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As Respect Life Month begins, Catholic leaders share advice on how to talk about abortion

October 1, 2026 · 1 min read

Every October, the Catholic Church in the U.S. honors Respect Life Month and affirms the dignity of every human life, including unborn babies. While abortion remains a controversial issue, at its heart is the issue of how society views an unborn baby and by extension the relationship between the baby and his or her mother.

It can be hard to talk about, as emotions run high on both sides of the debate. As chemical abortion pills become increasingly more accessible to women and girls across the U.S., it raises the question: How do we discuss abortion as Catholics in a charitable and truthful way?

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk , a senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, said “the manner in which we speak is often more important than the details of what we say.”

“In approaching conversations around abortion, it’s important to acknowledge the woman’s fears,” Pacholczyk said. “It feels like a ‘crisis’ pregnancy as her worries snowball and she asks herself a thousand painful questions: What will my friends think of me if they find out? Will this make it impossible to finish college? I feel so alone, ashamed, and abandoned — why isn’t my boyfriend here to support…

Source: Catholic News Agency · Read the full story →

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Πέτρος Σταθόπουλος

Father Pakholtsiki is right, the way we speak counts more. I remember one time a girl from the neighborhood came and told me how afraid she was of what her family would say if they found out about the pregnancy. Instead of rushing to say "don't do it," it's better to listen to her fears first, as the article says. However, the part about chemical abortions really bothers me, because it is made so easy and out of sight.

Stefan Popović

I agree with Father Pacholczyk, that part about the girl's fear is the most important. As Petros said, we need to listen first, and not rush immediately with "don't". I remember when a friend from the parish went through something similar, she just wanted someone to listen to her without judgment and only then could she think about what to do next.