SUMMARY of 12 page essay, with voter guide.

There is no question that the Catholic hierarchy teaches that abortion is gravely wrong, and that there are no circumstances that justify deliberately terminating an unborn human life. Neither is there any doubt that the bishops consider any kind of encouragement or willing collusion with abortion to be wrong as well.

It’s much too simplistic, however, for Catholics to simply inquire of the position on abortion held by political candidates and then let that be the only basis of their voting preferences. Granted, this position may well predict other values and policies the voter would favor (or not), but it also somewhat excuses one from the hard work of inquiring more into the character and positions of our leaders. Responsible citizenship is no trivial matter; democratic forms of government cannot thrive when citizens neglect their civic duty to carefully evaluate their political leaders.

As this reflection has demonstrated, Catholic citizenship entails weighing the evil of abortion and its support by pro-choice candidates against the possible good this candidate can accomplish in other areas over-and-against the possible good and evil outcomes ensuing from the positions of other candidates. The moral character and competency of politicians needs to be considered as well.

It is possible and even likely, then, that there will be times when, after a period of prayer and study, a Catholic will be persuaded in his or her conscience to vote for a pro-choice candidate. This possibility is affirmed by the bishops, provided the Catholic is not voting for this candidate because they are pro-choice, but for reasons that the voter considers sufficient to counter any evil that might ensue from the pro-choice candidate’s support for abortion rights. Practical considerations such as we reviewed in this work are part of this evaluation.

It is my hope that this work can be of assistance in conscience formation regarding the possibility of Catholics voting for pro-choice candidates. Unto this end, I am also providing an additional spreadsheet to help you evaluate a broader spectrum of issues. It will not be comprehensive, and parts might not even be relevant to the election under consideration. But once you see how I set it up, you can make your own set of issues and use this approach to help you become more aware of the candidates’ positions and your evaluations of them.

See https://philstromain.com/files...rtion-pro-choice.pdf for the full publication.

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