Longtime regular readers have probably figured out that I am pro-life. Over on Facebook, I posted something expressing a certain amount of dissatisfaction with Chief Justice Roberts' recent decision in June Medical Services v. Russo, the SCOTUS's latest pronouncement on abortion.
This prompted a friend to post the following reply:
Putting abortion to one side for a moment, do you favor things that would reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies? And what exactly? Do you favor free or subsidized contraception? Sex education broadly available to kids? Free or subsidized health care for pregnant moms, and free or subsidized help for young families? More adoptions? Put simply, while we all struggle to find agreement on abortion, are there other things we can do to collectively address your heartfelt objections? I do not agree with you, but I do not want to ignore your heartfelt view. What other policies can I support that you would view as helping here?
These are great questions, fairly asked, and deserve a fair answer. Such an answer, of course, requires more room than the usual Facebook reply. Hence, this blog post.
At least insofar as the question about contraception is concerned, I would respectfully suggest that its phrasing is problematic. I am, as you know, a Roman Catholic who tries (but all too often fails) to adhere to the faith. A core tenet of Roman Catholicism is the doctrine of religious assent:
Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, teaching in communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when, without arriving at an infallible definition and without pronouncing in a "definitive manner," they propose in the exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals. To this ordinary teaching the faithful "are to adhere to it with religious assent"which, though distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an extension of it. (Catechism § 892.)
In his encyclical Evangelium Vitae, Saint Pope John Paul II affirmed that "direct abortion ... always constitutes a grave moral disorder." He specifically stated that this teaching is part of "the Church's Tradition and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium." (§ 62) In addition, JPII confirmed that "despite their differences of nature and moral gravity, contraception and abortion are often closely connected, as fruits of the same tree." (§ 13) In so doing, he disappointed those who hoped he would overturn or at least modify the ban on contraception set out in Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae (§ 14).
Although neither encyclical possesses the degree of infallibility Vatican I attributed to papal definitions, both possess the infallibility which Vatican II attributed to the teaching of the "ordinary and universal magisterium." (See Sullivan). As such, both command religious assent.
So what does that mean? The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) teaches that religious assent requires we acknowledge the teachings "with reverence" and "sincerely" adhere thereto. Despite the arguments of some Cafeteria Catholics I can't see any way around my obligation to adhere to the Church's position on contraception.
By the way, let me touch on an issue that often comes up at this point. Some critics of the doctrine of religious assent, especially as applied to issues involving the Gospel of Life, contend that it treats Catholics as unthinking automatons marching to the dictates of the Church hierarchy. The relationship between individual reason and religious assent is extremely complex. It is worth pointing out, however, that the church encourages lay initiative “especially when the matter involves discovering or inventing the means for permeating social, political, and economic realities with the demands of Christian doctrine and life.” (Catechism § 899) The Church also acknowledges that:
In the work of teaching and applying Christian morality, the Church needs the dedication of pastors, the knowledge of theologians, and the contribution of all Christians and men of good will. Faith and the practice of the Gospel provide each person with an experience of life "in Christ," who enlightens him and makes him able to evaluate the divine and human realities according to the Spirit of God.Thus the Holy Spirit can use the humblest to enlighten the learned and those in the highest positions. (Catechism § 2038)
Hence, it is the task of Catholic intellectuals to exercise critical reflective judgment with respect to society, the Church, and the relationship between the two. An an active and critical role for the laity seems especially important with respect to economic life, as to which JPII emphasized that “church has no models to present." (Centesimus Annus § 43) I note in passing that this is why my scholarship is increasingly focused on using Catholic social teaching to critique corporate law.
But I digress.
As for my friend's other proposals, they all strike me as reasonable and desirable. The Gospel of Life teaches that we have to respect life from its beginning at conception to its end at natural death. Hence, my problem with the American political duopoly is that too many Republicans appear to care about life only until birth and that too many Democrats appear to only care about life after birth. In contrast, a polity founded on Catholic social thought would recognize that the "starting point for a correct and constructive relationship between the family and society is the recognition of the subjectivity and the social priority of the family. Their intimate relationship requires that 'society should never fail in its fundamental task of respecting and fostering the family.'" (Compendium § 252)
Accordingly, I am in substantial agreement with the platform of the American Solidarity Party:
- Federal and state governments must enact constitutional and legal measures establishing the right to life from conception until natural death. These measures specifically include a constitutional amendment clarifying that there is no right to abortion, as well as laws that prohibit or restrict abortion. Because human life begins at conception, the intentional destruction of human embryos in any context must end.
- Federal, state, and local governments must end taxpayer funding of organizations that provide, promote, or facilitate abortions, and of health-care plans that include abortion coverage. Such funding should be redirected to organizations that promote healthy pregnancies and prenatal care.
- Federal and state governments must end capital punishment in light of its disproportionate use against those with fewer legal resources, the impossibility of reversal, and the existence of alternative ways to ensure protection for the rest of society.
- We support efforts to help prevent the tragedy of suicide, including universal access to affordable mental-health care and the destigmatization of mental illness. Assisted suicide and euthanasia are a violation of disability rights, medical ethics, and human dignity, and must be prohibited in every state.
- Federal and state governments should collaborate to guarantee universal healthcare by diverse means, including single-payer initiatives, direct subsidization of provider networks, subsidized education for medical professionals willing to work in rural areas, support for cost-sharing programs and mutual aid societies, home care grants, simplified regulation, and the easing of restrictions on the importation of prescription drugs.
- Health policy must include protections for those with preexisting, chronic, and terminal conditions. We must include those who have no means to save for an emergency, people at every stage of life from prenatal care to hospice care, and people who find themselves in need of medical assistance while away from their home network.
Does that answer the question?
