Abortion: The “Eclipse” of the Value of Life?

In an eclipse, the position of the moon blocks the light of the sun. Even though the light is there, we can’t see it clearly. Many people accept abortion, embryonic research and euthanasia as individual rights because they do not clearly see the value of each human life.

In his encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), Pope St. John Paul II spoke of “the extent and gravity of the attacks against life which continue to mark human history”. (n. 10) He recounted a list of such grave attacks on human dignity in the modern world, including war, genocide, poverty and malnutrition of children caused by the unjust distribution of resources; “the scandalous arms trade”, “the reckless tampering of the world’s ecological balance”; and many more. Few would disagree with this argument. But then, John Paul raises the argument to a different level. He calls us to focus “particular attention on another category of attacks, affecting life in its earliest and in its final stages” (n. 11). When life is taken through abortion or euthanasia, much of our contemporary culture does not regard it as a crime. Instead, it is held up as a “right”. John Paul terms this phenomenon the “eclipse” of the value of life.

We invite you to consider this image of the “eclipse” of the value of life as a starting point for deepening awareness about the meaning of human dignity and how we as a culture and a Church can effectively uphold the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death.