The Fifth Commandment “Thou shall not kill” The sanctity of human life

God – author of life  God gives humans the duty of guarding their own lives and the lives of those around them  Human life has its origin in God and is dependent on Him  Christianity rejects autonomy (dependence on oneself) and heteronomy (dependence on someone else) and accepts only theonomy (dependence on God.

Respect for human life  Killing an innocent person is a grave sin contrary to the natural law, the dignity of the person, and the holiness of the Creator.  Jesus adds two elements to the fifth commandment – any offense that violates the dignity of a person is condemned and no one can be reconciled with God if he is not reconciled with his neighbor.

Conservation of existing life  Duty to conserve one’s own life  Legitimate self-defense is morally acceptable, but only the force necessary to repel an attack is permitted  No one should end one’s own life  Each person has the duty to take care of his own life (illegal drugs and excessive use of alcohol are forbidden)/

Respect for the life of others  Taking the life of an innocent person is a serious offense  Murder  Homicide  Kidnapping  Torture  Terrorism

Rights of the unborn  Abortion – causing the death of a child before he can survive outside the womb.  Spontaneous – occurring naturally  Induced – brought about through human intervention  Eugenic – malformation of the fetus  Therapeutic – cases of rape  Psychological/psychosocial – for psychological, economic, or social reasons  All induced abortion is gravely sinful.

Abortion  The magisterium of the Church has consistently proclaimed the gravely sinful nature of abortion throughout history.  Condemnation found in the Didache (first century Church text).  The Code of Canon Law imposes the punishment of excommunication for those involved in abortions.

Capital punishment  Evangelium Vitae formally confirmed the church’s use of the death penalty.  It is seen as an extreme measure that should not be done except in cases of absolute necessity.  These cases are very rare if not nonexistent.

Euthanasia  An action or an omission which of itself or by intention causes death.  Must be distinguished from the decision to forgo aggressive medical treatment  To take directly the life of a sick person is murder  Extraordinary means to maintain life are never required  Ordinary means of sustaining life are required

Scandal  Attitude or behavior that leads another to do evil.  Those in authority have a special responsibility to avoid scandal/  Scandal can be provoked by laws, institutions, fashion, entertainment, and opinions.

Just war  Everything reasonable must be done to avoid the evils of war.  Legitimate defense by military force requires  Damage inflicted by the aggressor must be lasting, grave, and certain  All other means to end the conflict must be found to be ineffective  Serious prospect of success  The use of arms must not produce more evil than the evil to be eliminated.

Organ transplants  Removing an organ or limb to save the live of a seriously ill person is morally permissible.  Organ transplants are morally permissible.

Cloning  Cloning on human beings is condemned by Donum vitae.  Cloning, in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination, and the use of frozen embryos are condemned since they reduce human beings to objects.

Illicit drug and alcohol use and smoking  These are forbidden since they reduce the human’s ability to think clearly and can be dangerous to one’s health.

Sterilization  Can be defined as depriving a person of his or her procreative capability.  Direct sterilization – intended to destroy procreative capability  Indirect sterilization – secondary result of a different medical procedure.