Replies

Kopp, thank you for your contribution to the forum.

As a pro-lifer, I absolutely agree with the contraception-abortion linkage, and that the pro-life movement MAY have made a mistake in the late 60s to ignore contraception and concentrate only on abortion. If that policy stance had taken place, the pro-life movement would (accurately) have been perceived as a "Catholic-only" movement. It could have influenced the mainstream and moved opinion generally against contraception, at least morally (probably not legally), OR it could have made the pro-life movement into a meaningless fringe group. Given the dominance of libs in the pre-Internet media, I personally think the latter would have occurred, but we'll never know.

The real question is what to do now in 2003. Is it more important to concentrate on outlawing abortion and euthanasia, or is it more important to go for the entire pro-life enchilada, including a ban on contraception? I believe the former is achievable legislatively pretty quickly (saving 1.4 million babies a year), and that the latter will NEVER be achieved legislatively (OK, maybe in 50 years), but instead will occur after decades of changing hearts and minds.

The latter requires a wholesale turnaround of almost all Protestant religions and a return of Catholicism to its orthodox roots before a legislative solution can even be considered. Going for the whole enchilada now, IMHO, guarantees that the abortion holocaust will continue indefinitely.

I support your mission of "trying to educate our separated brethren" 100%. My remarks were about the political struggle in the society as a whole. It seems to me that stopping abortion in the U.S.A. will be easier than converting the whole U.S.A. to the Catholic faith, desirable as the latter may be. We shouldn't deny the existence of the "taproot" (that our society is disordered with respect to sexual morality altogether, and suffers the "contraceptive mentality" Paul VI warned against); but effective collaboration with non-Catholics in the political arena can be damaged severely by overemphasis on contraception (though our discussions with those "separated brethren" AS CHRISTIANS ought never to ignore or set aside Catholic doctrine).

"I am Kopp. See my profile page for the historical timeline of Christian teaching against contraception. I spend the majority of my time here trying to educate our separated brethren on this very issue."

You are Dr. Kopp? If so could you tell me about your personal involvement with the abortion issue? TIA.