Morality subject, the rights and wrongs on Abortion on A Catholic viewpoint - Essay Example

? The Rights and Wrongs of Abortion from a Catholic Viewpoint The Rights and Wrongs of Abortion from a Catholic Viewpoint A statement by the Amnesty International on June 14, 2007 on its neutral stance on abortion was condemned by the Catholic Church. Amnesty International declared abortion as “a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy”1. However, for the Catholic Church, “To selectively justify abortion, even in the cases of rape, is to define the innocent child within the womb as an enemy, a ‘thing’ that must be destroyed”2. This was the message of Cardinal Renato Martino, who was president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Moreover, according to Martino, the stance of Amnesty International which is to uphold human rights above specific theologies and the right of the unborn child to live may trigger opposition from the Catholic Church and various anti-abortion organizations but may actually inspire others to cut the life of the unborn child if they feel they have to. Nevertheless, regardless of people’s stance on abortion, the act is considered a moral wrong based on Catholic theology. Based on Catholic theology, abortion is wrong because of several reasons. First, according to De Marco, the immoral nature of abortion depends on “the presence of hundreds of thousands of non-Catholic individuals who actively oppose abortion, together with the existence of many anti-abortion groups who are affiliated with non-Catholic agencies and institutions”3. Although this may be logically a fallacious statement since it is based on the idea of the absolute and unquestionable rightness of the majority of population, the opinion still has practical value. Although practicality is not necessarily synonymous to what is morally right, it is certainly undeniable that the opinion of the majority matters for any institution, including the Catholic Church, is made up of this majority. The Church therefore exists not only because of its doctrines but also because of the sentiments of its members. Without the members, there can never be any Church. Another reason for the wrongness of abortion is “the fact that the underlying reasons for the Catholic Church’s condemnation of [it] are philosophical and humanitarian, based on the right to life of innocent human beings”4. Moreover, since it is not only the Catholic religion that pushes for the respect for the life of the unborn child, then these reasons for the wrongness of abortion are therefore “not peculiarly Catholic”5. It therefore reflects the sentiments of various other religions. Although it would be rather exhaustive to explain in this paper, there is basically no religion that condemns life. This mere fact therefore tells us that basically life is precious and these religions, which have been established by learned people and intellectuals, may not be that wrong. The stance of the Church itself on abortion is only implied in the Canon law but “the very fact that there have always been canonical penalties for abortion is a reflection of the Church’s position that abortion is a grave evil”6. Nevertheless, there are specific teachings of the Catholic Church against abortion. In fact, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2271, “Direct abortion…willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law [and] are abominable crimes”7. It is very interesting to note the phrase “willed either as an end or a means” for it implies that even if abortion were used to save the mother’s life, just like what modern oppositionists are claiming, abortion is nevertheless a crime. It therefore does not make abortion right even if it were used as a means to save a person’s life. The Catholic Church therefore maintains that the functionality of an object or a concept cannot guarantee its spiritual value. Moreover, contrary to what science has determined, for the Catholic religion, “the exact time when the fetus becomes ‘animated’ has no practical significance as far as the morality of abortion is concerned”8. The reason for this is that every act of direct abortion is “a sin of murder by intent”9 and this remains to be so regardless whether there is life in the fetus or not. Moreover, the Catholic Church assumes that science may not exactly be able to determine where the soul is and when it begins to exist. Therefore, since the time of animation of the fetus is not exactly determined, the time of conception becomes the basis of the point where abortion is considered an immoral or evil act. Besides, whether there is really a soul there already or not yet, the Catholic Church subscribes to the idea that the sin here is the murderous intent behind the murderous act, regardless of the time of animation that science has established. Moreover, there is no documented record that any Pope, Council, Saint or early Church Father has ever supported abortion in any circumstance10. Naturally, it would be rather fallacious to conclude that the Church was against abortion just because no literature in its favor was ever found. However, there was indeed direct evidence of the opposite, and that, in fact, the first Christian writings were against abortion. The Didache, or the Lord’s Instruction to the Gentiles through the Twelve Apostles, which was written in around 80 AD, and which s considered as “the oldest source of ecclesiastical law and…the first Christian catechism,”11 states, “You shall not slay the child by abortion”12. What is old must therefore not be entirely wrong and may even serve as the original basis of all other subsequent rules regarding abortion and the respect for life. Moreover, the Father of Theologians, Clement of Alexandria, wrote sometime in the year 215 that “abortions destroy utterly