"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the
           political authority. ... Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human
           being´s right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death" (2273).

           "Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity,
           cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being" (2274).

2322 From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a
"criminal" practice (GS 27 # 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication
for this crime against human life.
2323 Because it should be treated as a person from conception, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed
like every other human being.

2258 "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special
relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any
circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being."
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.
     Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. (Jeremiah 1:5)
    My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.(Psalm 139:15)

2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and
remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral
 law:   You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish. (Didache 2:2)
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of
themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.
2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of
excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae
sententiae," "by the very commission of the offense," and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. The Church does not
thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm
done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.
2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its
legislation:
"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend
neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature
and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should
mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death."
"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is
denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of
the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined. . . . As a consequence of the respect and protection which
must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate
violation of the child's rights."
2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as
far as possible, like any other human being.

1261 “As regards children who have died without baptism , the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them” (Mk. 10:14) allows us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism”

2274 Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe
guarding or healing as an individual. . . . It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an
abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence." (Donum vitae)
2275 "One must hold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve
disproportionate risks for it, but are directed toward its healing the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival."(Donum vitae)
"It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material."(Donum vitae)
"Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected
according to sex or other predetermined qualities. Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity
and identity(Donum vitae) which are unique and unrepeatable."
 

Euthanasia

2276 Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to
lead lives as normal as possible.

2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying
persons. It is morally unacceptable.
Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the
dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith
does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.

2278 Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be
legitimate; it is the refusal of "over-zealous" treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one's inability to impede it is merely accepted. The
decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable
will and legitimate interests must always be respected.

2279 Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to
alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not
willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such
it should be encouraged.

Suicide

2280 Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life.
We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners,
of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.
2281 Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the
just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other
human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.
2282 If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of
scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.
Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one
committing suicide.
2283 We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God
can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.

Research

2295 Research or experimentation on the human being cannot legitimate acts that are in themselves contrary to the dignity of
persons and to the moral law. The subjects' potential consent does not justify such acts. Experimentation on human beings is not
morally legitimate if it exposes the subject's life or physical and psychological integrity to disproportionate or avoidable risks.
Experimentation on human beings does not conform to the dignity of the person if it takes place without the informed consent of
the subject or those who legitimately speak for him.

2296 Organ transplants are in conformity with the moral law if the physical and psychological dangers and risks to the donor are proportionate
to the good sought for the recipient. Organ donation after death is a noble and meritorious act and is to be encouraged as a expression of
generous solidarity. It is not morally acceptable if the donor or his proxy has not given explicit consent. Moreover, it is not morally admissible to
bring about the disabling mutilation or death of a human being, even in order to delay the death of other persons.

2301 Autopsies can be morally permitted for legal inquests or scientific research. The free gift of organs after death is legitimate and can be
meritorious.

2375 Research aimed at reducing human sterility is to be encouraged, on condition that it is placed "at the service of the human
person, of his inalienable rights, and his true and integral good according to the design and will of God."165

2376 Techniques that entail the dissociation of husband and wife, by the intrusion of a person other than the couple (donation of sperm or
ovum, surrogate uterus), are gravely immoral. These techniques (heterologous artificial insemination and fertilization) infringe the child's right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. They betray the spouses' "right to become a father and a
mother only through each other."166

2377 Techniques involving only the married couple ( homologous artificial insemination and fertilization) are perhaps less reprehensible, yet
remain morally unacceptable. They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act. The act which brings the child into existence is no longer
an act by which two persons give themselves to one another, but one that "entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of
doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person. Such a relationship of
domination is in itself contrary to the dignity and equality that must be common to parents and children."167 "Under the moral aspect
procreation is deprived of its proper perfection when it is not willed as the fruit of the conjugal act, that is to say, of the specific act of the
spouses' union . . . . Only respect for the link between the meanings of the conjugal act and respect for the unity of the human being make
possible procreation in conformity with the dignity of the person."168

2378 A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift. The "supreme gift of marriage" is a human person. A child may not be
considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged "right to a child" would lead. In this area, only the child possesses
genuine rights: the right "to be the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of his parents," and "the right to be respected as a
person from the moment of his conception."169

2379 The Gospel shows that physical sterility is not an absolute evil. Spouses who still suffer from infertility after exhausting
legitimate medical procedures should unite themselves with the Lord's Cross, the source of all spiritual fecundity. They can give
expression to their generosity by adopting abandoned children or performing demanding services for others.

The Early Church Fathers quotes on Abortion
The Early  Church Fathers quotes on Contraception and sterilization    and Homosexuality
Catholic Answers on Birth Control and Homosexuality

*Pope John Paul 11

"You will not be surprised if before an assembly of diplomats I state in this regard certain requirements which I believe must be met if entire peoples, perhaps even humanity itself, are not to sink into the abyss.

First, a "YES TO LIFE"! Respect life itself and individual lives: everything starts here, for the most fundamental of human rights is certainly the right to life. Abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, for example, risk reducing the human person to a mere object: life and death to order, as it were! When all moral criteria are removed, scientific research involving the sources of life becomes a denial of the being and the dignity of the person. War itself is an attack on human life since it brings in its wake suffering and death. The battle for peace is always a battle for life!"

