UI Press | Daniel A. Dombrowski and Robert Deltete | A Brief, Liberal, Catholic Defense of Abortion

A Brief, Liberal, Catholic Defense of Abortion

Embracing and evaluating the complexities of historical Catholic positions on abortion.

The Catholic Church has always opposed abortion, but--contrary to popular belief--not always for the same reasons. This tightly argued, historically grounded study sets out to demonstrate that a “pro-choice” stance, now held by a significant minority of Catholics, is as fully justified by Catholic thought as an antiabortion view.

A Brief, Liberal, Catholic Defense of Abortion argues that the current Catholic antiabortion stance is justified neither by modern embryology nor by ancient church teachings. Combining up-to-date information on fetal development with a thorough grasp of the works of the church’s early thinkers (such as Sts. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas), Daniel A. Dombrowski and Robert Deltete expose crucial contradictions between the early and the modern Church’s views of abortion.

"Calmly reasoned, carefully explained, and terribly important."--Garry Wills, Chicago Sun-Times

"A model of reasoned discourse about an inflammatory issue. I cannot think of a Catholic -- or any thoughtful person -- who would not benefit from it."--Anthony Padovano, Conscience

Daniel A. Dombrowski, a professor of philosophy at Seattle University, is the author of Babies and Beasts: The Argument from Marginal Cases and other books. Robert Deltete, a professor of philosophy at Seattle University, has published on the history and philosophy of physics and cosmology.