Pro Life Teachings

FAQs

  • Absolutely! God is the author of life. By His breath humanity was brought to life. Every single human being bears His image and likeness. God desires all human life to be protected and defended, and this starts in the womb.
  • One CANNOT be Catholic and Pro-Choice, this belief would compromise the faith and contradict what the church teaches.
    • CCC 2258:
      • “God is the sole creator of life and destroying God’s creation under any circumstance is to degrade the sacredness of life.”
  • The church, since its beginning, has taken the side of anti-abortion. This teaching has never changed, and those who participate in abortion, either directly or indirectly, are partaking in an action that goes against church teaching and the moral law.
    • CCC 2271:
      • “You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish”
      • “God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.”
    • It is true, that the Bible does not specifically say “Do not murder unborn babies in the womb.” There are many things the Bible does not specifically state, word for word, but given the teachings and Gospels, one with reason can conclude it is unlawful, as a Christian, to support the murder of innocents, despite lack of finances, worry, fear, or an inconvenience to the current state of life. This is why the church has created the CCC, to provide moral guidance, solely based on scripture, for the public to gain a deeper understanding of the faith, based on Christ’s fulfilled teaching.
  • Romans 13:17:
    • Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

 

Some people may argue that this Scripture verse solidifies the argument that Chrsitians should adhere to state laws, whether they agree or disagree with those laws. However, scripture gives authority to governing officials, as it has been given by God. The State does not have an unlimited power, but has one with confines and boundaries that do not usurp what the State has been entrusted with. The duty of the state is to uphold the moral law, the law of righteousness, and the teachings of Christ. Commenting on this verse, the Church Father Ambrosiaster states, "Paul bears witness to the fact that God is the author of both and that the ministers of the earthly law have God’s permission to act, so that no one should despise it as a merely human construction. In effect, Paul sees the divine law as being delegated to human authorities." Thus, the duty of the State is to not act contrary to the commands of God. Therefore, a duty of a Christian is to ensure that the laws that the State ratifies and imposes are in line with the morality of God. Moreover, this specific verse refers to the idea of charity and respect towards state officials. As Christians, we are called to love everyone, and in a loving manner challenge those laws which stand contrary to the law of God. 
  • As the Evangelium states, “Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or wilful self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where people are treated as mere instruments of gain rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others like them are infamies indeed. They poison human society, and they do more harm to those who practice them than to those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator"
  • It is clear that the Church has always held the same standard for life
  • Jesus came to reveal to us the love of the Father. He is not different from the God of the Old Testament, because He is the merciful God of the Old Testament. In so many Old Testament passages we hear about God's mercy and love, as well as the many times He spared the Israelites. The time of the Old Testament was a time of preparation for the Israelites in order to be prepared when the messiah arrives. So, how do we explain and understand the bloodshed and "murder" in the Old Testament? There are a few different ways to understand these passages. Firstly, in areas where there was a total killing of the people, we find stories where those same groups of people survived. One need only to look at the story of the Anakim. Which means that these stories of totally killing the people may have possibly been wartime exaggerations that God allowed in order to bring out an intended effect. However, even if God did command them to take the life of these people, God is the author of life and the earth is not our final home. The earth is our pilgrimage until we get to our final destination, which is union with God. Is this a justification for abortion? Absolutely not. There is no comparison between the Old Testament and Abortion. Abortion murders innocent, defenseless babies who have otherwise known no personal guilt. 

Theological and Scriptural Resources

  • Genesis 25:22-23:
    • Isaac, Abraham’s son, was married to Rebekah. She was childless, so Isaac prayed to the Lord for Rebekah to bear a child, in which his prayers were answered. Rebekah becomes pregnant and the scripture goes on to state:

22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one person will be stronger than the other,
    and the older will serve the younger.”

Scripture refers to those in the womb as a “person”, regarding their characteristics, qualities, and age of each individual.

  • Luke 1:4:
    • “And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
    • Evidently, John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth reacted to Jesus in the womb of Mary. Babies are alive in the womb and scripture helps prove this point.
  • A document called “Didache” which is an ancient teaching of the twelve apostles written by early Christian scholars (100 or 200 AD), contains text about abortion. This document is highly regarded by many authors and theologians, including Athanasius in 373 AD who recommended it to converts. John of Damascus was also a supporter of this document.
    • States “You shall not procure abortion, nor destroy a newborn child”
  • The Letter of Barnabas5 (c. A.D. 130), said: “You shall not abort a child nor, again, commit infanticide.”
  • Basil the Great states:
    • “The woman who purposely destroys her unborn child is guilty of murder. With us there is no nice inquiry as to its being formed or unformed” (First Canonical Letter, can. II [374]).
  • As Aquinas puts it well in his Summa, it is NOT lawful to kill the innocent. The slaying of a sinner becomes lawful in relation to the common good, which is corrupted by sin. On the other hand, the life of righteous men preserves and forwards the common good, since they are the chief part of the community. Therefore it is in no way lawful to slay the innocent.
  • Gianna Molla was urged by doctors to have an abortion, but she recognized the dignity and importance of the unborn, as she states, “If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child—I insist on it. Save her.” Although St. Gianna would pass away soon after giving birth, the baby survived and was born healthy.

