Is Being Pro-choice a Sin?: Some Questions for America’s Catholic Bishops from a Pro-choice Catholic

Is Being Pro-Choice a Sin? studies the wording in the Roman Catholic Church's official pronouncements, compares the related ambiguities and inconsistencies in the Church's official teachings regarding abortion, and brings to the forefront many yet unanswered questions about one of the most controversial issues of our time.

Len Belter relies on his personal experience as a practicing Catholic as he shares a detailed examination of the human reproductive process, formal church documents, and natural law concepts. Intended for church bishops and others who share Belter's misgivings, Belter questions why every fertilized human egg existing outside a woman's womb must be considered of equivalent moral value as a born human. While detailing where clarification and change are needed within church doctrine, Belter delves into such topics as:

• Why the Church ignores that many fertilized human eggs are naturally shed
• The significance of the historical understanding of the "male seed"
• What role fertility treatments play in the church's position
• The alleged sin of cooperating with evil

Is Being Pro-Choice a Sin? raises many reflective questions for those both within and outside the walls of the Catholic Church while encouraging a reduction in accusatory rhetoric and an open dialogue.

Leonard Belter is a Columbia law school graduate, former Captain in the United States Marine Corps, federal prosecutor, and long-time partner in the law firm of Winston & Strawn. He is recently retired and lives with his wife in Springfield, Virginia.