the embryo and, with it, the love of man”12. This statement was rather a follow up to the rule stated in the Didache stating that “[slaying] the child by abortion”13 is an offense against God. The statement of Clement of Alexandria somehow explains why abortion is indeed evil. The reason given by the Church Father is that abortion destroys the love of man. This means that when abortion is carried out, something in the person who has done it or who has it done will die and, and this thing that will die is love. As many as the cases of abortion that are carried out, there is also as much love that is lost and wasted and will never be revived ever again. Love is a gift from God, but one perfect way to lose it is through committing the act of abortion. Other Christian writers during the early period of Christianity from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD also condemned abortion and declared it as gravely evil. Among these writers included Hippolytus, Cyprian, St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, Bishop Caesarius of Arles, and St. Martin of Braga14. All these aforementioned writers believed in the respect for human life and in the pagan nature of abortion and infanticide. Unlike Clement of Alexandria, who emphasized the role of love vis-a-vis the concept of abortion, the aforementioned writers and saints all emphasize the respect for the life of the unborn baby as the basis for not choosing abortion as an option. Moreover, these writers opposed the Stoic view that the main indication of life is breath, which implies that the fetus is not alive yet for it still does not breathe15. Whether there is breath or not, the fetus is considered alive by the early Christian writers. Another reason why abortion is morally evil is the concept of the soul. The soul seems to be the most important quality of the unborn fetus. In 1620, the physician general of the Vatican, Zacchia, published the book Quaestiones medico-legales, which stated that “the rational soul is created and infused at conception”16. Regardless of whether the embryo is alive or not, and regardless of the love that can be lost through abortion, Zacchia emphasized the sanctity of the soul. The soul by itself should be regarded as something sacred and anything that will destroy it is therefore considered as an act which is morally evil. Since abortion involves destruction of the embryo and consequently the destruction of the soul, then abortion is considered a morally evil act. Aside from the opinions and writings of theologians and saints, the Catholic or Christian Bible is also opposed to the practice of abortion. In the Book of Exodus, Moses prescribes a particular punishment against accidental miscarriage17. A part of the passage specifically states, “But if there is serious injury [against a pregnant woman], you are to take life for life”18. The punishment for the destruction of the baby in the woman’s womb is therefore life, which means to say that the life of an unborn baby is precious regardless whether it breathes or not. Moreover, this passage also implies that the baby in the womb actually already possesses a soul. In fact, based on the Gospel of Luke, “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord…and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born”19. This means that the unborn baby is already blessed with the Holy Spirit. Not only that, but God also works in the womb and this is where it is supposed life has begun. In fact, according to the Book of Isaiah, “This is what the Lord says – he who made you, who formed you in the womb…”20. Moreover, according to the Book of Psalms, “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him”21. The word “children” here includes not only the children who were born and who have grown up but also those who were not born yet and are destined to be children. The bottom line here is that the Catholic Church vehemently condemns abortion because of the religion’s respect for the value of children, whether born or unborn. Lastly, according to the ideas of modern Catholic thinkers and theologians, on which many of the existing Church laws are based, abortion is definitely never an option. For one, according to a rather feminist article published on EWTN in 1992, a rational opposition to abortion is also all about “the right of a woman to protect her body”22. Firstly, the woman loses the cash she had to pay for the surgery. Losing money may not be a moral thing but it indirectly damages the quality of life of the woman who is to bear the burden of abortion. Secondly, she also undergoes a very “humiliating”23 procedure, which is equivalent to an “invasion deeper than rape”24. Related to this statement is that, thirdly, the woman can lose her health as abortion can damage the uterus and cervix, and increases the risk of tubal pregnancy25. This implies that the procedure for abortion is indeed one that is brutal in nature and will therefore hurt not only one’s emotions but also one’s body. One of the emotional consequences of abortion is that the woman may experience a devastating loss of a child and will therefore have reverberations on her conscience26. Moreover, just like traditional and conservative writers, modern Catholic thinkers also believe that destroying the embryo during the early stage of life, which is the fetal stage, is morally evil. According to Lee and George in the article “The Wrong of Abortion,” “To have destroyed the human organism that you are or I am even at an early stage of our lives would have been to have killed you or me”27. Moreover, according to Stabile, Catholic realists still subscribe to the traditional teachings of the Pontiffs. The late Pope Pius XI states that abortion “is an offense against the law of God and nature, and those who indulge in such are branded with