THE UNBORN CHILDREN ARE HUMAN PERSONS

We believe that human life must be protected starting from the moment of conception. To support abortion is to reject the fundamental right to life of the unborn children as human persons. However, pro-choice advocates argue that not every human being have the right to life. With regards to conception, it is stated in an article that supported abortion that:

"It is the fertilization of the egg cells; but a conglomeration of cells in the early phase of pregnancy can hardly be characterized as a human person. The human identity, personality, and worth is associated with the functioning of the brain, so only when the brain is fully developed can there be any talk about an unborn human being [1]."

Some pro-choice advocates will defend the idea that it's not morally wrong to kill a fetus because it's not yet a human person. They will define a human person as a human being that has a fully developed brain. As such, abortion does not violate their rights because the right to life is only exclusive for humans with fully functioning brain. But, is this definition consistent ethically? 

Let's consider infants who are born with the case of "anencephaly." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Anencephaly is a serious birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull [2]." This means that infants who are born with this condition do not have right to life according to the argument by some pro-choice advocates. Moreover, we can also cite other cases such as the elderly who have stroke, Alzheimer disease and other diseases that will make it difficult for their brains to properly function. Is it morally permissible to kill an infant with child defect or adults with diseases that affect the brain? 

Of course, not. This shows that limiting the definition of personhood to people with fully developed brains will result in rejecting the equal dignity of all human beings. Because of this, we need to abandon and reject the arguments presented by people who promote abortion. Trent Horn, a Catholic philosopher and apologist, provided a better philosophical definition for personhood. He defined it by saying,

"Instead, we should identify persons not as individuals who currently have certain valuable abilities (which can be gained and lost over time), but as members of kinds whose nature is to develop those valuable abilities. We can summarize it this way: a person is an individual member of a rational kind [3]."

This is important because our right to life should not be dependent on what we can do but on who we are as human beings. Besides reason, we should also consider the revelation of God and the teachings of the Catholic Church for us to know the fullness of truth as to why our lives are sacred. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,

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 [4].

2319 Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God [5].

The life of all human beings, including the unborn, should be respected and protected starting from the moment of conception. It is because we are created in the image and likeness of God. Our Lord alone is the author of life. No one has the right to take it away from us. Regardless of the development, stage or health of the brain of an individual, all of us are precious in the eyes of God. Let us pray for all of us, including the pro-choice advocates, that we may see the dignity and sacredness of the life all human beings, especially the unborn children. Amen + 

References: 

[1] pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7476658

[2]https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/anencephaly.html#:~:text=Anencephaly%20is%20a%20serious%20birth,part%20of%20the%20neural%20tube).

[3]https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-problem-of-personhood

[4]http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2270.htm

[5]http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2319.htm