Morality subject, the rights and wrongs on Abortion on A Catholic Essay

Morality subject, the rights and wrongs on Abortion on A Catholic viewpoint - Essay Example This was the message of Cardinal Renato Martino, who was president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Moreover, according to Martino, the stance of Amnesty International which is to uphold human rights above specific theologies and the right of the unborn child to live may trigger opposition from the Catholic Church and various anti-abortion organizations but may actually inspire others to cut the life of the unborn child if they feel they have to. Nevertheless, regardless of people’s stance on abortion, the act is considered a moral wrong based on Catholic theology. Based on Catholic theology, abortion is wrong because of several reasons. First, according to De Marco, the immoral nature of abortion depends on â€Å"the presence of hundreds of thousands of non-Catholic individuals who actively oppose abortion, together with the existence of many anti-abortion groups who are affiliated with non-Catholic agencies and institutions†3. Although this may be logi cally a fallacious statement since it is based on the idea of the absolute and unquestionable rightness of the majority of population, the opinion still has practical value. Although practicality is not necessarily synonymous to what is morally right, it is certainly undeniable that the opinion of the majority matters for any institution, including the Catholic Church, is made up of this majority. ... Moreover, since it is not only the Catholic religion that pushes for the respect for the life of the unborn child, then these reasons for the wrongness of abortion are therefore â€Å"not peculiarly Catholic†5. It therefore reflects the sentiments of various other religions. Although it would be rather exhaustive to explain in this paper, there is basically no religion that condemns life. This mere fact therefore tells us that basically life is precious and these religions, which have been established by learned people and intellectuals, may not be that wrong. The stance of the Church itself on abortion is only implied in the Canon law but â€Å"the very fact that there have always been canonical penalties for abortion is a reflection of the Church’s position that abortion is a grave evil†6. Nevertheless, there are specific teachings of the Catholic Church against abortion. In fact, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2271, â€Å"Direct abortionâ € ¦willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law [and] are abominable crimes†7. It is very interesting to note the phrase â€Å"willed either as an end or a means† for it implies that even if abortion were used to save the mother’s life, just like what modern oppositionists are claiming, abortion is nevertheless a crime. It therefore does not make abortion right even if it were used as a means to save a person’s life. The Catholic Church therefore maintains that the functionality of an object or a concept cannot guarantee its spiritual value. Moreover, contrary to what science has determined, for the Catholic religion, â€Å"the exact time when the fetus becomes ‘animated’ has no practical significance