What do Americans and Catholics think of abortion. This has been 'polled' many times and I select two at random.
First ABC/Washington Post Poll. Abortion should be:
Legal in all cases:21 percent
legal in most cases: 36 per cent
Illegal in most cases:25 percent
Illegal in all cases: 15 per cent.
Fox News Poll 2007.
Abortion should be legal when:
Caused by rape or incest. 70 percent
Mother's life at risk. 73 percent
Mothers mental health at risk. 56 percent Illegal 28 percent.
Baby has fatal birth defect. 53 percent Illegal 30 percent.
Now Catholic opinion, CBS news. Abortion should be
Generally available. Catholics, 34 percent; not permitted 28 percent. All, 36 percent generally available, 25 percent, not available.
There are scores of polls on this matter and only a small percentage of people agree with Catholic position.
Now why is this so. Later I will write to the philosophy of this issue. But as of this point it seems clear that the great majority of Americans find the Catholic view unacceptable. A Catholic rule laid down by celibate, supposedly asexual clergy, none having experienced the delights and fears of child bearing, none having raised a family, none having been married.
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I'm guessing that most Catholics & non-Catholics disagree with the hierarchy's teaching on abortion because they know someone who was in a tough situation who may or may not have had an abortion.
ReplyDeletePersonal experience and real life situations have a way of making black and white moral decisions much more difficult. I have very mixed feelings about abortion.
To personally remedy this, I've made sure I will never have to consider that decision. But I realize that many others do not have the willpower that I have.
Dear Faith Catholic. I hope you will keep following this discussion. I disagree with your first paragraph. I believe and will argue that the abortion issue is just a sub-issue under the Church's hostility to sex. I want to make it clear: No one in my family that I am aware of has ever had an abortion. I think the Church's position is rejected by the great majority because the arguments the Church uses are not accepted as valid by the faithful and the non-faithful alike. Jack
ReplyDeleteWould you then view an abortion as a benign surgery that one needs to have to remove something unwanted from one's body?
ReplyDeleteFaithful Catholic, No I would not view ALL abortions as benign surgery to remove something unwanted from the body. I spport abortions when the fetus has no real brain activity, no consciousness, and unable to feel pain. Basically we define death in that way. Basically I believe Roe V Wade is the best we can do at the present time. It is interesting to note that the dissents in this case did not argue life begins at conception. They argued states could allow abortions. This is not the church's attitude although they put great emaphsis on overturning Roe. The church's solution is the human rights amendment which is farcial. Jack
ReplyDeleteCorrection. I support the RIGHT to abortion under the conditions I described. Jack
ReplyDelete