Evolution of thinking of the Catholic Church on the beginning of human life

Abstract

The present teaching of the Catholic Church on the beginning of human life revolves around three non-negotiable principles: (i) protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment of conception until natural death; (ii) recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family, as a union between a man and a woman, based on marriage; (iii) protection of the right of parents to educate their children. These principles are not truths of faith; rather they are inscribed in human nature itself and therefore are common to all humanity. Contemporary scholars state that ‘a human being is a person from the moment of conception’. As a consequence, there is tendency to abandon the ‘delayed animation’ theory of Thomas Aquinas, who argued that a human soul is created by God only after first a principle of organic life and then a sensitive soul have given it the required development. Today, Catholic teaching focuses on a total commitment for the defence of human life, ‘from conception to natural death’; as a consequence, ‘any human embryo – no matter how early – must be treated as a human person’. At the same time, official documents have purposely avoided taking a position on the question of ‘animation’, stating that it pertains to philosophy, not science.