"Statue recognizes all affected by abortion"
Letter to the Editor
I was first upset and then saddened by Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece's letter to The Observer on Feb. 22. It betrayed a misunderstanding that is all too common today, especially at Notre Dame. The feeling that for a person or institution to take a position is necessarily to condemn all others or to betray a sense of "free thinking" and intellectual honesty. This reasoning would disallow Notre Dame, a Catholic school, from taking a moral stand on anything. It would not only condemn the University's stand on abortion, but on every other pertinent social issue, such as sweatshops. Yet this is not the heart of the issue.
A statue that remembers the victims of abortion is not a condemnation of women. Neither is it insensitive and "deliberate manipulation." Instead, it is a symbol of the Catholic convictions underlying both Notre Dame and the Knights of Columbus that calls out for us to bear witness to what is taking place.
I believe that both pro-lifers and pro-choicers can agree that abortion is not a social good; this is reflected in the statement by many pro-choicers that they want abortion to be "safe, legal, and rare." I know many times, I have been criticized by pro-choice friends for characterizing their position as "pro-abortion." They may be right. In both of these instances though, it is clear that many people feel that there is something wrong taking place in abortions. It may sometimes be justifiable, it may some times be considered necessary and it even may be a constitutional right guaranteed to women. The fact remains that no one promotes abortion, they simply disagree over its legality in a civilized nation.
This statue and the shared awareness of pro-choicers and pro-lifers should be the beginning of a new common ground. The statue that the Knights of Columbus donated is not a judgment, but a memorial. I agree with the previous letter that women do not take abortion lightly. I believe that it is a serious and difficult choice. It is for this reason that I feel the statue is appropriate in remembering "the victims of abortion" — both the unborn who have died and hopefully the women who felt forced by society and circumstance to make that choice.
Bill Fusz
junior
Siegfried Hall
February 22, 2001
All Viewpoint Stories for Monday, February 26, 2001
