Pro-life group hits out at ‘extreme’ Aspire proposal

The Women’s Choice on the Pregnancy Bill proposed by the Advocates for Safe Parenthood: Improving Reproductive Equity (Aspire) was yesterday described by the US-based president of Human Life International (HLI), Fr Tim Euteneuer, as the “most extreme abortion propositions” he has ever seen in his 12 years of pro-life ministry. Speaking on the first day of HLI’s third Caribbean conference, “Love, Life and the Family,” which is being held under the aegis of the Antilles Episcopal conference at Crowne Plaza, Fr Euteneuer said when he and Dr Brian Clowes (pro-life advocate and author) saw what was being proposed, their “jaws dropped.” He said they could not believe what they were reading. Euteneuer said Aspire is proposing that abortion be legalised up to 14 weeks on demand. One of the grounds being proposed for legalised abortion relates to the life and health (mental/physical) of the mother.

“When a bill defines health as mental health, it means you can have an abortion for any reason. Mental health can mean ‘I can’t have another baby,’” he said. He said the proposal will allow non-physicians to do abortions, “not just in hospitals but in free-standing clinics and in any place a physicians decides to set up his practice.” Euteneuer said the proposal also allows women to have abortions without having to notify their  husbands or parents. He warned that the culture of death can become a reality if abortion is legalised. The transformation from a culture of life to death does not happen overnight. He said it starts from a culture of life to a culture of immorality and promiscuity. Euteneuer said “The first things that are attacked are moral values and the laws which deal with human sexuality.” He said the second transformation is from a culture of immorality to one of violence.

“I am talking about how violence becomes institutionalised in the culture. Violence becomes a form of entertainment, institutionalised as a way to deal with the immorality that preceded it.” Fr Euteneuer said when a culture becomes promiscuous, it accepts sex detached from marriage. Young people can be sexually active without being married, babies are not welcomed into the world and large families are stigmatised. He said the child out of wedlock is seen as a problem and the illegal abortion industry starts to crop up as people decide to cover up the fruits of their immorality. “In the pro-life movement, we don’t call anything an unwanted pregnancy because a pregnancy is a child. No child is unwanted.” Fr Euteneuer said pro-abortion groups use women who get injured by illegal abortions to push for “safe” legalised abortions.

He said a safe abortion is a lie. To build a society with a culture of life, Euteneuer said all Catholics must participate when rallies and marches are held. He said there can be no apathy on issues that affect families and called for a strong lobby to exert political pressure. Euteneuer said the pro-life movement was not about the baby in the womb, but also women and families. He said getting involved was not just about fighting for a cause, it was also about providing solutions — “tangible charity.” This may require maternity homes and crisis pregnancy centres. Euteneuer said Catholics must also pray everyday. “It is important to work with youths and get them to pray that their future is not affected by a culture of death.”