Catholic Catechism & Abortion
theophilus October 15th, 2009
There is always a great deal of attention paid when the Church, specifically through our bishops, speak out against abortion. It gets especially interesting when the Church tries to instruct those Catholics who support abortion, either directly or indirectly.
What is generally lost in this debate is a discussion as to why the Church teaches what it teaches on abortion. Why does the Church stand so strongly on the side of the unborn? Why must anti-right-to-life Catholics understand that their action or inaction not only contravenes a major tenet of our faith but subverts the foundation of the dignity of man?
I rarely read the Catechism – should read it more, but I don’t. The other day was the exception. I happened to pick it up and came across the section on abortion. I wish I would have read this stuff earlier because the Catechism makes the abortion decision pretty cut and dry.
In paragraph 2270, we hear that-
Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.
To support this proposition, the Catechism quotes from Jeremiah 1:5-
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.
And from Psalm 139:15-
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
There is no wiggle room here for any argument that suggests that the unborn child at any stage is anything less than a human being worthy of protection. God knew us before he formed us; he started his relationship with us before he even made us as man; we were his children from the get-go.
How about those arguments that the Church has only recently came around to a pro-life position? Paragraph 2271 answers this question-
Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.
Take a look at this passage from the Didache, one of the earliest writings of the Church, which the Catechism quotes-
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.
As for the present, the Church can’t get any stronger than this statement from Guadium et spes-
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.
The Church has always officially been against abortion and cannot be much clearer or stronger in its views today – did you see the word “abominable” – sounds real weak-kneed to me.
How serious is abortion? Is it just another social issue to consider? Look at paragraph 2272-
Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. “A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,” “by the very commission of the offense,” (Codex Iuris Canonici) and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.
Another one of those wishy-washy words – “excommunication.”
But paragraph 2272 doesn’t stop with the punishment-
The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.
This teaching is all about mercy and redemption for those involved in abortion; that no matter the offense, Christ will still love and forgive us. Like every other offense against God and man, we can seek and find salvation. And by extension, every one of us is called to pray for, love and forgive each person involved with abortion.
Paragraph 2272 also talks about the harm done to the parents and society. Not only does the unborn child suffer, but so do the mother, the father and society as a whole. Abortion impacts all of us.
Paragraph 2273 goes further and talks about the role of abortion in society and how life is an inalienable right, even for the unborn. And for those Catholic politicians out there that try to compartmentalize their faith on this issue, the Church gives some instruction-
The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. (emphasis not added).
The Church provides some passages from Donum Vitae, from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, to further illustrate this point-
The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being’s right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death.
The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined….As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child’s rights.
In other words, the unborn child deserves the protection of the laws, period.
How about the argument that disabled children should be diagnosed in the womb and aborted for their own sake?
Let’s turn to paragraph 2274-
Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.
Again, we have guidance from Donum vitae-
Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, “if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual…. It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence.”
What a great line – “a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence.”
Abortion is unacceptable in a civilized society. In the Catechism, the Church strongly and emphatically lays out the reasons why. The unborn child is a human being in need of the protection of society. No legal, political, mental, emotional, logical, or theoretical gymnastics can subvert this fact or the fact the unborn child is as worthy as we are to be treated with simple human dignity.
I need to read more of the Catechism. I might actually learn something.
Amen. Marching is fine. Voting for pro-life candidates is also important. Praying is crucial. However, in addition to all the other things we are doing, we need to make sure we have a better argument than “don’t.” Those in favor of abortion on demand have successfully used the “it’s the woman’s body” line for decades. The passages you cite clearly make the distinction that child is a separate individual known to God from the very beginning. While that was written around two thousand years ago, modern science also shows that the child has separate and unique DNA proving it is not part of the mother’s body. Rather the child is a person deserving of the mother’s comfort regardless of its location.