My apologies for being so slow in getting these comments off to you regarding your recent column [Meeting in the grey middle, Ken Trainor, Viewpoints, Jan. 20]. Personally, over many years of pondering this question of abortion, I cannot get my head wrapped around a clear-cut opinion on this absolutely complex moral/ethical/medical dilemma. I have dear friends with whom I cannot discuss this subject because of their certitude.
Contraception? Like many if not most Catholics, I have no problem with this issue. It confounds me as to why our Church leadership cannot seem to get it straight. I was taught years ago, in Catholic schools no less, that the sole purpose of marriage is not simply procreation. However, this is a discussion for another time and place.
Abortion? That is a whole different issue. So many variables, the primary one being as to when does life truly begin in the fetus. Add to that the case of rape and/or incest, and all the other unanswered questions as to if and when abortion is ever morally or medically correct, if in fact it ever is.
Thanks, Ken, for your very incisive debate on this subject. You have clarified, verified, and justified my confusion on this very serious matter. This mystery rates right there with Almighty God’s secret about what happens to us after we die.
If Einstein lived to be 200 years old, he’d never have resolved either one.
Tom Dwyer
Oak Park
