WHAT IS ABORTION?

Abortion (direct/induced) is the intentional termination of a human life in the form of a zygote, blastocyte, embryo, or fetus in the womb of a mother. In abortion, a pregnancy is ended by means of destroying and removing the developing child in the womb. The deliberate and willful attack on any human life, including that in the womb, regardless of the motive, is always an objective moral evil.

The Catholic Church is unequivocal on her stance against the intrinsically evil act of abortion and upholds the sanctity of human life from conception until natural death.

 

ABORTION IN CANADA

Currently, in Canada, abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy. In Canada, any mother over the age of 12 can legally have an abortion in a healthcare setting such as a clinic or hospital without the consent of her family doctor, family, parents, or partner. In every province and territory in the country, the cost of abortions at hospitals and/or clinics is covered by the government.

Approximately 100,000 recorded abortions are performed each year in Canada. Since it was provisionally legalized by the Liberal government under Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau in 1969, over 4 million abortions have been committed in Canada. The federal government is continuously working to make abortion more accessible to Canadians.

[Sources consulted and more information about abortion laws in Canada]

https://marchforlife.ca/thousands-of-canadians-expected-to-march-for-life-calling-on-parliament-to-bring-an-end-to-50-years-of-abortion-on-demand-in-canada/

https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/chronology-of-laws

 

CHURCH DOCUMENTS & TEACHING

Catechism of the Catholic Church

2258 "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being." (Donum Vitae)

2261 Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the fifth commandment: "Do not slay the innocent and the righteous." The deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being, to the golden rule, and to the holiness of the Creator. The law forbidding it is universally valid: it obliges each and everyone, always and everywhere.

https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

Intentional homicide

2268 The fifth commandment forbids direct and intentional killing as gravely sinful. The murderer and those who cooperate voluntarily in murder commit a sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance.

Infanticide, fratricide, parricide, and the murder of a spouse are especially grave crimes by reason of the natural bonds which they break. Concern for eugenics or public health cannot justify any murder, even if commanded by public authority.

2269 The fifth commandment forbids doing anything with the intention of indirectly bringing about a person's death. The moral law prohibits exposing someone to mortal danger without grave reason, as well as refusing assistance to a person in danger.

The acceptance by human society of murderous famines, without efforts to remedy them, is a scandalous injustice and a grave offense. Those whose usurious and avaricious dealings lead to the hunger and death of their brethren in the human family indirectly commit homicide, which is imputable to them.

Unintentional killing is not morally imputable. But one is not exonerated from grave offense if, without proportionate reasons, he has acted in a way that brings about someone's death, even without the intention to do so.

Abortion

2270 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.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.

2271 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:

You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.

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.

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," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. 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.

2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:

"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."

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.

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."

2275 "One must hold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it, but are directed toward its healing the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival."

"It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material."

"Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities. Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity and identity" which are unique and unrepeatable.


Humanae Vitae (Encyclical Letter on the Regulation of Birth, by Pope Paul VI, 1968)

Familiaris Consortio (Apostolic Exhortation on the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, by Pope John Paul II, 1981)

Donum Vitae (Instruction on Respect for Human life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation Replies to Certain Questions of the Day, promulgated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1987)

Veritatis Splendor (Encyclical Letter on the Fundamental Questions of the Church’s Moral Teaching, by Pope John Paul II, 1993)

Evangelium Vitae (Encyclical Letter on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life, by Pope John Paul II, 1995)

Caritas in Veritate (Encyclical Letter on Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth, by Pope Benedict XVI, 2009)

  • Note Paragraphs 28 and 75

Laudato Si’ (Encyclical Letter on Care for Our Common Home, by Pope Francis, 2015)

  • Note Chapter 3.3 The Crisis and Effects of Modern Anthropocentricism

 

SCIENCE

[Adapted and revised from “The origin of human life at fertilization”, references compiled by M. L. Condic (Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Utah, School of Medicine)]

Textbooks 

Jones, R. E., and K. H. Lopez. Human Reproductive Biology. Fourth Edition. 2014. Cambridge, MA: Elsevier, Academic Press. 

  • “The process of fertilization, or conception, involves fusion of the nucleus of a male gamete (sperm) and a female gamete (ovum) to form a new individual.”  (159)

  • “Soon after the sperm nucleus enters the egg, its nuclear membrane breaks down. The sperm DNA decondenses as a result of exposure to factors in the egg cytoplasm. A new membrane then forms to enclose the sperm pronucleus. Sperm and egg pronuclei begin to migrate toward each other, replicating their DNA as they move. As they approach each other, their nuclear membranes break down and the two duplicated sets of chromosomes aggregate. Syngamy (merging of the two haploid genomes) has now occurred, and the fertilized egg (zygote) is the beginning of a new diploid individual. (167, 169) 

  • Once the sperm enters the ovum, it causes the completion of oocyte meiosis and the cortical reaction, which produces changes in the zona pellucida that act as a barrier to polyspermy. The haploid sperm pronucleus and egg pronucleus then merge, and a zygote is formed. (172) 

Moore, K. L., T. V. N. Persaud, and M. G. Torchia.  The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, Tenth International Edition. 2016. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier. 

  • “Human development is a continuous process that behind when an oocyte (ovum) from a female is fertilized by a sperm (spermatozoon) from a male.” (1) 

  • “The development of a human from fertilization of an oocyte to birth is divided into two main periods, embryonic and fetal.” (1) 

  • “Developmental anatomy refers to the structural changes of a human from fertilization to adulthood” (2) 

  • “Human development begins at fertilization when a sperm fuses with an oocyte to form a single cell, the zygote.  This highly specialized, totipotent cell (capable of giving rise to any cell type) marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual.” (11) 

Moore K. L., T. V. N. Persaud, and M. G. Torchia Before We Are Born: Essentials of Embryology and Birth Defects, Ninth Edition. 2016. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Inc. (Saunders). 

