The latest CATHOLIC VOICE has an open letter to the leaders of Irish pro-life organisations by Patrick McCrystal of Human Life International Ireland in which he argues for a "Smeatonite" position - that is, that in order to oppose abortion effectively one must oppose contraception as well, so that all pro-life organisations should be explicitly committed to every particular of Catholic/Christian sɛҳuąƖ ethics.
As you probably know, John Smeaton's advocacy of this position led to a major split in the British pro-life movement, with Phyllis Bowman and other founders of SPUC on the other side. I notice Mr Smeaton himself is speaking at the FAITH OF OUR FATHERS conference organised in Kilkenny this weekend by the CATHOLIC VOICE. I think we have a similar split brewing here (except insofar as we have one already with the PLC vs YD division).


Personally I take the "Bowmanite" view that while I do subscribe to Catholic sɛҳuąƖ ethics in its fullness and there are undoubtedly connections between the wider sɛҳuąƖ apostasy and the rise of legal abortion, there is also a significant division between abortion and these other issues so that it is possible for people who are in error on those other points to see the wrongness of abortion. To drive away such people by insisting that they must sign up to "the whole package" as a precondition for being pro-lifers seems to me suicidal. It's not as if the pro-life cause was so strong it can afford to do without potential supporters. This approach may not have done much to check abortion, but the Smeatonite approach is guaranteed to have even less success IMHO. Just because we are losing doesn't mean the only alternative is winning - we could lose even worse