the guilt of a grave sin”28. The late Pontiff was rather firm and absolute in his stance against abortion and offers no justifications for it. For Pope Pius XI, the concept of abortion is an a priori morally evil act. Moreover, the late Pope Paul VI reiterated in a 1969 encyclical of his that “there are certain limits, beyond which it is wrong to go, to the power of man over his own body and its natural functions”29. This sounds rather more acceptable because Pope Paul VI offered a reason behind the condemnation of abortion. Truly, if one were only completely free, he would most likely just destroy himself, beginning with his body. On the other hand, regarding pro-abortion, as in the case of the Colombian government, which loosened their restrictions on abortion, the act may be allowed “if a woman’s life is in danger, in the case of rape or incest, or if the fetus is severely malformed”30. The idea of saving the mother as a justification for abortion may appear sound and reasonable, but it should not be that a morally evil act like abortion should be used as a means to an end no matter how good this end is. Regardless of what happens to the mother, which is actually a separate issue, abortion is morally evil and should not be done by any Catholic who chooses to follow his conscience. Abortion is a morally evil act. Based on the Catholic point of view, there are several reasons for this claim. First, all Catholics have the same sentiment towards abortion. Second, anti-abortion is humanitarian. Third, the condemnation of abortion is implied in the Canon law. Fourth, there is the presence of murderous intent in abortion. Fifth, the opinions of Popes, Councils and Saints all agree on the morally negative nature of abortion. Sixth, the Bible implies that the Law of God is against abortion. Seventhly, modern Catholic thinkers are also against the practice, especially those that fight for women’s safety from the risks of abortion. On the other hand, the opposition believes that abortion may save the mother’s life in some special cases. Nevertheless, aside from the fact that this only refers to specific cases, the idea is that regardless of the danger to the mother’s life, abortion remains evil and should not be done by any good Catholic at any cost and under any circumstances. Endnotes 1. John Caldwell, “After Vatican criticism, Amnesty defends new policy on abortion,” Catholic News, (2007),, accessed 18 May 2013. 2. Ibid. 3. Donald DeMarco, “The Roman Catholic Church and Abortion: An Historical Perspective,” Catholic News Service, (2007), , accessed 18 May 2013. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. 7. The Life Resources Charitable Trust, “Abortion – The religious, ethical and philosophical base,” The Life Resources Charitable Trust, (2011), , accessed 18 May 2013. 8. DeMarco, Loc. Cit. 9. Ibid. 10. “Abortion – The religious, ethical and philosophical base,” Loc. Cit. 11. Donald DeMarco, “The Roman Catholic Church and Abortion: An Historical Perspective – Part II,” Catholic News Service, (2007), , accessed 18 May 2013. 12. Ibid. 13. Ibid. 14. Ibid. 15. Ibid. 16. DeMarco, “The Roman Catholic Church and Abortion: An Historical Perspective – Part II,” Loc. Cit. 17. Bible Gateway, Exodus 21:22-25, New International Version, Bible Gateway, (2013), http://www.biblegateway.com/, accessed 19 May 2013. 18. Ex. 21:24, NIV. 19. Bible Gateway, Lk. 1:15, NIV. 20. Bible Gateway, Is. 44:2. NIV. 21. Bible Gateway, Ps. 127:13. NIV. 22. Frederica Mathewes-Green, “Abortion: Women’s Rights and Wrongs,” EWTN Global Catholic Network, (1992), , accessed 22 May 2013. 23. Ibid. 24. Ibid. 25. Ibid. 26. Ibid. 27. Robert P. George and Patrick Lee, “The Wrong of Abortion,” in Andrew I. Cohen and Christopher Wellman (eds.), Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics, (New York, NY: Blackwell Publishers, 2005), 16. 28. Susan J. Stabile, “An Effort to Articulate a Catholic Realist Approach to Abortion,” University of St. Thomas Law Journal, 7/2 (2010), 339-369. 29. Ibid. 30. Jill Replogle, “Abortion debate heats up in Latin America,” The Lancet, 370/9584 (2007), 305-306. Bibliography BIBLE GATEWAY, Exodus 21:22-25, New International Version, Bible Gateway, (2013), http://www.biblegateway.com/, accessed 19 May 2013. BIBLE GATEWAY, Isaiah 44:2, New International Version, Bible Gateway, (2013), http://www.biblegateway.com/, accessed 19 May 2013. BIBLE GATEWAY, Luke 1:15, New International Version, Bible Gateway, (2013), http://www.biblegateway.com/, accessed 19 May 2013. BIBLE GATEWAY, Psalm 127:13, New International Version, Bible Gateway, (2013), http://www.biblegateway.com/, accessed 19 May 2013. CALDWELL, JOHN, “After Vatican criticism, Amnesty defends new policy on abortion,” Catholic News, (2007),, accessed 18 May 2013. DEMARCO, DONALD, “The Roman Catholic Church and Abortion: An Historical Perspective,” Catholic News Service, (2007), , accessed 18 May 2013. DEMARCO, DONALD, “The Roman Catholic Church and Abortion: An Historical Perspective – Part II,” Catholic News Service, (2007), , accessed 18 May 2013. GEORGE, ROBERT P. and LEE, PATRICK, “The Wrong of Abortion,” in Andrew I. Cohen and Christopher Wellman (eds.), Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics, (New York, NY: Blackwell Publishers, 2005), 16. MATHEWES-GREEN, FREDERICA, “Abortion: Women’s Rights and Wrongs,” EWTN Global Catholic Network, (1992), , accessed 22 May 2013. REPLOGLE, JILL, “Abortion debate heats up in Latin America,” The Lancet, 370/9584 (2007), 305-306. STABILE, SUSAN J., “An Effort to Articulate a Catholic Realist Approach to Abortion,” University of St. Thomas Law Journal, 7/2 (2010), 339-369. THE LIFE RESOURCES CHARITABLE TRUST, “Abortion – The religious, ethical and philosophical base,” The Life Resources Charitable Trust, (2011), , accessed 18 May 2013. Read More