To the editor:
I just read the article on efforts to provide constitutional protections for pre-born children in Wisconsin.
Catholics who argue that a Wisconsin Personhood Amendment is “wrong for Wisconsin” might look to the Catechism for guidance. Taken from an excerpt of Donum Vitae (authored by Cardinal Ratzinger before he became Pope Benedict XVI), Catechism 2270 states, “From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”
Wisconsin’s existing abortion ban has a dangerous and risky “life of the mother” exception. Today, many abortionists are so radical they argue pregnancy itself is life threatening. Moreover, the pre-1973 abortion ban would do nothing to protect many of the tiniest pre-born babies, notably those threatened by embryonic stem cell research, abortifacient birth control, or the manufacturing of human life in petri dishes.
Finally, let’s not be deceived by unsubstantiated claims that passage of a personhood amendment could cost millions of dollars. Even if it did, any monetary costs pale in comparison to the ultimate price paid by 53 million pre-born babies who died because they weren’t granted legal personhood.
Laura Karlen, president, Madison Vigil for Life