Our Witness Remains Pro-Life
Last month Pope Francis greeted reporters covering his return from Slovakia with a familiar disposition, "The problem of abortion, abortion is more than a problem, abortion is murder," the Supreme Pontif said. "Abortion, without beating about the bush, if you have an abortion, you kill...It is a human life, and this human life must be respected." Such a phrase is a reminder of the continued witness of the Catholic Church when it comes to abortion. In 1974, the Church sought to clarify its position on abortion after Roe v. Wade. Ratified by Pope Paul VI, the “Declaration on Procured Abortion” laid out the case why Christians were obligated to oppose the killing of the unborn. This post seeks to examine key portions of the 1974 document to review why the Catholic Church continues to defend the right to life.
To begin with, the declaration dismisses the idea that personal views against abortion should not be imposed in the public sphere. The declaration states, “Ethical pluralism is claimed to be a normal consequence of ideological pluralism. There is, however, a great difference between the one and the other, for action affects the interests of others more quickly than does mere opinion. Moreover, one can never claim freedom of opinion as a pretext for attacking the rights of others, most especially the right to life.”
The declaration which was prepared by the Sacred Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, notes the importance of every human life. “Thus we understand that human life, even on this earth, is precious. Infused by the Creator,[5] life is again taken back by Him (cf. Gen. 2:7; Wis. 15:11). It remains under His protection: man's blood cries out to Him (cf. Gen. 4:10) and He will demand an account of it, "for in the image of God man was made" (Gen. 9:5-6). The commandment of God is formal: "You shall not kill" (Ex. 20:13).” This characterization of humanity is not trivial. As Christians, we are called to love others (1 John 4:7).
The declaration provides specific examples of the Roman Church’s consistency on this matter. “In the Didache it is clearly said: ‘You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder the infant already born.’[6] Athenagoras emphasizes that Christians consider as murderers those women who take medicines to procure an abortion; he condemns the killers of children, including those still living in their mother's womb, ‘where they are already the object of the care of divine Providence.’ Tertullian did not always perhaps use the same language; he nevertheless clearly affirms the essential principle: ‘To prevent birth is anticipated murder; it makes little difference whether one destroys a life already born or does away with it in its nascent stage. The one who will be a man is already one.’" Such historical scholarship is an important rebuttal to the idea that morality is culturally dependent.
For nearly two thousand years the Catholic Church’s witness has remained: love and protect the born and the unborn.
-Jacob Adams
