South Africa: Over a Million Abortions in 15 Years

 “Since 1997, we count more than a million children who should have been born in South Africa, and who were deprived of the elementary right to live,” declared the Archbishop.  “These children, if they had been born,” he insisted, “would be playing in the streets of the cities and towns of South Africa, singing and praying with us in our churches on Sunday.”  “We are sad that these children of God were refused the right to be born in the world created by God and to enrich it with their own unique gifts and talents. 

We will never fully realize what we have lost because the law declares that abortion is acceptable,” continued Archbishop Tlhagale. Recalling in season and out of season the Catholic Church’s “clear and unambiguous” position on abortion, the Archbishop of Johannesburg maintained that “every child born is created by God.  He has a right to life.  A right that must be respected by the mother and protected by the State.”  Another right, he added, that must be respected by the State and its officials is that of “conscientious objection”:  “Those who believe that abortion is morally reprehensible have the right to refuse to participate in procedures destined to provoke it.”

In conclusion, the Archbishop brought up the case of a young girl pregnant out of wedlock: “Every one of us, parents, teachers, members of the Church, must understand what happens to a young girl when she realizes she is pregnant.  She needs our love, our support, our understanding, and sometimes our forgiveness.”  And he recalled that she is welcome to come to the church to meet with a priest and have God’s grace restored to her.