The Fifth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill forms the basis of church
teaching and civil law prohibiting murder, suicide and abortion. This
teaching was reinforced by Christ's teaching "Love your neighbour as
yourself." The Psalms emphasized that man is made in God's image and
likeness. We come from God. We go to God. We belong to God. Psalm 138:
13-14 states: "For it was you who created my being, knit me together in my
mother's womb. I thank you for the wonder of my being."
NEW TESTAMENT AND FATHERS OF THE CHURCH
There is no specific mention of abortion in the New Testament. However, at
the Visitation the unborn John the Baptist leapt in the womb in the
presence of the unborn Jesus. They were spiritually and physically
conscious of each other on the occasion which was the baptism of John the
Baptist, cleansing him from original sin before birth.
The earliest specific references to abortion are those in the "Didache" and
the "Epistle of Barnabas", both written in the early Second Century. The
"Didache" committed a code of Christian morality with a manual of Church
life and order. It declares "Thou shalt not murder a child by
abortion/destruction."
The Epistle of Barnabas which is a more theological tract on Christian
life and thought contains the injunction "Thou shalt not murder a child by
abortion" immediately after the statement "Thou shalt love thy neighbour
more than thy own life". The unborn child is seen not as a part of his/her
mother, but as a neighbour. Abortion is rejected as contrary to other
centered neighbour love. (Michael J Gorman, "Abortion & The Early Church")
RECENT CHURCH TEACHING
The Second Vatican Council on its Pastoral Constitution "Gaudium et Spes"
(The Church in the Modern World) stated when discussing married love and
respect for human life:
"The Church wishes to emphasize that there can be no conflict between the
divine laws governing the transmission of life and the fastening of
authentic married love.
"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. Man's
sexuality and the facility of reproduction wondrously surpass the
endowments of lower forms of life. Therefore the acts proper to married
life are to be ordered according to authentic human dignity and must be
honoured with the greatest reverence." (Ch 51 (A Flannery "Vatican II" 1981
Ed p. 955).
OTHER MAGISTERAL TEACHING
Pope Pius XII taught: "No man, no human authority, no science, no medical,
eugenic, social, economic or oral indication can offer or produce a valid
juridicial title (Justification) for disposing directly of innocent human
life." (Address to Midwives, 1951)
Pope John XXIII in his Evangelical "Mater et Magistra" taught: "Human life
is sacred: from its very inception to reveals the creating hand of God."
In 1974 the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with the
ratification of Pope Paul VI issued the "Declaration on Procured Abortion."
It summarized the ongoing teaching of the church in total opposition to
abortion and emphasized that Pope Paul VI speaking on this subject on many
occasions, has not been afraid to declare that this teaching of the Church
"has not changed and is unchangeable".
The Declaration emphasized that "the first right of the human person is
his life. He has other goods and some are more precious, but this one is
fundamental the condition of all the others. Hence it must be protected
above all others. It does not belong to society, nor does it belong to
public authority on any form to recognize this right for some and not for
others: all discrimination is evil, whether it be founded on race, sex,
color or religion. It is not recognition by another that constitutes this
right. This right is antecedent to its recognition; it demands recognition
and it is strictly unjust to refuse it
..
The right to life remains complete in an old person, even one greatly
weakened; it is not lost by one who is incurably sick. The right to life
is no less to be respected in the small infant just born than in the
mature person. In reality, respect for human life is called for from the
time that the process of generation begins. From the time that the ovum is
fertilized, a life is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the
mother; it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth. It
would never be made human if it were not human already. (extracts from
paras 11 & 12)
What we wish to say again with emphasis ... is that never, under any
pretext, may abortion be resorted to, either by a family or by the
political authority, as a legitimate means or regulating births. The
damage to moral values is always a greater evil for the common good than
any disadvantage in economical or demographic order. (extract from para
18)
The Church remains consistent in its teaching towards the unborn. In the
new code of common law issued in 1983 Canon 1398 continued proscribing
abortion as an act which attracts automatic excommunication. Also in 1983,
the Holy See issued the "Charter of the Rights of the Family" which
confirmed that "Human life must be absolutely respected and protected from
the moment of conception."
The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued in 1987 with
the approval of Pope John Paul II, its instruction "Donum Vitae" on Respect
for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation. This
instruction dealt principally with methods of artificially conceiving
children such as by In Vitro Fertilization. The Instruction considered the
following quotation: "What respect is due to the human embryo, taking into
account his nature and identity?" and answered, "The human being must be
respected as a person from the very first instant of his existence."
The Instruction also addressed this question: "Is prenatal diagnosis
morally licit?"
Which it answered: "If prenatal diagnosis respects the life and integrity
of the embryo and the human foetus and is directed towards its
safeguarding or healing as an individual, then the answer is affirmative."
Pope John Paul II has spoken with great regularity and conviction about
the importance of respecting the life of the unborn. In his Post Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation "Christifideles Laici" on the vocation and the mission
of the Lay faithful in the Church and in the world published at the end of
1988 His Holiness stated eloquently:
"The dignity of the person is the indestructible property of every human
being. The force of this affirmation is based on the uniqueness and
irrepeatibility of every person. From it flows that the individual can
never be reduced by all that seeks to crush and to annihilate the person
into the anonymity that comes from collectivity, institution structures
and systems. As an individual, a person is not a number or simply a link
in the chain nor even less, an impersonal element in some system. The most
radical and elevating affirmation of the value of every human being was
made by the Son of God in his becoming man in the womb of a woman, as we
continue to be reminded each Christmas."
Like their colleagues throughout the world, the Australian Bishops have
often repeated the Church's teachings. In 1980 in a document entitled
"GREATEST HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE OF THE 1980's" a chillingly statement:
"Statistically, the most dangerous place for an Australian in 1980 is a
mother's womb." Statistic show that in the 1990's the unborn are even in
more danger.
Greg Smith New South Wales Right to Life (Australia)
