Life is at the heart of the common good

In this time of social upheaval, American society is grappling with a pandemic and racial tensions, in addition to immigration, the environment, healthcare, religious freedom and many others.

These are all important, complex and moral matters that deserve our concern and action. But with the country consumed by these problems, which seem more pressing every day, we can not forget that the U.S. bishops have referred to abortion as the “preeminent issue” — that which surpasses all others in importance, which involves “fundamental and inalienable rights” (CCC 1907), for which there is only a single moral solution, a non-negotiable moral solution.

October, Pro-Life Month, reminds us that there is no gray area in the abortion debate. There is no deliberation in the case of abortion. We are dealing with an action that is always intrinsically evil, always and in every circumstance (Veritatis Splendor, 52).

I’m not a religious scholar or a theologian, but it’s clear to me that people of good conscience and good will can have differing opinions on the best policies to address health care, poverty, immigration, racial justice and the environment. For such important issues, there can be multiple, morally acceptable policy choices that attempt to balance principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, private action versus public action.

By example, we can robustly debate how many immigrants our country should welcome and under what conditions. But we can not debate how many unborn children can be aborted or under what conditions their intentional killing is acceptable.

We can joust over how much government funding should be allocated for poverty and housing programs. But there can be no debate about how much funding there should be for abortion — zero.

There are many life issues. There are many issues that address the common good which we are obligated to advance. There are many sins against life, but we must put first things first. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI stated, the right to life is the “pre-supposition” of every other human right. To state as much is not reducing Catholic moral concerns to a single issue. It is to establish priorities, giving preeminence to the most foundational.

Tracye McArdle is a parishioner and the Pro-Life Coordinator at Mater Ecclesiae in Berlin.