Justice and the Right to Life

1. Justice and the Right to Life Chapter Four

2. Assaults Against Life • * In 96% of states there is a pattern of discrimination regarding race and the death penalty • * Capital punishment does not deter crime • * On the federal level, 3.5% of persons to be executed have been innocent • * Abortion techniques are inhumane • * Patients often ask for euthanasia due to inappropriate treatment Human beings have a right to life from the moment of conception to natural death

3. Abortion Q: What is it? • A:Defined as the unjustified killing of unborn human beings Q: Why is it wrong? A: When society tolerates abortion, all of human life is threatened Remember: Human life is a gift from God which must be protected, nurtured, and sustained from the first moment of conception

4. Abortion This decision held that a woman’s right to privacy included her decision to have an abortion • Legalized in 1973 by the US Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade • 1.3 million abortions in US each year • 3,700 abortions per day, 155 per hour, 1 every 24 seconds • 48% of pregnancies are unintended, half of these are aborted • 46 million abortions in the world every year

5. Abortion • What factors lead to the disrespect for the sanctity of life? Breakdown of the family Belief that freedom is the absolute value

6. Abortion Did you know. . . • The Church has opposed abortion from the beginning • The Church always considered abortion a mortal sin • The Church believes in the seamless garment of respect for human life from the womb to the tomb

7. A child’s right to life outweighs a mother’s freedom of choice or her right to privacy Abortion A person who is “right to life” believes: Abortion should be made illegal God conveys the gift of life, not the state One should cultivate a correct view of the sacredness of sex There are always alternatives to abortion Human life begins at conception

8. Stem Cell Research Adult stem cells have the potency to become many different cells but not all. Embryonic stem cells have the potential to become any kind of body cell Stem Cell is an unspecialized cell that has the potential to become a specific type of cell

9. Stem Cell Research Did You Know. . . • * The Church supports stem cells that come from adult tissue, umbilical cord blood and other sources. • * The Church is against the use of • embryonic stem cells, since stem • cells must be harvested from living • human embryos that destroys them.

10. Euthanasia A: Defined as an act or omission which of itself or by intention, cause death, with the purpose of eliminating suffering Q: What is it? Did You Know . . . Euthanasia is also called“mercy killing”

11. Euthanasia Our cultural climate sees no value in suffering People who neglect God think they have sole control over life and death Aging population puts pressure on a costly healthcare system Reasons for legalizing Euthanasia include:

12. Euthanasia Palliative medicine Unrelieved suffering Euthanasia Options for the dying

13. Euthanasia • The Church believes in using ordinary and morally acceptable means to preserve life, even of those who face death. • The Church teaching holds that to decision to forego using extraordinary or disproportionate means to sustain life is morally acceptable • Declaration on Euthanasia states we can judge whether the means is ordinary or extraordinary by: • Kind of treatment used • Its complexity and risk • Its costs and possibilities of using it

14. Euthanasia • A: Euthanasia violates God’s law which forbids the deliberate and morally unacceptable killing of a human person • A: Suicide is equivalent to murder and violates the fifth commandment • A: Assisted suicide is the concurring with the intention of another person to commit suicide; helping someone take his/her life Q: Why does the Church strongly condemn euthanasia, suicide and assisted suicide?

15. Capital Punishment • Not even a murderer loses his/her personal dignity Things to consider: Jesus taught nonviolence and forgiveness All people are challenged to look for ways to punish and rehabilitate criminals while protecting society

16. Capital Punishment Did You Know. . . • * The Church has traditionally permitted the death penalty as a last resort for a society to defend itself against violent criminals • * States have enough means today to repress crime and control violent criminals without inflicting the death penalty

17. Capital Punishment Reasons for punishment: deterrence retribution reform

18. Capital Punishment • A dead criminal cannot be reformed • Mistakes have been made in administering capital punishment • Since 1973 at least 100 people have been exonerated and released from death row in the US • Executions attract unhealthy publicity • Death penalty is disproportionally administered to poor persons and members of minority groups Problems with the death penalty:

19. The Seamless Garment • A: Consistent life ethic Q: What is it? Respect for all human life from the moment of conception until natural death, from womb to tomb.

20. The Seamless Garment pursue social justice protect human life Pro -Life promote family life

21. Vocabulary • abortion • stem cells • embryonic stem cells • adult stem cells • euthanasia • assisted suicide • capital punishment • consistent life ethic