Now that the possibility of salvation for unbaptised infants is accepted by most (not all) Catholics, and since Protestants generally already hold this view, it would seem that the vast majority of devout pro-lifers (as they like to call themselves) here in the U.S. assent to the idea that aborted fetuses probably pass directly into a beatific state rather than being damned to hell or resigned to limbo.
That said, one must wonder why our anti-abortion activists are so actively anti-abortion. What precisely is the spiritual harm done when a child is denied to opportunity to grow up, reach the age of accountability, reject the gospel, and be damned to hell? Given Jesus’ pronouncement concerning the narrowness of The Way, one might well conclude that the aborted children stand a far better chance than those born into this world, especially those born to those mothers who are persuaded or coerced into foregoing abortion.
Perhaps I ought to wear this shirt to the next Operation Rescue rally just for the sake of polling the people and getting a few choice vox pops on these matters, eh no?
The unfortunate truth here is that even we hardcore separationists can narrow the scope of our thinking to the exclusion of other equally legitimate concerns, such as freedom from non-sectarian authoritarianism. Mao and Stalin managed to crush liberty without help from the churches.
Of course, the flipside is that there is no freedom so self-evidently precious that the rabbis, priests and mullahs have not attempted to squelch it in the name of piety.
