Abortion is largely accepted even for reasons that do not have anything to do with the fetus’ health. By showing that (1) both fetuses and newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons, (2) the fact that both are potential persons is morally irrelevant and (3) adoption is not always in the best interest of actual people, the authors argue that what we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled.
This is a quote from a paper published in the British Medical Journal by a so-called ethicist, one Dr Francesca Minerva and brought to the general public’s attention by the Daily Mail today. I say “so-called ethicist” because it seems to me her hypothesis and her claim to be an ethicisit falls down in the quoted preamble above.
There is a sad tendency these days to separate conceptually “morality” from “ethics” particularly by those who claim to treat the subject academically. As must be clear to any layman, morality = ethics and vice versa. To claim that a foetus and a newborn baby “do not have the same moral status as actual persons” is the first fault in her logic. Bizarrely, those who campaign for “equality” are generally in favour of feticide, suggesting that a foetus is not a “person” and yet they would claim otherwise that no human person is worth more than another, “we are all equal” if different.
For the Christian of course all life is sacred, no matter what it is, how it exists or at whatever stage of development it is, Genesis 1:27 states that
God created humankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them, male and female He created them.
Each and every one of us is made in the image of God. The Word of God incarnate, Jesus, who is the “fullment of the Law and of the Prophets” [Matthew 5:17] completes our understanding of the revelation of God’s Word given in the Old Testament. John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth…
…and the life.
Jesus the Son of God and member of the Trinity who in Gen. 1:26 participated in the decision to “make humankind in our image, after our likeness . . . .” who “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made“ [John 1] elaborates on what that means. In John 14:6 He is stating that the very essence of human life itself is wrapped up in who He, Jesus is. You can’t separate Jesus from what life is. You can’t separate God from what life is. Thus all life is sacred…
… Thus all life inherently i.e. of itself, has worth!
All too often I hear Christians declare boldly their acceptance of the world’s prevailing mentality and perception of what life is. Often quite innocently and with well meant intentions, some Christians can’t tell the difference between humanism and humanist thought and often for personal convenience will go for the former over the latter.
“Humanist” is often used these days to refer to non-religious attitudes or even to atheism; but historically the term originated to describe Renaissance writers who emphasized human abilities and achievements, but generally praised God for them. Most were Catholics, not atheists!
The aggresive contemporary “humanism” that is fast merging into secularism and atheism is what confuses most Christians who casn sometimes confuse it with humanitarianism i.e. “an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings” and which sounds to them like “love your neighbour as you love yourself” [Luke 10:25-28]. Thus, those Christians will often “agree” or sympathise with humanist arguments, just “agreeing to disagree” ref the influence or moral imperative of a/the Divine.
In doing so, sadly, such Christians actually fail to bear true witness and testimony to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They actually and actively are colluding with evil to distort the proper meaning of the way God intended us and desires us to live with Him and with each other. It is sometimes said the “Devil’s greatest trick was to persuade the world he no longer exists…” For now, in our present time, the Christian faith is facing an old adversary through a new challenge: if we could all “just get along”, what need we of God or Christ i.e. what need we of life itself?
Sadly not enough Christians these days, largely through lack of proper catechesis understand who Christ really is… and thus why we even exist…
What is the meaning of life?
Q. Why did God make you? A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.
Whilst many vaunt the importance of “freewill” regrettably too few Christians understand the real necessity of it and so too then of charity i.e. true love and thus of life, for…
Deus caritas est
“God IS love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in him.” [1 John 4:16].