Overview of Life

  • Our Lord and God, once was an infant, that was birthed by a woman, the Blessed Mother. Our Lord, also, was once a fetus, who at the moment of conception, was brought into this world by God
  • When salvation met this Earth, it first began with a baby, as it says in Scripture, “I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:10-11)”
  • It is an undeniable fact, as a Christian, and one with mere basic human morals and ethics, that a baby is the most precious and innocent of humans. Life is a God-given gift, as stated in the Evangelium Vitae, “Man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God”. But, how does one share in the life of God, when their life is cut short, all for the sake of “choice, autonomy and convenience.” The Evangelium states that those who are unsure or ignorant on this matter of life can, “by the light of reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize in the natural law written in the heart (cf. Rom 2:14-15) the sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end, and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary good respected to the highest degree.” As one who holds the idea that there are intrinsic evils and goods, and specifically, a believer in Christ the Lord, it is without a doubt, that throughout all of Church history and Scripture, innocent life is precious and should be protected, in every situation. As a firm duty of a believer in Christ, he or she “must defend and promote this right, aware as they are of the wonderful truth recalled by the Second Vatican Council: "By his incarnation the Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every human being".2 This saving event reveals to humanity not only the boundless love of God who "so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (Jn 3:16), but also the incomparable value of every human person.
  • “Above all, you must be rid of the hideous idea, the fruit of a widespread inferiority complex, that pomp, on the proper occasions, has any connection with vanity or self-conceit. A celebrant approaching the altar, a princess led out by a king to a dance a minuet, a general officer on a ceremonial parade, a major-domo preceding the boar’s head at a Christmas feast–all these wear unusual clothes and move with calculated dignity. This does not mean that they are vain, but that they are obedient. The modern habit of doing ceremonial things unceremoniously is not proof of humility, rather it proves the offender’s inability to forget himself in the rite.” —C.S. Lewis, A Preface to Paradise Lost
  • In this encyclical, Pope Paul VI draws an important focus on marriage and procreation. He begins this by claiming, "The reason is that the fundamental nature of the marriage act, while uniting husband and wife in the closest intimacy, also renders them capable of generating new life—and this as a result of laws written into the actual nature of man and of woman. And if each of these essential qualities, the unitive and the procreative, is preserved, the use of marriage fully retains its sense of true mutual love and its ordination to the supreme responsibility of parenthood to which man is called."
    • In simpler terms, Pope Paul VI claimed that once man and woman have preserved the unitive and procreative qualities of marriage, the supreme responsibility of parenthood becomes the reality to which man is called. Furthermore, Pope Paul VI recognizes the intrinsic evil of contraception concerning the act of procreation, as he quotes, "to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man." In other words, Pope Paul VI recognizes that contraception goes against one of the natural functions of marriage, that being procreation, and this is a violation of the moral order instituted by God, hence being unlawful for man to participate in.

Milestones of Fetal Development (From the Child’s Perspective)

  • (Note: Most abortions occur during this time. Many women do not discover they are pregnant until around week 5 or 6.)
  • Conception:
    Life begins when my father’s sperm fertilizes my mother’s egg, combining their genetic instructions to create a new, unique human being—me.
  • Day 1:
    I begin my journey toward my mother’s uterus.
  • Day 14:
    Many women first become aware of pregnancy around this time.
  • Day 20:
    Major developments are underway. My heart is forming rapidly. My eyes are beginning to take shape, and key structures—like my brain, spinal cord, and nervous system—are nearly complete.
  • Day 24:
    My tiny heart starts to beat! This marks the beginning of my own circulatory system.
  • Day 28:
    I’m growing fast—about 10,000 times larger than at conception. I’m about ¼ of an inch long. My muscles are developing, and small buds that will become my arms and legs are visible. The first cells of my neocortex, the part of my brain responsible for thinking and reasoning, begin to form. My blood circulates independently from my mother’s.
  • Day 35:
    My mouth, nose, and ears are now taking shape, giving my face its first distinct features.
  • Day 42:
    My cartilage skeleton is complete, and bone formation has begun. My umbilical cord is fully developed. I’m beginning to show reflex responses, and my organs are starting to function.
  • Day 43:
    My brain waves can now be recorded!
  • Week 8:
    I’m about 1 to 1.5 inches long and weigh about 1/30 of an ounce. My taste buds are forming, fingerprints are being engraved, and I’m made up of about one billion cells.
  • Week 9:
    I can bend my fingers around an object placed in my palm. My fingernails are forming, and I’ve started to suck my thumb.
  • Week 10:
    I’m sensitive to touch. I swallow, squint, frown, and can even pucker my brow.
  • Week 12:
    I can turn over, curl and fan my toes, make a fist, move my thumbs, open and close my mouth, press my lips together, sleep, hiccup, cry, and practice breathing.
  • Week 13:
    My facial expressions already resemble those of my parents. I move vigorously, and my vocal cords are now present. My sex can be determined through ultrasound.
  • Month 4:
    I can grasp with my hands and turn somersaults! My mother may begin to feel my first kicks and movements. I even show signs of REM sleep and dreaming.
  • Month 5:
    I have developed sleeping patterns. I can hear sounds from outside the womb and respond to loud noises.
  • Month 6 (24 Weeks):
    I’m considered viable now, which means I could survive outside the womb with medical support. About 60% of my development is complete. I weigh around 22 ounces and measure about 9 inches long. Fine hair (lanugo) grows on my head and eyebrows.
  • Month 7:
    I now weigh around 2 pounds. I can recognize my mother’s voice. My body is composed of over 300 billion cells.
  • Month 8:
    I weigh over 4 pounds now, and space inside the womb is getting tight!
  • Month 9:
    I'm gaining about an ounce a day. By now, 41 out of 45 total cell divisions that will occur by adulthood have already happened. I have about two trillion cells.