Warning from Spain

RECENT news dispatches from Spain tell us that they are now putting into effect a most liberal abortion law consistently condemned by the Church hierarchy for completely going against even the most elementary principles of moral law.

Here are some of the statements made by the Spanish bishops on this dark moment for Spain, our colonizer through whom we received our Christian faith and many other things, both good and bad, though I must say, more good than bad—

- The measure is “incompatible with upright moral conscience.”

- The law “worsens the existing legislation for a number of reasons.”

- First, “because it considers the elimination of life of those who are going to be born as a right of the expectant mother during the first 14 weeks of the pregnancy, leaving practically without any protection whatsoever these human lives, precisely at the state when the great majority of abortions are carried out.”

- Second, “because it establishes such an ambiguous concept of health that is equivalent to the introduction of the so-called social and eugenic indications as the legal justification of abortion.”

- Third, “because it imposes on the compulsory system the ideology of abortion and ‘gender.’”

I must say that this Spanish development should serve as a warning to us who as a nation are toying with the possibility of coming up with a law on the so-called Reproductive Health, and ordinances about sex education in public schools.

We cannot be naïve and be taken for a ride by the beautiful slogans of a rotten ideology that is now plaguing a good part of the developed world. Spain and others started out the way we are having now—regaled about the wonders of birth control and family planning, only to end up in shameless abortion and others.

We also cannot forget that we are now in the middle of a tremendous amount of pressure exerted by powerful countries and groups. Our leaders should not give an inch to these blocs for they will surely take a mile.

There is need to examine closely every word, idea and proposal these groups are making. There definitely are good parts in them, but we have to be quick to spot the vague and misleading ones. Our filtering system should be in tip-top condition.

In this regard, it would be good if the people themselves take a more active part in monitoring the developments in this regard, both in the local and global levels. They, we, have to be prompt to voice out our concern once these misleading moves of the pressure groups show in public.

I encourage everyone to feel free to text, write or call media outlets to express their views in this regard, so that media themselves can really get the authentic pulse of the public sentiments.

A friend, for example, has just given me some tips on writing letters to editors as a way of prodding people to be more interactive in the debate and discussion of public issues like the reproductive health and sex ed.

Among the tips given are:

- When watching TV, listening to the radio or reading newspapers, try to note ideas that positively or negatively affect the family.

- For newspapers, focus especially on the news section, opinion page, and the entertainment section.

- Use simple language. Be candid. Do not condemn persons, but wrongdoings. At times, it might be good to use strong language, but not offensive or insulting, to drive home a point.

- The tone need not be always religious. Human and common-sense arguments without reference to the Church are very effective.

- If your letter is not printed, don’t get discouraged. The Opinion Editor would have read it and somehow your ideas would have influenced him. Keep writing.

- Above all, pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance, and remember that your letter will be truly worth it, for the good of the family.

We have to understand that we cannot be passive anymore in the face of a systematic if subtle campaign to change the Christian tone of our culture and environment.

Let’s be quick to expose, as charitably as possible, the many sophisticated arguments that actually are like wolves in sheep’s clothing, using all sorts of ploys to mislead us.

Let’s overcome the bias that blocks this kind of concern in the mainstream of public discussion. We just cannot talk only about politics, business, sports and entertainment, without touching on the more important topic of spiritual and moral issues.