Christmas story says bodies matter, even microscopic ones

St. Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | 12/25/2008 | Colleen Carroll Campbell

[rwa265]

The Vatican made headlines this month with its release of Dignitatis Personae (Latin for "The Dignity of the Person"), which updated Catholic teachings on bioethics and reaffirmed opposition to the cloning, killing and manipulating of human embryos.

Critics have blasted the document as proof of the church's inexplicable fixation on embryos. They ask: Why devote such energy to defending the rights of a microscopic dot? Why throw up roadblocks to the Brave New World of biotech advances — including the detection and destruction of genetically flawed embryos in pursuit of so-called designer babies — to save infinitesimal entities no one will miss? What's with the embryo obsession?

As the December release of the Dignitatis Personae suggests, the answer has a lot to do with the Christmas story that the world's 2 billion Christians commemorate today. That answer is grounded in a high view of the human body that leads inexorably to a high view of the human embryo.

[rwa265]

A good pro-life article.

[Cyber Ninja]

Look, it’s a human. Leave it alone.

[Gondring]

It would be nice if God took that approach and didn’t kill so many of them. :-(

[Gondring]

A good pro-life article.

Yes, it is.

Thanks for posting it!

[Question_Assumptions]

The mental capacity argument for personhood draws a line well after birth, which philosophers such as Michael Tooley and Peter Singer have pointed out in their defenses of not only abortion but infanticide. You can draw a non-arbitrary line in one of two places -- fertilization or well after birth. That means either condone abortion and infanticide or neither because they morally are the same thing.

[Soothesayer]

You can draw the line to personhood anywhere you wish. All you need is a pseudo-rational argument and lots of political supporters. If there are two things you can always count on they are human ego and selfishness. People love their own personality and pleasure above all else.

History will continue to repeat itself. There will be more and more genocides and future generations will learn nothing from them or draw completely the wrong lessons. Liberals think that the main lesson to be learned from the Nazis is that government shouldn’t use too much surveillance. They aren’t even bothered by genocides anymore.

The best thing that can ever happen to anyone is to not be conceived in the first place. This world is hopelessly vile.

[OldNavyVet]

"Why devote such energy to defending the rights of a microscopic dot? Why throw up roadblocks to the Brave New World of biotech advances — including the detection and destruction of genetically flawed embryos in pursuit of so-called designer babies — to save infinitesimal entities no one will miss? What's with the embryo obsession?"

Species evolve or species die -- it's called evolution.

As biological, sociological or other threats to human existence evolve into being, humans must sucessfully battle (evolve around) those threats or become extinct.

[wombtotomb]

this is just further evidence of how moral relativism has replaced the moral absolute, which has served mankind for millenia, and destroyed America in a couple generations.

I am afraid it is too far gone to fix

[Salvation]

It’s
Dignitas Personae

So much for the author’s knowledge. LOL!

[Salvation]

Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of a Person)

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

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Dignitas Personae, an Instruction on ethical issues arising from biomedical research, was published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 12 December 2008. The Instruction defends the life of unborn human beings, created in the image of God, and provides guidance on how to respect human life and human procreation in our scientific age.

Christmas story says bodies matter, even microscopic ones
‘The Dignity of the Person’: The Catholic Church, Defender and Champion of Life
The Dignity of a Person: Vital Instruction from the Church [Dignitas Personae]
The Dignity of the Embryo
Church not a political player, but it must promote human dignity, says Holy Father
U.S. Bishops: Questions and Answers on 'Dignitas Personae'
Dignitas Personae

[Question_Assumptions]

You can draw the line to personhood anywhere you wish.

Of course. That's why I said that I was talking about non-arbitrary lines. All of those lines are arbitrary. The depressing thing is that nobody wants to actually talk about the abortion issue beyond two minute sound bites which, of course, get nobody anywhere. Though having seen things lengthier programs on the issue, I can understand why we don't see more of them. They don't make the pro-abortion side look good.

[Soothesayer]

Those who support the practice of abortion will always say that this is about the rights of women, the welfare of humanity, management of resources, or some other poor jingoism. In the end, all these motivations are fear, selfishness, or a combination of both. Reason does not enter into it unless the reason is more money, comfort, security, or time. Of course they don’t want to look bad. Nobody wants to be called cowardly or selfish so they try to spin the issue as long as they can, with as much emotion as they can, and with as little debate as they can.

I don’t think that this is a new phenomenon. We have always been twisted. However, our new medical technology makes it somewhat safer and easier to brutally destroy a life of inalienable and supreme value. The upside to this is that people don’t have to wait until the infant stage like they did in ancient Sparta and Rome. It’s much easier to dehumanize a child that cannot be seen without a special machine than it is to dehumanize something that is cry and moving in front of you. This is how it all starts. You kill those who are easy to dehumanize. Next, society gets more and more desensitized and you can work your way up to other victims. The most famous example of this happened 60 years ago and it WILL happen again soon. Our president elect is moving to legalize infanticide.