Legislated Morality

Dr. Ryan Kelly

Sigokelly@gmail.com

At what point, working backwards, is it no longer human?

What does the Bible say about abortion?

Wanton fetal death is expressly covered as far back as Moses. Exodus 21:22 – 25: "When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”

The Catechism on 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 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.

The Catechism on abortion politics 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."

The catechism on abortion cooperation

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” “Formal cooperation involves actually intending an evil purpose, regardless of the extent of physical participation in executing the act, e.g., advising, counseling, promoting, or condoning an evil act – all constitute formal cooperation.” - Catholic Health Association Manual of Guidelines on Clinical-Ethical Issues (p. 82 – 83)

Latae sententiae: Sentence already passed ipso facto (automatically)

The catechism on excommunication

1463: Certain particularly grave sins incur excommunication, the most severe ecclesiastical penalty, which impedes the reception of the sacraments and the exercise of certain ecclesiastical acts, and for which absolution consequently cannot be granted, according to canon law, except by the Pope, the bishop of the place or priests authorized by them.

What is partial birth abortion? It has many descriptions:

1. Late term abortion – abortions after 5.5 months gestation where the baby is cut up and removed (Dilation and Curettage).

2. Intact dilation and evacuation – Late term labor induced and brain is sucked from living baby’s head before delivery.

3. Induction of fetal demise – Late term baby first murdered with injection, then aborted as a miscarriage (to comply with the “Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003”)

Argument: Partial birth abortion is rare, so lawmakers should not bother outlawing it -This argument implies that the number of partial birth abortions are so few that it is statistically insignificant. -As a result, the onus is on the true Christian to produce the numbers. By the numbers in the United States alone: Guttmacher (2016): Abortions 1973 – 2011 total 53 million. Finer & Henshaw (2003): 0.17% are late term abortions (5+ mo). [90k] Jatlaoui (CDC.gov) (2016): 1.3% are late term abortions (5+ mo). [689k] Heffernan (2001): Around 5000 late term abortions annually. CDC (2016): 8,632 late term abortions in 2013. (664,435 x .013)

Argument: a five month fetus is not a baby yet, its still an embryo or something.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002398.htm citing Cunningham (2010).

At 22 weeks: “Baby can hear, baby can swallow Meconium, bowel movement, is made in the intestinal tract. Eyebrows and lashes appear. The mother can feel the baby moving. Baby's heartbeat can be heard. Nails grow to the end of baby's fingers.”

Dr. James McMahon (1995) congressional submission – of 2000 partial birth abortions, only 9% involved “maternal health indications” the most common was “depression.”

According to Rysavy (2015) research in the New England Journal of Medicine, a baby will survive outside the fetus at 22 weeks gestation.

Argument: 22 week abortion is ethical to save mother’s life in some cases

Illogical arguments exhaust me. These 22 week old babies did not have to die to save their mother’s life. What cases are otherwise?

Argument: Induction of Fetal Demise is not partial birth abortion.

Induction of fetal demise is a legal medical procedure. According to Higginbotham (2010): “Intracardiac potassium chloride and intrafetal or intra-amniotic digox injections are the pharmacologic agents used most often to induce fetal demise” This procedure uses an injection to murder the baby before the abortion to keep everything legal. Partial birth abortion by legal definition (18 U.S.C. § 1531) requires that delivery begin prior to the murder of the baby. If the murder of the baby is before delivery, then it is not legally defined as a partial birth abortion. This procedure can be done at any time, including the day that birth would have been, as long as it occurs before “delivery” (by law).

Argument: Partial birth abortion was outlawed so it is not happening.

Partial birth abortion was banned in 2003 (18 U.S.C. § 1531). “the term “partial-birth abortion” means an abortion in which the person performing the abortion— (A)deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the body of the mother, or, in the case of breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the body of the mother, for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus; and (B)performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the partially delivered living fetus”

Argument: Deformations and genetic disorders justify most partial birth abortions Dr. Martin Haskell (1993) in American Medical News: “Most of my abortions are elective in that 20 to 24 week range. In my particular case, probably 20% are for genetic reasons. And the other 80% are purely elective.” Under our constitution, which of these children do not have a self evident natural right to life and should not be protected by our society?

State Defined Morality My two cents: It appears that morality can be legislated such that we accept man’s view of morality over God’s. Theft has been redefined to exclude “unauthorized use” if you intend to return it, thus it is not theft in some states: Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §3225; Acts 1979, No. 79-664, p. 1163, §1 Marriage was redefined to include members of the same sex, and the state seized the right to grant the religious sacrament of marriage in lieu of civil unions that granted equivalent civil rights. It appears the state can take on the role of a church in this case. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. “Induction of fetal demise” is another perversion of the law that allows the devil to deceive the masses. Induction of fetal demise is no less a murder, but our elected officials legislate otherwise. If no one does an induction of fetal demise 1 day before expected birth, then what is the problem with voting to outlaw it? Can we not agree on that?

Discussion: What is your argument for otherwise?

References Cunningham FG, Leveno KJ, Bloom SL, et al. Fetal growth and development. In: Cunningham FG, Leveno KL, Bloom SL, et al, eds. Williams Obstetrics. 23rd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2010:chap 4. Finer, L. B., & Henshaw, S. K. (2003). Abortion incidence and services in the United States in 2000. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 35(1), 6–15 Guttmacher https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/factsheet/fb_induced_abortion_3.pdf Heffernan, L. (2001). Stenberg v. Carhart: A divided U.S. Supreme Court debates partial birth abortion. Modern Law Review, 64, 618–627. Higginbotham, S. (2010). Induction of fetal demise before abortion. Contraception, 81(6), 462-473. Jatlaoui TC, Ewing A, Mandel MG, et al. Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2013. MMWR Surveill Summ 2016;65(No. SS-12):1–44. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6512a1 Rysavy, M. A., Li, L., Bell, E. F., Das, A., Hintz, S. R., Stoll, B. J., ... & Tyson, J. E. (2015). Between-hospital variation in treatment and outcomes in extremely preterm infants. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(19), 1801-1811.