Dignity, Solidarity, and the Sanctity of Human Life

Abstract

In many discussions of the human tragedies and choices which are often linked to the ethical issues of death and dying, phrases such as “the sanctity of life”, “the dignity of human life”, and “human solidarity” are often invoked as part of the discussion. Such phrases are used in a number of ways. At times they are deployed to prohibit actions. Those, for example, who argue for restrictions on abortion often speak of the sanctity and the dignity of human life. At the same time such language is used in appeals which are deployed to support injunctions to act in ways that are supportive of others. Such injunctions are supported by the appeal to “solidarity” among human beings. Indeed much of the social teaching of the Church, exhorting the fulfillment of positive moral obligations towards others, invokes a language of “solidarity”, “dignity”, and “sanctity”.