The Irony of Timing

I have to wonder if I’m the only one who sees the irony behind the health care bill, which most major pro-life groups and the USCCB view as dramatically expanding abortion coverage, being passed the Sunday before what is arguably the most pro-life feast of the liturgical year? In this Solemnity of the Annunciation, we celebrate that moment when Our Lord became incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Note that we don’t celebrate the first trimester of His Incarnation, or the point of viability of His Incarnation, but we celebrate His Incarnation at the very moment of His conception by the power of the Holy Spirit. This feast, which has been celebrated since at least the 5th Century AD, points to an indisputable biological fact: at the moment of conception (AKA fertilization by those supporting birth control), the embryo is a unique human child with a distinct DNA pattern.

Sadly, the laws in the United States and many other developed nations throughout the world fail to recognize this scientific fact, instead choosing to treat the developing child as a “clump of cells” no different from a cancerous tumor. These laws promote the view that abortion is just a routine surgery, like removing a questionable tumor from your arm, with no moral consequences. As a result of laws permitting abortion, a child in the womb has zero human rights until it is “wanted” by the mother.

Today, on this Solemnity of the Annunciation, dedicated as the International Day of the Unborn Child by a number of pro-life groups, let us continue to pray that these unjust and inhumane laws may be overturned and viewed for the abominations that they are. Let us also pray for those who have been hurt by abortion: the children killed directly, and those who were harmed physically and psychologically by abortion.

Edit: this evening, after posting this entry, I saw a post by Twitter user Luke_181 which linked to a website called The Great Prayer Project – End Abortion. If you want a concrete way to pray for the end of abortion, this is it. Pick a couple 20-hour time slots a week and spend that time in prayer. I’m not going to say “Please consider”. Instead, to quote the old Nike slogan: “Just do it!”, and join me in praying for the end of abortion.