Abortion Laws, a Puzzling Attitude, and Catholic Social Teaching

In this episode we look at recent abortion legislation, Catholic teaching on abortion, and the attitude maintained by some that one can be personally opposed to abortion while at the same time supporting legal access to abortion.

Here are notes and references:

1. How Federal and State Abortion Policies Shifted in 2025
2. Abortion in the United States Dashboard - US map showing current legal status of abortion in each state (from a source that supports abortion)
3. State Funding to Replace Federal Medicaid Funding to Planned Parenthood - Feb 25, 2026 - from a source that supports abortion
4. Abortion in the United States - March 2026 - data and estimates from a source that supports abortion
5. Abortion pills can be ordered "just in case" they'll be needed in the future - May 21, 2026
6. The reality of the abortion pill - May 21, 2026
7. Joint Letter and Catholic Medical Association Paper to the FDA on Mifepristone (July 7, 2025)
8. Catechism of the Catholic Church - Respect for Human Life - scroll to sections 2270-2275
9. Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church's Constant Teaching - Fact sheet by the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities
10. Catholic apologist Trent Horn makes the case that Catholics Can’t Be Pro-Choice - Sept 30, 2025 
11. It is possible to be morally pro-life and politically pro-choice at the same time. - Jan 22, 2019
12. Pro-life? Pro-choice? Try being pro-grace instead - Jan 19, 2026
13. 'Personally pro-life' but politically pro-choice? - October 2025
14. Why the Arguments about “Bodily Autonomy” and “Forced Birth” Fail to Justify Abortion - June 22, 2022
15. Option Line referral to pregnancy resource centers that don’t refer for abortion
16. Podcast website with full transcripts for this episode and all other episodes

Transcript

Welcome to “Headline News and Catholic Social Teaching,” where we take a brief look at stories in the news, not from a left or right political perspective, but through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching.  I’m your host, Tom Mulhern, and I hope that this podcast will help us grow in our love of God and love of our neighbors.

In this episode we look at recent abortion legislation, Catholic teaching on abortion, and the attitude maintained by some that one can be personally opposed to abortion while at the same time supporting legal access to abortion.

In 2022, the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and returned the authority to regulate or ban abortion entirely to individual state governments.  Following the Dobbs decision, there has been a great deal of abortion-related legislative activity at the state level, in a news story that continues to unfold.

Thirteen states have banned abortion outright, and a number of other states have set limits on abortion.  Still other states have no limits on abortion and indeed have taken steps to protect access to abortion, steps like enshrining abortion in state constitutions and enacting shield laws to protect abortion-seekers, providers and others involved in travel across state lines to obtain abortions.  There is a link in the notes to a US map showing current state-by-state abortion bans or lack thereof.

At the federal level, the comprehensive budget bill passed in July 2025 suspended Medicaid payments for one year to certain abortion providers, primarily Planned Parenthood affiliates.  In response, a number of states that support access to abortion have awarded state funds to Planned Parenthood to make up for the lost federal funds.  If nothing else, this demonstrates the political power of Planned Parenthood.

Even with all the recent legislative activity, abortion remains firmly established in American society.  There were an estimated 1.1 million abortions in the US last year.  Around 65 percent of these were medication abortions, that is, abortions performed in the first 11 weeks of pregnancy by taking the pills mifepristone and misoprostol.  

Some places are now even allowing women to obtain the prescription-only abortion pills in advance and have them on hand just in case an unplanned pregnancy happens.  This is contrary to most conventional medical practice, where you normally need to actually have the medical condition before you can get a prescription for that condition.  But again, this underscores the political influence of the abortion movement.  

The availability of abortion pills by telephone and mail, whether you’re pregnant or not, makes abortion much easier, much more convenient, and much more anonymous.  It also makes it easier to circumvent state-level bans on abortion, and it means that many more abortions will fail to be reported or even counted.

In terms of Catholic social teaching, my guess is that just about everyone knows that the Catholic Church is opposed to abortion.  Catholic teaching holds that every human life has an inherent, God-given dignity from conception to natural death.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 2270 to 2275, summarizes the Church’s position on abortion.  Here’s an opening quote from that section of the Catechism:  “From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”  And a little further on in the same section, it says:  “Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”

There’s a link to the Catechism in the notes.

