Appeal to Aquinas is not infallible
Eric Glass
class of '00
Only at Notre Dame can we find someone using Aquinas, of all people, to defend abortion, or at least suggest it may not be wrong. While it is nice to see a freshman citing Aquinas, and even according him some respect, we need to remember that Aquinas was not infallible. For instance, he questioned the doctrine of the immaculate conception (which had not yet been formally defined, so he was entitled to doubt it). He was not the Pope, just a theologian, and to them our Lord granted no special graces of authority (that is news to some of them, for sure). The Church has since spoken, and proclaims that life begins at conception; I am sure Aquinas would accept this teaching, as he would the freedom of Mary from original sin.
I am sorry to see Brodie Butland scandalized by someone pointing out a parallel between abortion and the Nazis. Are we who believe abortion is wide-scale infanticide somehow supposed to sugar-coat it, so people like Brodie do not get offended and call us "doomsayers?" Far from "obfuscating" the issue, seeing connections between abortion and other crimes against mankind puts it in clearer terms and shows its severity.
Abortion is as complicated as you want to make it, Brodie. You can see it for what it is, or you can come up with sophisticated cases to defend it. You know, even many feminists, faced with increasingly troublesome arguments and facts showing that unborn children are truly alive, have changed their tack in supporting abortion. Many of them have given up the old strategy of claiming that unborn children are just lifeless blobs, and now say they are parasites, unwelcome life-forms draining the resources from "host" women — like tapeworms or fungus. Mean old Ayn Rand would be delighted to hear babies likened to parasites.
You have three years yet to get a clue, Brodie. For now, it was nice of you to condescend to write a few "weak paragraphs" — instead of the treatise you would like — and help "pollute" the editorial page. How nice it must be to be able to say both sides are wrong.
Eric Glass
class of '00
Jan. 29, 2002
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, January 31, 2002
