Nearly a generation has passed since September 11, 2001. But many Americans are old enough to remember the haunting images of the World Trade Center buildings engulfed in flames after hijacked passenger planes crashed into them. And then as the nation watched in disbelief, the renowned Twin Towers, which had stood proudly for almost 30 years, collapsed like a pair of conquered giants onto the streets of New York City. How could anyone ever forget? A couple months ago, a man released some never-before seen video footage he had filmed from his apartment that day. Watching his recording of that pivotal event in history prompted me to reflect again on those audacious, swiftly executed, and highly coordinated terrorist attacks in the Empire City that killed a staggering 2,753 people in the span of seconds.
Almost immediately, the moral offense, or injustice, of 9/11 was recognized by people around the world. Consequently, once the American people overcame their initial shock, it was not long before our nation resolved to respond to this preeminent threat to life in our native country. In the State of the Union Address, delivered in January 2002, President George W. Bush galvanized support for the “Global War on Terror.” The countries that supported terrorist networks like al-Qaeda, which carried out the heinous attacks, he strongly declared, “constitute an axis of evil.” As the country prepared to enter the War in Afghanistan, originally called “Operation Infinite Justice,” the stated objective was not only to defend our country, but also to bring the terrorists to justice. Years later, the truth of all that the President claimed and the political motives would become seriously questioned. While nobody in their right mind will deny or question the attacks on 9/11 were evil, unjustifiable acts which deserve to be denounced, there is another grave evil, or injustice being committed which has not been fully acknowledged or adequately addressed by Americans—it is the unjust killing of human life that commonly occurs with induced abortion.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a reputable source for abortion statistics, an estimated 1,037,000 abortions took place in the United States in the 2023. This means that trained doctors and clinicians performed approximately 2,841 abortions in the U.S. every day last year, ending more lives than the terrorist acts at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Some readers may object to this comparison. However, those who were violently killed in the terrorist attacks had no control over the ending of their lives just as the unborn have no control over the ending of theirs. Why are so many Americans complacent about these facts about abortion, denying or ignoring the precept that it is a morally evil act that cannot be rationally justified? Should we not cherish every life and publicly acknowledge and mourn the death of everyone who dies?
Holy Scripture teaches us that every human life is precious in God’s sight. Contrary to what may be stated explicitly or implied from the legal sanctioning of government, nobody has the right to take an innocent life. Induced abortion violates what philosophers and theologians refer to as natural law. It was an eternal truth, discernible by reason within the natural law, that the Founding Fathers of our great nation appealed in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, writing, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” In removing all references to gestational age from the Minnesota State Statutes in 2023, the Minnesota Legislature effectively declared that an unborn, unwanted child does not need to be protected by state law because that child does not have a right to life.
Bishop Robert Barron, a luminary in the American Church currently serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, has observed: “Opposition to abortion is not a matter of doctrine in the strict sense of the term, but rather a conclusion drawn from moral reasoning and from the findings of objective science. It is an indisputable fact that human life—which is to say, a living human being with a distinctive genetic structure and identity—comes into existence at the moment of conception. It is furthermore a fundamental axiom of ethics that innocent human life ought never to be attacked.”
In a classic study in ethics and politics, a prominent American theologian named Reinhold Niebuhr avers, “An irrational society accepts injustice because it does not analyse the pretentions made by the powerful and privileged groups of society.” It can be easily observed that the most powerful, influential members of American society favor abortion. For them, it is not up for debate: Debate, if it does occur within the public square, is plagued by incivility and incoherency. Does this mean our nation is being led and increasingly ordered around by a bunch of rebellious fools who do not have the desire or capacity for reasoned and unbiased thought?
In a bracing, opening address given to the wicked nation of Judah, the ancient prophet Isaiah declared the Word of the Lord, saying: “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice; correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. ‘Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: through your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken’ (Isa 1:16-20 ESV).”
The great author Cervantes once wrote, “Among the attributes of God, although they are all equal, mercy shines with even more brilliancy than justice.” As the American people we should acknowledge our sins, repent, and seek the mercy of God, so that we can eat the good of the land together as neighbors and not be eaten by the sword.
