Pro Ecclesia * Pro Familia * Pro Civitate: A Former Student of Prof. Kmiec Speaks Out ...

... at Catholic Online:

... In a speech to Planned Parenthood in 2007, Obama made his position on abortion very clear: “On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield.”

We are told that Obama is a man of goodwill on this issue, that he is open to argument, but he has already told us what the result of talking to him will be, nothing, for he will not yield. We also must not yield to the likes of Obama.

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We are told by our fellow Catholics that the pro-choice position is more in keeping with subsidiarity; that there can be compromise on the absolute right to life; that we, in cooperation with Obama, can encourage the use of contraception to reduce abortions; that we should be more pragmatic, that overturning Roe v. Wade will not stop abortion; that we should not be so divisive on this issue (as if we are the villains); that we must consider the Iraq War and fuel-efficient cars; that being pro-choice is not really being pro-abortion; that McCain is so terrible on every single other issue that we can impute to him, without the danger of calumny, a hate of the environment, the poor, the immigrant, the worker and a desire to foment racism against Obama.

This line of reasoning shows severe misunderstandings regarding the nature of abortion—that it is murder. Proposing that the pro-choice position is more in keeping with subsidiarity is ridiculous. Subsidiarity is based on the respect of the human person and his ability to make decisions regarding his own life. Being pro-choice is believing that there are some individuals who have no right to respect of their person. Such reasoning is the height of absurdity.

Some argue that overturning Roe v. Wade will not save a single life; however, it cannot be doubted that such a legal decision will help to end abortions. Any argument to the contrary is disingenuous. Without the constitutional protection of abortion as a right, we will be free to pass laws to outlaw it.

So long as Roe v. Wade remains in place, no amount of heart-changing will allow us to outlaw abortion...

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More on the author of this piece:

Gunnar Gundersen graduated number one in the Class of 2007 from Pepperdine University School of Law, where he studied Constitutional Law under Professor Douglas W. Kmiec. He is also a former law clerk of Judge O'Scannlain of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.