After reading last Friday’s article about the deplorable conditions at a local abortion clinic (“Local abortion clinic raided,” 2/26/10), I had the same reaction that I am sure everyone else who read the article had: disgust. I was disgusted at the behavior of the doctor, a man who took an oath to protect the well-being of his patients. I was disgusted that it took so long before the state suspended the license of a man named in at least 46 lawsuits.

Seeing as how Penn for Choice commented on this incident in the article, but no pro-life organizations were heard from, I thought it best to respond on behalf of the Newman Council, the undergraduate leadership body of Catholic students under the guidance of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The Catholic Church is adamantly pro-life, but its stance is often misconstrued. The position of the Church is, in the words of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, that “respect for life should be a seamless garment.” This means the Church stands up for human life in any place in which respect for it is at risk. The Church and her members stand with the victim of genocide in Rwanda, the worker in a sweatshop in El Salvador and the defenseless, unborn child in a clinic at 38th Street and Lancaster Avenue. For Catholics, abortion represents only one “pro-life” stance, but a gravely important one.

I mentioned that I was disgusted by the article. Let me offer a suggestion: Perhaps deep down we are all disgusted that women are forced to make such a tragic choice as abortion. Perhaps deep down we get a sense that such decisions should not have to take place. The greatest tragedy of abortion is that it forces a woman’s hand against her own child. Sadly, many women feel forced to end their child’s life even as many infertile couples would do anything for a child of their own. There is the boyfriend who doesn’t want to take care of a child. There are parents who don’t want to ruin their hard-won reputation. There are financial pressures caused by a lack of economic opportunities. These are not excuses; they are simply realities.

On a liberal, open campus like Penn’s, enlightened debate on this topic should happen more often. As the future leaders of this country, we have to be able to talk about issues of more gravity than whether Wawa is going to start selling beer. We need to have the maturity to talk about issues that might make us uncomfortable, that take us out of our comfort zones and force us to evaluate where our principles lie. More importantly, we need to be able to speak without the harsh tones used by many on both sides of debates such as these.

Last year, the Catholic world was divided over the University of Notre Dame’s decision to invite President Barack Obama to speak at the university’s commencement and to award him an honorary degree. John Jenkins, the president of Notre Dame, addressed the controversy on the day of commencement, calling dialogue “an ongoing process made possible by many acts of courtesy and gestures of respect, by listening carefully and speaking honestly.”

Next October, Princeton University is holding a conference called “Open Hearts, Open Minds and Fair Minded Words: A Conference on Life and Choice in the Abortion Debate.” I challenge Penn’s leadership to pick up this debate where Princeton will leave it off. I challenge all of us to step out of our comfort zones and assist our country in having a mature, reasoned — but passionate — discussion on the nature of abortion in the United States and around the world.

Let’s use this disgusting report as an impetus to think deeply about this issue. If we can do that, then the horrors of the abortion clinic around the corner might have some redemptive value yet.

Eric Banecker is a College junior and the president of the Newman Council. His e-mail address is ejb@sas.upenn.edu.