these cases you must take one life so both don’t die.

Abortion is sin.  Abortion is evil.  Like all sin and evil it can be forgiven and grace can be applied.  The emotional scars can be worked with.  Life can go on and redemption is possible.

Why do I bring this up now?  We have the annual “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday” approaching to draw attention to the anniversary of Roe v Wade.  I salute the purpose of the event.  We need to be reminded of how the Supreme Court opened the door to a blood bath and millions of babies have died for a right not mentioned in the Constitution. 

I have trouble with the title.  I do not believe that life is sacred.  That is what it means to talk of the “sanctity” of life.  To call something sacred puts it on a level that is above all else.  If life was sacred then risking your life to save someone else would be wrong.  If life is sacred then we would be free to lie, cheat and steal to protect it.  If life is sacred then all those who have laid it down in service to their country or community made a mistake.  If life is sacred then all those who gave up their lives as martyrs and witnesses sinned.  We might even go so far as to say that Jesus had no business going to the cross.

Life is precious.  Life is fragile.  Life is important.  Life is not sacred. 

Am I nit picking?  Maybe, but words are important.  Let’s take a stand against abortion, not because life is sacred, but because taking life for personal convenience is wrong.

homo unius libri