Pregnancy Crisis

Human life begins at conception and must be respected and protected from that moment forward.

The Catholic Church teaches that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and possesses inherent dignity from the first moment of existence at conception.

“God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them.” Genesis 1:27

Science confirms that at conception a new, genetically distinct human being comes into existence. Because this life is fully human, the Church teaches that it must also be treated as a person deserving of protection and human rights, including the right to life.

You cannot justify excluding the unborn from equal human rights.

Human rights do not depend on age, size, independence, intelligence, or ability. If rights are truly universal, they have to apply to every human being, including the unborn.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the inalienable right to life of every innocent individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation” (CCC 2273). To deny rights to one human being based on the factors of developmental stage, age, size, independence, intelligence, or ability creates a dangerous principle that some humans are less worthy of their rights or less human than others.

Human life is valuable simply because it is human.

Human dignity is not earned through intelligence, productivity, health, independence, or any other variable factor. Every person possesses equal worth because every person is created by God.

Moral worth is inherent from the beginning of human life at conception. If dignity were to develop gradually, then rights become arbitrary and unequal. Inherent dignity provides a consistent basis for all universal human rights.

No. Dependency does not determine human value or human rights.

Newborns, the elderly, the disabled, and the sick are all dependent on others for survival, yet their dignity remains. The unborn child’s dependency on the mother is a natural stage of development and does not erase their humanity or dignity.

Catholic teaching states that every innocent human life deserves protection regardless of level of dependency or capability.

When there is uncertainty about whether a being is a human person, justice requires protecting life rather than risking the destruction of it. Catholic moral thinking favors caution in defense of the vulnerable.

The Church teaches that from conception there is already sufficient evidence of human life to demand moral respect and protection.

Catholic teaching states that human dignity begins when human life begins: at conception.

The unborn child does not gradually acquire the image or God, or gain it at a later point of development. Every human being possesses inherent dignity from the beginning because they are created by God and in his image.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Jeremiah 1:5

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.” Psalm 139:13

Yes. The Commandment against killing applies to the unborn because they are innocent human beings. The Church teaches that abortion is the intentional ending of an innocent human life. Innocent life deserves protection regardless of age or development.

There is no consistent criteria that would justify ending the life of a fetus that could not also apply to other groups of human beings.

There is no consistent criteria that would justify ending the life of a fetus that could not also be used to justify other vulnerable human beings. If human dignity depends on factors such as age, size, stage of development, location, level of independence, ability, or intelligence, then the equal worth of every human life becomes conditional rather than inherent.

The Catholic position holds that every human being, from conception to natural death, possesses equal dignity and the right to life. Because of this, no human life should be valued as less based on those factors.

Catholic teaching rejects the idea that moral worth is dependent on consciousness, development, awareness, or viability.

If dignity depends on capability, then human rights become conditional and equal. History shows the danger of assigning value based on development, productivity, race, age, or ability.

Viability outside the womb also cannot be a determinate factor as it changes based on medical technology and geography, making it an unstable metric for human worth.