Pro-Choice Catholic Testimony

I don’t have a personal abortion story: My two pregnancies produced two wonderful human beings. My commitment to choice comes from my career in women’s health. I spent more than 50 years as a nurse and midwife. I know not all pregnancies are ideal, and I know that pregnancy, birth, and child-rearing are major physical, emotional, and financial undertakings. Pregnancy is not a legislative or legal process; it is a personal process and must be respected as such.

In 1971, I was on the steps of the New York Capitol in Albany, demonstrating to pass abortion reform. It is absolutely incomprehensible to me that this is an issue again, that women’s lives and futures can be so casually controlled by activists with no comprehension of the impact. I resent politicians who want to differentiate pregnancies resulting from rape and incest as appropriate for termination but not those which would injure the woman’s health or future. There should be no moral restrictions, as there is no right or wrong choice. I understand that my church vehemently disagrees with my beliefs. They want more parishioners and followers, which explains prohibitions on contraception and abortion. I cannot agree.