  • “Human development begins at fertilization when an oocyte (ovum) from a female is fertilized by a sperm (spermatozoon) from a male…Embryology is concerned with the origin and development of a human being from a zygote to birth.” (1) 

O’Rahilly, R., and F. Miller, Human Embryology and Teratology, Third Edition. 2001. New York: Wiley-Liss. 

  • “Although life is a continuous process, fertilization… is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte.” 

Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journals 

Okada, Y., K. Yamagata, K. Hong, T. Wakayama, and Y. Zhang. A role for the elongator complex in zygotic paternal genome demethylation. 2010. Nature 463:554-8. 

  • "The life cycle of mammals begins when a sperm enters an egg." 

Inoue, N., M. Ikawa, A. Isotani, and M. Okabe. The immunoglobulin superfamily protein Izumo is required for sperm to fuse with eggs. 2005. Nature 434:234-8. 

  • "Representing the 60 trillion cells that build a human body, a sperm and an egg meet, recognize each other, and fuse to form a new generation of life." 

Raj, I., H. Sadat Al Hosseini, E. Dioguardi, K. Nishimura, L. Han, A. Villa, D. de Sanctis, and L. Jovine. 2017. Structural Basis of Egg Coat-Sperm Recognition at Fertilization. Cell 169 :1315-1326.e17. 

  • “Recognition between sperm and the egg surface marks the beginning of life in all sexually reproducing organisms.” 

Soygur, B., and L. Sati. The role of syncytins in human reproduction and reproductive organ cancers. 2016. Reproduction 152:R167-78. 

  • “Human life begins with sperm and oocyte fusion.” 

Zielinska, A.P., and M. Schuh. Double trouble at the beginning of life. 2018. Science 361:128-129.  

  • “Every human life begins with the fertilization of an egg.” 

 

PRO-LIFE ARGUMENTS

The Basic Pro-Life Argument

1.       It is wrong to intentionally kill human beings. (Premise 1)

We hope that every person can agree on this basic premise.

2.       The unborn are innocent human beings. (Premise 2)

Refer to “Science” section which scientifically demonstrates this premise.

3.       Abortion directly kills innocent human beings. (Premise 3)

Refer to the medical definition of “Abortion” to confirm this premise.

4.       Therefore, abortion is wrong. (Conclusion)

4 Differences Between an Embryo and Adult Person (S-L-E-D)

[Adapted and revised from Podcast “Pro-Life Apologetics: Arguments from Reason that Align with Scripture”, by Scott Klusendorf (Life Training Institute)]

Size

Argument for Abortion: “Because an embryo/fetus is so small in size, it does not have the worth of a human person.”

Pro-Life Response: When did body size determine our value as human beings? Does a tall basketball player or a short little girl have a different worth than you and I?

Level of Development

Argument for Abortion: “The embryo/fetus is less developed, and so does not have the worth of a human person.”

Pro-Life Response: Why does level of development matter? A two-year-old girl does not have a fully developed reproductive system, and a three-year-old boy does not have a fully developed brain. Does this make the little girl and little boy less valuable than a thirty-year-old adult?

Environment

Argument for Abortion: “The embryo/fetus has less worth because it is in the mother’s womb and has not been born into the world.”

Pro-Life Response: Our physical location does not determine who we are. Flying 4500 kilometres across Canada from British Columbia to Prince Edward Island does not change who I am, nor does it affect my worth as a human person. A fetus that travels a few inches down the birth canal to be born is worth the same inside and outside the womb. This change of physical environment/location does not suddenly change the fetus from being a “clump of cells” or “non-human” or thing that can be killed, into a human being that has worth.

Degree of Dependency

Argument for Abortion: “Because the fetus in the womb depends on the mother for survival, it does not have its own worth. My body, my choice.”

Pro-Life Response: It does not make sense that because we depend on another human person, we do not have worth and can be killed. There are some newborns that are allergic to baby formula and must depend on the mother’s milk. Does this suddenly make this newborn have less worth? Can the mother argue, “my body, my choice” when her newborn is entirely dependent on her and so neglect him and thereby killing him? Furthermore, the embryo/fetus has a unique DNA distinct from the mother and thus is a unique human being with its own body.

 

PRO-LIFE MEDIA RESOURCES

 

THE CHURCH'S MESSAGE OF MERCY

While the Catholic Church unequivocally upholds the sanctity of every human life and stands firmly against the grave sin of “procuring abortion”, she also offers God’s unceasing mercy if true contrition is sought. In 2015, on the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, the Holy Father Pope Francis temporarily permitted all Catholic priests to absolve the mortal sin and lift the penalty of excommunication for abortion if a penitent sought repentance in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Previously, this faculty was reserved to bishops and specially appointed priests. At the end of the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016, Pope Francis made permanent the policy he instituted earlier. This was made clear in the Pope’s apostolic letter Misericordia et Misera:

Given this need, lest any obstacle arise between the request for reconciliation and God’s forgiveness, I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion. The provision I had made in this regard, limited to the duration of the Extraordinary Holy Year, is hereby extended, notwithstanding anything to the contrary. I wish to restate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life. In the same way, however, I can and must state that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father. May every priest, therefore, be a guide, support and comfort to penitents on this journey of special reconciliation. (Misericordia et Misera, 12)

A similar message of mercy may also be found in the encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae by the earlier Pope John Paul II:

I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To the same Father and his mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life. Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth of other children or by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at human life. (Evangelium Vitae, 99)

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)