“My body, my choice” is a classic pro-abortion slogan. Pro-life Catholics rightly note its fallacy: There is another body, another life, profoundly affected by the choice to abort.
So it has been shocking to see some of those same pro-lifers adopt that same vacuous philosophy to justify their opposition to masks and vaccines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
This self-centered libertarianism casts serious doubt on the notion that their stance was ever rooted in conscientious objection to the (remote, morally acceptable) cooperation with evil involved in receiving a vaccine tested on cell lines of illicit origin.
This pandemic has highlighted how unavoidably interconnected we are. In a world where an airborne virus is killing millions, where hospital beds are scarce and herd immunity is urgent, our choices have consequences far beyond our own bodies.
So if you’re a Catholic who finds yourself aligned with those using a pro-abortion slogan to drown out the pleas of the Vicar of Christ to love your neighbor by getting vaccinated, perhaps Respect Life Month is a good time for some serious prayer and self-examination.
Northwest Catholic – October/November 2021