Instead of families, neighbors and communities helping women welcome and care for their children, millions of pregnant women are left to the mercy of a multi-million dollar industry which quite crudely and literally makes its profits from killing unborn children. And after an abortion, a woman is left to bear alone the grief of her baby's death. A woman may suffer from guilt and even self-hatred for not having protected her child. She may also have no one to turn to for comfort, often because she concealed her pregnancy from family and friends, or because they encouraged her to have the abortion. In deeply personal ways, abortion has touched the lives of millions.
Abortion denies that human life is sacred.
It undermines the very concept of human rights. But efforts to protect and advance human rights cannot succeed if we do not first recognize that the right not to be killed is the base upon which all other rights rest. 1 To refrain from killing other human beings does not exhaust our obligation toward others. It is the starting point of human rights, the necessary first step in building a culture of life. 2 Toward a Culture of Life Conversion, whether personal or cultural, begins by recognizing that a problem exists.