Narcissism 2: Murder of the Innocent

Abortion is “The direct murder of the innocent” - Pope Pius XI (1922-1939)

What is abortion?

Pope Pius XI provided us with one definition of abortion. There are others. Prior to the mid 1970's abortion was a medical term used to describe the termination of a pregnancy before the fetus is viable. Generally this occurs before the twentieth week of pregnancy.

Also prior to the mid 1970's the word “abortion” had another connotation for the general public. “It was associated with the sordid connotation of being a criminal act.” Pages 656-657 The Textbook of Basic Nursing.

Up until the decision rendered by the Texas courts in the Roe versus Wade case, within the medical profession there were different words used to describe the various causes or phases of abortion.

• Threatened Abortion - this is nature causing, occurring early in the pregnancy. If medical treatment is immediately sought the pregnancy can usually be saved.
• Inevitable Abortion - Nature causing with the pregnancy terminating as the abortive process is too far advanced for medical treatment to save it.
• Incomplete Abortion - is just as the term implies, the abortion induced by nature, was not complete; the woman usually under goes a surgical procedure to remove the remains of the pregnancy. Infection can result if this procedure is not done.
• Habitual Abortion - For some women it is difficult for them to carry a pregnancy to term. When repeated pregnancies result in a natural causing abortion it is called a habitual abortion.
• Therapeutic Abortion - a pregnancy that is terminated by a physician. In the United States, it was legally permitted only in instances in which the mother's life was at risk. (This was the standard prior to the Roe vs. Wade case).
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• Criminal Abortion - The termination of a pregnancy without medical justification.

However modernly, Merriam-Webster's Colligate Encyclopedia sheds more light on abortion as the world perceives it today.  “Abortions occur today through intentional medical intervention and are performed to:

• Preserve the mother's life or her health
• Prevent pregnancy resulting from rape or incest
• Prevent the birth of a child who is believed to be born with severe medical problems
• End the pregnancy because the mother and/or the father do not feel her or them, want a child at this time in their life.” (The reasons could be financial, social, or personal).

History of Abortion

It is often thought that abortion is of modern times. But there isn't anything new about abortions being done to end pregnancies. It is as old as many of the ancient cultures.

It was a common way to eliminate families, in order to keep family sizes manageable and to eliminate family hereditary laws in ancient Greece and Rome. And like today, the early Christian theologians vehemently condemned this practice.

During the Middle Ages in Europe, abortions became widely accepted. It wasn't until the mid nineteenth century that severe sanctions were issued by the church, (the church wielded a lot of power at this time) to deter abortions.

By the twentieth century in many European countries these sanctions were gradually modified. From the Victorian Era (1860-1900) through to the 1970's abortion was strictly taboo unless it was medically justified. The social stigma which accompanied a woman who had an abortion for any reason except that which was a matter of life or death was extremely effective.

Abortion Statistics - United States

• 1927 - 2
• 1937 - 85
• 1947 - 749
• 1957 - 336
• 1967 - 9,000
• 1977 - 1,316,700
• 1987 - 1,559,100
• 1997 - 1,335,000
• 2007 Records unavailable

Definitely in the twenty years following the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Roe vs. Wade, abortions escalated. In the first ten year period abortions escalated by two hundred forty-two thousand, four hundred. Yet in the next ten year period from 1987-1997, there was a decline of two hundred twenty-four thousand one hundred.

Quite possibly the first ten year period (1977-1987), was a period of women getting abortions at any low cost “clinic” they could find. Sadly many of these low cost “clinics” were staffed by people who had little experience as a medical specialist. Most were not licensed. As a result many of these women were physically and emotionally scarred for life. There are statistics of many deaths occurring as a result of botched up abortions by abortion clinic staff that were only slightly better than butchers. The Roe vs. Wade law ushered in a tidal wave of these types of quacks, who were anxious to cash in on the mega dollar opportunity spurn by this court decision.

In the second ten year period, more information became available to women about abortion, its risks, and the dangers often associated with the unethical abortion clinics of the previous ten years. At this time, many alternatives to abortion became known to women who now had choices regarding their pregnancy. Some of the alternatives were centers which offered support to women who wanted to give birth to their baby. Others found the option of giving their baby up for adoption more appealing. And for the mother who wasn't sure how she could manage raising her baby, there was the option of placing the child in a foster home, until she could determine if she would be capable of raising her baby.