Access to tragedy?

With 102 votes in favour and 69 against, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted on 16 April its Resolution 1607/2008 on “Access to an abortion without risks and legal in Europe” (see the report in this number of SIR Europe). Below we publish a comment by the Italian theologian Marco Doldi.Abortion remains a woman’s question: that’s the impression that emerges from a reading of the document approved by the Council of Europe. It declares that the decision to have recourse to an abortion is exclusively that of the woman and that this must be recognized on a par with any other right. But what is forgotten is that conception is not a mere biological fact, but involves a relationship between two persons It is contrary to science to consider the embryo – even in the stage of its development represented by the basic cell, the zygote – merely as a female product; it is contrary to the dignity of the person to forget that the being thus conceived has both a father and a mother. Above all, it is contrary to the good of society to reduce a human life to a private fact. Yet this is the logic of abortion, which can never be included among the rights of the person, by virtue of the sole fact that one person cannot be recognized to exercise the right to life over another.Abortion remains a tragedy. We need to have a less shortsighted view towards it than an attitude solely concerned with guaranteeing as wide an access to it as possible, as happens when demands are made for the distribution of such compounds as the day after pill or RU 486, which are presented as contraceptives but in fact are methods of abortion.The real advancement of civilization is achieved by other ways. One such way, a fundamental one, is that of shared solidarity. Human life is a good: everyone has the right to live. This consciousness leads to multiplying the means not of death, but of the acceptance of life. A farsighted society is one that is able to look to the future, not narrowing its frontiers, but widening them so that there is room for everyone. On this point Europe could do a lot by urging member states to adopt pro-life policies through means and structures adapted to our time. The so-called right to abortion ends up by condemning the woman to loneliness and the burden of a decision whose consequences are grave. Real solidarity, by contrast, consists in helping her to overcome the difficulties of the moment and secure a future for her child. Action also needs to be taken on the cultural level, so as to re-appropriate genuine rights: the right to life of every human being and the right itself of life to be accepted. There are times in history when problems accumulate and take on a worrying depth. That happens, very particularly, when the lack of humanity grows and becomes deeper and more menacing. What is most worrying about European resolutions such as this are not the secondary or marginal aspects, but the truth of man, his dignity, his freedom and the respect due to individuals and peoples. What is especially under threat is coherence in the proclamation and defence of fundamental rights and, first and foremost, the right to life. The current anti-solidarity culture is rooted in widespread moral uncertainty that erodes subjective values and responsibilities. This was pointed out by John Paul II: “there is a profound crisis of culture, which generates scepticism in relation to the very foundations of knowledge and ethics, and which makes it increasingly difficult to grasp clearly the meaning of what man is, the meaning of his rights and duties. Then there are all kinds of existential and interpersonal difficulties, made worse by a society in which individuals, couples and families are often left alone with their problems” (“Evangelium vitae”, 11).This explains, at least in part, how the value of life can undergo a kind of eclipse. Yet, conscience – the conscience that is not stifled by ideologies – continues to point to it as a sacred and inviolable value. The desire for maternity is by nature stronger than the decision to abort.Abortion remains an exception, not the rule. An exception dictated by real problems that demand careful consideration.