The Catechism also states that the Church has considered abortion evil since the first century.  This understanding has been reinforced by modern medical knowledge about the growth and development of a child from conception to birth.  In the notes I’ve linked to a more detailed history of the Church’s position on abortion.  

So, in terms of recent legal activity across the United States, the Catholic Church supports laws that ban or limit abortion, it opposes laws that support or encourage abortion, and it urges all Catholics and people of good will to do the same.

Well, I could stop now, but because abortion practices reflect societal attitudes, I want to take a brief look at a particular attitude toward abortion that’s a little puzzling, and that is the idea that one can be personally opposed to abortion while supporting a woman’s right to have an abortion.  We hear some variation of this attitude expressed by a number of Catholic political figures and by what seems to be a fair number of friends, neighbors and family members.  These folks are asserting that while they are personally pro-life and opposed to abortion for themselves, they are politically pro-choice, that is, ready and willing to accept abortion by and for others.

As you’ll see in the notes, some who take this position do so out of a sincere sense of empathy and desire to support women whose pregnancies involve terribly challenging and and even unjust circumstances.  That is the reality that some women face, and it calls out for our compassion and practical support.  But does it call us to accept the direct abortion of an unborn child?  The Catholic Church says no, there are ways to respond that don’t involve taking innocent life.

Others who take the “personally opposed to but politically supportive of abortion” view have explained that their personal opposition to abortion is based on their religious beliefs, and they don’t want to impose their religious beliefs on others.  While at first glance this might seem to be religious tolerance, on closer review it looks more like muddled thinking. 

If I think that an unborn child is a living person because of my religious beliefs, then it seems to me that I am morally bound to stand up for the defense of that life and oppose abortion. Saying I can’t impose my beliefs on others in this situation is like saying “I am personally opposed to murder or to human trafficking because of my religious beliefs, but I don’t want to impose my beliefs on others.”  It just doesn’t make sense.

I think that another reason for the “personally pro-life but politically pro-choice” position is widespread acceptance of the “bodily autonomy” argument in favor of abortion.  This is the argument that a pregnant woman has the right to get an abortion because the unborn child is developing inside her body and she has a right to control what happens in and to her body. 

 Proclaiming a woman’s right to control her body is a basic tenet of those who support access to abortion.  However, according to Church teaching, asserting this right with respect to pregnancy fails on both a logical and a moral level, as it fails to take into consideration the fundamental right to life of the child.  I’ve enclosed a link to an article that makes a very compelling case against the bodily autonomy argument.

Although there are many different arguments and counter-arguments when it comes to abortion, at its core it’s actually quite simple.  The choice to have an abortion or not have an abortion is, in every situation, a choice that has life or death consequences for a specific human person.  This is, I think, an undeniable statement.  And those of us who are adoptive parents know this in a very personal way.

My wife and I have three children, each of them adopted at birth.  In all three cases, young women had unplanned pregnancies, and abortion was very much an option that was available to them.  However, each of these women chose to have their babies and place them with us, going through a Catholic Charities open adoption program.  Because of these choices made by these young women, our three children have lives, and my wife and I have a family. 

The position of the Catholic Church is that both the life of the mother and the life of the child are precious in God’s sight, and they both have the right to our protection and support.  That’s why Catholics operate many different programs and ministries that provide practical and loving support to women who are facing the very real challenges of unplanned pregnancy.  I’ll put a link in the notes to an online directory of such programs.

And while Catholic Social Teaching stands unequivocally for life and against abortion, it does not tell us to treat abortion supporters as enemies.  Rather, they are our brothers and sisters, and we are called to interact with them with love and patience and respect, even when they are unwilling to acknowledge the truth about abortion. 

Let this be our prayer today, then, that we will always be ready to share Catholic teaching about the protection of life and the avoidable tragedy of abortion, and to do so in a way that encourages each one of us to recognize the law of God written on our hearts.

Well, that’s it for this episode of “Headline News and Catholic Social Teaching.”  If you found it worthwhile, I invite you to share it with others.  If you’d like to make a comment or send me a message or a question, there’s a link in the notes that will enable you to do just that.

And I hope and pray that, in some small way, this episode might help you and me live our lives guided by the Holy Spirit through the teachings of the Church.  

Thank you for listening.