Newspaper Article

Her say Peace is possible in the abortion battle

Whitney, Catherine

1992

Overview

It has been 19 years since Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion in the U.S., but we may not see a 20th anniversary. As a nation, we are hopelessly polarized over the issue of abortion. It tears at our public and private consciences, isolating us from one another in our intractable positions. Sometimes it seems we have been fighting this war forever, but in fact the polarizing heat of the debate is new to this century. Although we discuss abortion as if it is a clean battle between good and evil, history tells a different tale. The rights and wrongs surrounding abortion are not as cut and dried as we have been led to believe. Consider: - The Catholic Church did not establish pre-born identity until the 13th Century when it adopted Thomas Aquinas' theory that the soul enters a male fetus at 40 days and a female fetus at 80 days-not at conception. Abortion of a \"pre-animated\" fetus was not considered a sin until the early 20th Century.

• Publisher: Tribune Publishing Company, LLC