It’s rare to see a fresh approach in the pro-life discourse, but this superb op-ed today in the New York Times, “The Unborn Paradox,” by their regular columnist Ross Douthat, brings together two issues that are too rarely–if ever–paired.  First, the widespread, heartfelt and frequently unmet desire for children among childless parents (keying off a very sobering New York magazine article on women seeking to get pregnant after years of using “the pill”); and second, legalized abortion.  How can our society so value and so disvalue life at the same time?  Douthat’s jumping-off point is a recent MTV special “No Easy Decision,” which followed a young woman’s decision to have (or not have) an abortion.  

The ending of Douthat’s piece is an argument so cogent that even the most passionate “pro-choice” advocate will find it hard to rebut.  It is a genuine contribution to the pro-life movement.  “This is the paradox of America’s unborn,” he writes. ” No life is so desperately sought after, so hungrily desired, so carefully nurtured. And yet no life is so legally unprotected, and so frequently destroyed.”

Read his piece by all means here.

The Rev. James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author, editor at large at America and founder of Outreach.