Life as a Precious Gift from God
In layman’s terms, abortion is defined as the expulsion of a fetus from the uterus before it has reached the stage of viability. Even before the practice became common in the 19th century, the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion since the first century. Despite various reasons for abortion, the Church’s teaching remains unchangeable. While this may seem harsh on the surface, the Church’s stand is based on the profound belief that a human being must be recognised as having the right to life from the first moment of his existence. Hence, abortion is not simply a case of unwanted pregnancy, but it is a disregard for the sanctity of human life — a precious gift from God.
With regards to the issue of abortion, Christians have always distinguished themselves from other pagan cultures by rejecting any form of abortion procedure from the earliest times. In spite of early limitations in human embryology, the Church stood firm on their stand that abortion is gravely wrong at any stage of pregnancy as it is considered to be a sin against nature to reject God’s gift of a human life. Throughout history, the Church has been clear on her stand on abortion as an intrisically evil act that cannot be morally justified. In the 19th century, it was established that the union of the sperm and egg at conception brings a living being into existence. Since the formation of the embryo is the beginning of a life itself, it must be treated with the same respect given to a human person because every human life has inherent dignity. This sets the foundation for other social teachings by the Church, and more importantly, it explains why abortion can never be justified. Even if science tells us that the life that is to be born may be handicapped, it still deserves the same respect accorded to any other human lives.
On Contraception
Similar to abortion, the Church has always been against contraception that prevents the formation of life. Defined as any action which acts as a means or ends to render procreation impossible, contraception includes the use of condoms, sterilization and the Pill amongst other methods. While other Christian denominations allow contraception today, the Catholic Church has held its stance on the matter. Contraception is a deliberate violation of natural law and the purpose of sex, which is procreation. God intended for sexual intercourse to be an act of love between husband and wife that creates a new life out of that shared love. As a result, any form of contraception abuses God’s gifts of love and sex by preventing the natural outcome of conception and destroys the sanctity of the relationship.