The 60-Second Aquinas
Lesson
Abortifacients as Murder
October 23, 1998
It’s not surprising that contraception is generally more accepted in society than abortion is. But, what might surprise many is that some popular "contraceptives" – the pill, the IUD – do not prevent conception as the word would imply, but actually cause abortions of a very young fetus.
These abortifacients make the womb hostile to an already fertilized egg. They do not prevent a life from being formed; they end it shortly after it has begun.
Let’s look again to actions and their intended end: The act of sex is intended for procreation. Even if the person does not desire procreation, the body attempts to procreate because it is being told to do so. The person’s intended end might be pleasure, but the body does not separate this end from the procreative end.
In choosing an abortifacient, a person intends to separate the two, but at the same time, the person chooses a tool that is actually hostile to life after it’s created, rather than before. Such is murder, for as undeveloped as the life may be, the device used terminates the life, in direct opposition again to Aquinas’ point: "God is Lord of death and life" (ST II-II, Q. 64, Art. 6).
Explanation of The 60-Second Aquinas Lesson
