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[quote=Anonymous]I know there are other Catholics like me: 56% of U.S. Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and 68% believe that Roe v. Wade should not be overturned. Those stats come from the Pew Research Center https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/10/20/8-key-findings-about-catholics-and-abortion/

I'm interested in learning more about the moral arguments made by both sides because I am getting closer to leaving the Catholic Church over this issue. I have always been able to avoid and ignore the anti-abortion organizing by the Church while I have participated in other Catholic social justice ministries and regular parish life and rituals. But I can't ignore it any longer.

In case others are interested, here are the sources I have found helpful.

[u][b]Catholic positions against abortion[/b][/u]

The Catechism #2270--2275: human life begins at conception and the embryo should be given the rights of a person https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7Z.HTM#-2C6

Fact sheet from the USCCB: "Scientists increasingly understood that the union of sperm and egg at conception produces a new living being that is distinct from both mother and father.  Modern genetics demonstrated that this individual is, at the outset, distinctively human, with the inherent and active potential to mature into a human fetus, infant, child and adult ... Given the scientific fact that a human life begins at conception, the only moral norm needed to understand the Church's opposition to abortion is the principle that each and every human life has inherent dignity, and thus must be treated with the respect due to a human person." https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/abortion/respect-for-unborn-human-life

[u][b]Catholic positions for abortion[/b][/u]

Video: "The Value of Life: Scientific and Moral Reflections on Abortion" -- One compelling argument is made that "the autonomy of the pregnant woman is a frame that circumscribes all other framing of early life by biological landmarks." https://www.catholicsforchoice.org/resource-library/the-value-of-life-scientific-and-moral-reflections-on-abortion/

Article: "The history of Catholic teaching on abortion isn’t as clear cut as you think" -- "Even though Catholicism is a religion with a strict and prominent hierarchy, it has a deep respect for individual reason and choice. When navigating complex moral questions, a person must first look to their own conscience to find the correct answer — not Church leaders. This principle is known as the “primacy of conscience,” and the Catechism goes further to say, “A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience ... For some, the primacy of conscience gives sufficient room within the Catholic Church for individuals to make up their own minds on abortion." https://theoutline.com/post/8536/catholic-history-abortion-brigid

Two books I have ordered but not read yet: 
"A Brief, Liberal, Catholic Defense of Abortion" by Daniel Dombrowski
"Our Right to Choose: Toward a New Ethic of Abortion" by Beverly Wildung Harrison

To conclude, the differences seem to be about fetal development, when life begins, and the autonomy and dignity of the person, in this case the pregnant woman. On all three of these issues, I feel myself landing squarely on the pro-choice side. Could someone attempt to talk me out of it? I'm hoping for a respectful conversation here. I don't feel safe discussing this with family and friends. I live in a very Catholic world.

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