An Effort to Articulate a Catholic Realist Approach to Abortion

Abstract:     
In an effort to try to move the abortion debate forward by trying to find common ground between very polarized positions, the Article explores what options exist for a political and legal system’s treatment of abortion that might be consistent with a Catholic realist approach. The article begins by identifying three conditions that are required for a position to be labeled a Catholic realist position: factual accuracy, viability and consistency with Catholic moral teaching. It then explores five questions as a means of articulating what a Catholic realist approach to abortion might look like, including the question whether there is a dignity interest in a woman not being forced to carry a pregnancy to term and the extent to which broad societal consensus about the moral status of abortion might impact our views of the role of law in addressing abortion.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 39

Keywords: Abortion, Reproductive Rights, Catholic Legal Thought, Catholic Legal Theory, Christian Realism, Law and Religion

working papers series