Abortion as an Inversion of Eucharistic Self-Gift: A Catholic Theological Reflection

Between 1973 and 2020, more than sixty million abortions were performed in the United States following the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade. For Catholics, this reality represents not merely a political controversy but a profound moral and theological crisis. The Church teaches unequivocally that human life must be protected from conception. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception”. Direct abortion is described as a “grave moral disorder”. Yet beyond moral prohibition lies a deeper theological question: what does abortion signify within the Christian understanding of sacrifice and self-gift?

In the Old Testament, Israel is repeatedly warned against participating in pagan rituals involving the sacrifice of children to false gods such as Molech. Leviticus commands, “You shall not give any of your children to devote them by fire to Molech” (Lev. 18.21). These acts symbolized humanity’s attempt to secure prosperity or favor through the destruction of its own offspring. Child sacrifice represented a tragic distortion of worship in which the innocent were offered to appease perceived divine forces.

Christianity radically reverses this sacrificial logic. In the Incarnation, God does not demand the sacrifice of humanity’s children. Instead, God offers His own Son. Jesus Christ freely gives Himself on the Cross for the salvation of humanity. At the Last Supper, He institutes the Eucharist and declares, “This is my body, which will be given up for you” (Luke 22.19). The Eucharist becomes the sacrament of total self-gift. It reveals that authentic love is not the destruction of another for personal benefit, but the voluntary offering of oneself for the life of others.

Modern abortion rhetoric frequently centers on autonomy, expressed in phrases such as “my body, my choice.” Catholic anthropology, however, does not view the human person as radically autonomous. Rather, the human person is created in the image of God and called into communion. Freedom, in Catholic moral theology, is not mere self-assertion but the capacity to choose the good in accordance with truth.

In Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II describes abortion as part of what he terms a “culture of death,” which emerges when freedom is detached from objective moral truth (John Paul II 20). When autonomy becomes absolute, it risks transforming into domination over the vulnerable. The contrast between Eucharistic self-gift and modern autonomy is stark. Christ proclaims, “This is my body, given for you.” Contemporary rhetoric often asserts, “This is my body, for myself.” The former is an act of radical generosity; the latter can become an assertion of self-sovereignty detached from responsibility for another life.

In Catholic theology, the “spirit of antichrist” described in the First Letter of John refers to forces that oppose or invert the truth revealed in Christ (1 John 4.3). The Antichrist is not merely a future figure but represents a pattern of opposition to the salvific self-giving love of Christ. When viewed symbolically, abortion can be understood not as a singular apocalyptic event, but as participating in a broader cultural inversion of the Gospel’s sacrificial structure. Where Christ’s body becomes the source of life for others, abortion results in the ending of innocent life in the name of autonomy. It reflects a profound tension between a worldview grounded in self-gift and one grounded in self-determination.

Yet Catholic theology also insists that moral truth must be united with mercy. The Church does not condemn persons but calls all to repentance, healing, and reconciliation. Pope John Paul II writes directly to women who have undergone abortion, affirming that “the Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation” (John Paul II 99). The Christian response to abortion must therefore include practical charity: support for mothers in crisis, economic solidarity, accessible healthcare, adoption services, and pastoral care for those wounded by abortion. Without love, moral clarity risks becoming abstract and incomplete.

Ultimately, abortion represents not merely a legal issue but a clash of anthropologies. One vision understands life as a gift received from God and meant to be given in love. The other risks elevating autonomy above relational responsibility. The Eucharist proclaims that life flourishes through sacrificial love. Any society that forgets this truth risks undermining the very foundation of Christian civilization. In this light, abortion can be seen as a sign of a deeper spiritual crisis: the struggle between a culture of life grounded in self-gift and a culture that risks prioritizing autonomy over the protection of the most vulnerable.

I will end this with one last question: Does the murder of over sixty million unborn children warrant the wrath of God to be unleashed on our society?