Abortion targets the most vulnerable in our society

We are in the midst of Respect Life month.  This call to respect all human life is really all-encompassing.  Respect life means that we recognize that each human person has value and dignity.  Humans have this dignity precisely because of how we were made, and by whom.  Every issue matters, and we should have respect for human life at the core of the way we approach any and every issue.
In this space I want to discuss the most barbaric violation of this call to respect human life, namely abortion.  I consider abortion the most barbaric of the violations for two reasons:  to whom the violence is directed and the way in which the violence is perpetrated.
Abortion targets the most vulnerable in our society.  Often it targets women who are in crisis for one reason or another.  The purveyors of abortion tend to offer abortion as the only choice the woman has.  They prey on the woman’s fear in an attempt to secure the end desired, namely an abortion.  There seems to be very little concern for the woman’s right to freely choose.  Vulnerable women are targeted because it is good for business.  Preying on the vulnerable is one reason why I consider abortion so barbaric.  
Obviously, the other person targeted by the abortion industry is the innocent and even more vulnerable baby.  The baby does not just suffer side-effects, but is in fact the target for murder.  These babies have absolutely no way to protect or defend themselves.  It is our duty to do so.
Abortions can be carried out any many ways, but generally speaking the method is either chemical or surgical.  In surgical abortions there is generally a direct physical attack on the baby.  This attack is prepared for by forcing the woman’s body to allow access to the womb so that the abortionist can violently kill the child.  Obviously the baby dies, but the process does violence to the mother.  In chemical abortion the woman is given a chemical that is poisonous to the baby and causes the woman to expel the dead baby.  These chemicals are fraught with side-effects for the mother and fatal consequences for the baby.
We as a people cannot expect to form and live in a culture that nourishes respect for human life while we allow the barbaric practice of abortion. 
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected] 
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