USA Today claims Abp. Antoninus is "pro-choice Catholic saint"

Behold this "informative" article in USA Today titled "Where does God stand on abortion?" Complete with the tagline: "Each side of this divisive issue claims the divine knowledge of what is right and wrong in the eyes of the Almighty. As with any hot-button issue, it's not that simple."

But what really grabbed my attention about the article is this helpful infomatic on the sidebar titled "Religions say..."

"The major world religions are pluralistic on abortion, with some authorities permitting abortion and some forbidding it. A sampling of views within various faiths:

Roman Catholicism:
The popes have taught that abortion is always forbidden, and the church hierarchy has held to a doctrine that strongly opposes it. Even so, grounds for permitting abortion exist in the Catholic tradition, and many Catholic theological authorities permit abortion in a variety of situations. There is even a pro-choice Catholic saint, the 15th century archbishop of Florence, St. Antoninus. He approved of early abortions when needed to save the life of the mother, a huge category in his day. There is thus no one Catholic view."

Now, to say there is "no one Catholic view" is a claim that stands or falls completely on your definition of "Catholic." If anyone can decide that they are "Catholic", then yes it stands. If being "Catholic", however, actually depends on whether you follow the teachings of "the popes" and the Magisterium, then it falls. Simple enough.

But what about this Saint Antoninus, and his (claimed) status as a "pro-choice Catholic saint"?

From a quick google search, it is obvious that he is often touted as being "pro-choice"as this helpful letter to the New York Times by a professor of moral theology at Marquette University reveals (there are many other examples readily to be found online):

"On Abortion, Church Teaching Isn't Absolute

To the Editor:

In a recent statement, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops described abortion as a fundamental threat to the health of civil society (news article, Nov. 19). In fact, the church's ban on abortions is a novelty of this century. Pro-choice and no-choice positions have co-existed throughout the church's history. St. Antoninus, Archbishop of Florence, the 15th-century Dominican who wrote the first treatise on abortion, taught that early abortion to save a woman's life was moral.

... Moreover, the Catholic teaching of Probabilism says that ''where there is doubt, there is freedom.'' Probabillism permits disagreement on serious moral matters, and so allows people to be free from unwanted intrusion into the sanctuary of informed personal conscience on decisions like whether to have an abortion.

DANIEL C. MAGUIR

Milwaukee, Nov. 19, 1998"

Alright, the rubbish about Probabillism aside, there is a historical claim here about the writings and thought of Saint Antoninus. I'm almost positive the relevant text is located in his Summa Theologiae Moralis, which is considered in its totality to be a substantial contribution to the development of moral theology in the middle ages.

I will attempt at my next opportunity to find a copy of the Summa Theologiae Moralis and discover what Saint Antoninus actually said. What I expect to find at most is a qualified provision for extreme cases (perhaps based on faulty contemporary biology and the dangers of childbirth at the time). After all, the most USA Today tries to factually claim is that Antoninus allowed for early abortions in order to save the mother's life. And such a limited provision would hardly earn him the approval of NARAL.

Make no mistake, however: the idea that the Church's elevation of Saint Antoninus to sainthood included an endorsement for his expressed views on these life issues is obviously false. Further, the idea that Saint Antoninus is a "pro-choice Catholic saint" is convincing only to poorly informed (or agenda-driven) individuals. Sadly, these individuals also write religion stories for USA Today.

If anyone else has already researched this issue and found the relevant sources to refute what USA Today and others are claiming - by all means, save me some time and send me an email or post in the comboxes. Thank you.

Update (8/16): St. Blogs finds the sources that debunk this false claim.