Is Abortion Murder?
What is murder? While I may not be an expert in terms of law, I can understand it as a grave offense done with full malice and intent to end the life of another human being.
When it comes to the Catholic faith, it is a mortal sin. Without repentance, a person who commits murder takes upon himself the punishment of hell and the loss of heaven.
Abortion as Murder
Abortion on the other hand is the premature death of a child within the womb. It can be spontaneous such as in cases of miscarriage. It can also be induced such as when a medical procedure is performed to directly cause the death of the child even before he/she is born.
If we consider direct or induced abortion to intentionally end the life of a child (considered as a human being), then we can equate such abortion with the gravity of murder. That is the line of thinking we can generally assume when we try to answer whether abortion is murder or not.
What About the Mothers?
The question at hand before us is this, “How do we consider the mothers who commit abortion?” Is it ever right to call them murderers as well?
I wrote this because I felt sad to hear many mothers automatically being tagged as murderers.
Let us remember that even if we are not talking about abortion, a person who kills another person is not automatically called a murderer. As far as I know, for something to be considered murder, it has to be intentional and premeditated. If someone accidentally kills another person without that malice or intention, it shouldn’t be called that way.
Where We Should Draw The Line
While I cannot erase the possibility of cases where mothers are totally aware of what they will do, I would like to believe that many mothers are not fully culpable of the crime. While sin may not be absent, such can be mitigated and those concerned may suffer with lesser guilt.
Only God knows the heart of a person. He knows our weaknesses and our sins.
If there is ever anyone who can call anybody a murderer, it should be God.
This does not mean that we should stop fighting for the life of every child within the womb. God forbid it! But let us be more compassionate in our approach to help those who may suffer more than we could ever begin to think or imagine.
The child is a human being, made in God’s image and likeness, worthy of our protection and love. But so is the mother. Even if she sins.
For have we not all sinned and deserved death? But Jesus Christ came to save us all and to give us everlasting life.
Jocelyn Soriano is the author of the devotional “366 Days of Compassion”. Get the free e-book from Amazon — click here.
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