"This is why choices need to be made so that humanity can still have a future. Therefore, the peoples of the earth and their leaders must sometimes have the courage to say "No".

"The Gospel of Life" (Evangelium Vitae)  online copy of this very important document
 Of all the Church documents over the centuries, one of the most  complete statements on the dignity and value of human life is the
  1995 encyclical by Pope John Paul II entitled The Gospel of Life(Evangelium Vitae). This document sets forth clearly the Catholic position   on  today's life issues, including abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, the relationship between civil and moral law,
the responsibilities of politicians and voters,  and indeed the whole "civilization of love."
Thus, in 1995 Pope John Paul II declared that the Church's teaching on abortion "is unchanged and unchangeable. Therefore,
by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his successors . . . I declare that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed
as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being.
This doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written word of God, is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and
taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium. No circumstance, no purpose, no law whatsoever can ever make licit an act
which is intrinsically illicit, since it is contrary to the law of God which is written in every human heart, knowable by reason itself,
and proclaimed by the Church" (Evangelium Vitae 62).
(Fortunately, abortion, like all sins, is a forgivable one, and forgiveness is as close as the nearest confessional.)
*HUMANAE  VITAE: ON HUMAN LIFE   online copy
      On 25th of July, 1968  the Feast of St. James the Apostle  Pope Paul VI issued the prophetic encyclical
Humanae Vitae. This encyclical is a beautiful statement of the procreative  and unitive ends of marriage and the inseparability of life and
love. The Pope also correctly foresaw the moral chaos that would  ensue as society took on a contraceptive mentality. The antidote
to this moral poison is in this compelling document, which proclaims in a new way what the entire Christian world believed until our
own time.

*     "Disregard for the sacred character of life in the womb weakens the very fabric of civilization; it prepares a mentality, and even a public attitude, that can lead to the acceptance of other practices that are against the fundamental rights of the individual.  This mentality can, for example, completely undermine concern for those in want, manifesting itself in insensitivity to social needs; it can produce contempt for the elderly, to the point of advocating euthanasia; it can prepare the way for those forms of genetic engineering that go against life, the dangers of which are not yet fully known to the general public."
 Pope Paul VI, September 11, 1968.

*Pope John Paul 2 statement after talks with President Bush July 2001:
"Experience is already showing how a tragic coarsening of consciences accompanies the assault on innocent
 human life in the womb, leading to accommodation and acquiescence in the face of other related evils such as euthanasia, infanticide and, most recently, proposals for the creation for research purposes of human embryos, destined to
destruction in the process.
"A free and virtuous society, which America aspires to be, must reject practices that devalue and violate human life at any stage from conception until natural death.
"In defending the right to life, in law and through a vibrant culture of life, America can show the world the path to a truly humane future, in which man remains the master, not the product, of his technology."
 

*  For women who have had an abortion - the mercy of God  (quote from article 99 of Evangelium Vitae) Pope John Paul II
"I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But  do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgivenes and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Moreover, you are able to entrust with hope your infant to the same Father and His mercy. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life. Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth of other children or by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at human life"

*Pope John Paul II."Genetic Manipulation."  address to the World Medical Association on October 29, 1983.
"It must consequently respect the fundamental dignity of men and the common biological nature which is at the base of liberty, avoiding manipulations that tend to modify genetic inheritance and to create groups of different men at the risk of causing new cases of marginalization in society.
Genetic manipulation becomes arbitrary and unjust when it reduces life to an object, when it forgets that it is dealing with a human subject, capable of intelligence and freedom, worthy of respect, whatever may be his limitations; or when it treats this person in terms of criteria not founded on the integral reality of the human person, at the risk of infringing upon his dignity.  In this case, it exposes the individual to the caprice of others, thus depriving him of his autonomy."
 

*Pope Pius XII "Every human being, even the child in the womb, has the right to life directly from God and not from his parents, not from any society or human authority.  Therefore, there is no man, no society, no human authority, no science, no "indication" at all whether it be medical, eugenic, social, economic, or moral that may offer or give a valid judicial title for a direct deliberate disposal of an innocent human life, that is, a disposal that aims at its destruction, whether as an end in itself or as a means to achieve the end, perhaps in no way at all illicit.  The direct destruction of so-called "useless lives," already born or still in the womb, practiced extensively a few years ago [by Nazi Germany], can in no wise be justified ... The life of an innocent person is sacrosanct, and any direct attempt or aggression against it is a violation of one of the fundamental laws without which secure human society is impossible ... [N]ever forget this:  There rises above every human law and above every "indication" the faultless law of God [emphasis in original]." Allocution to Midwives, October 29, 1951

Religion and Science:
"The Church is not the enemy of medicine or true science. But, science must be at the service of the human person and not vice versa. Even little human beings, indeed the tiniest human beings, must not be converted into mere means or 'stuff' even for the benefit of other human beings, even suffering human beings" Mons. William B Smith on fetal tissue experiments .( p. 72 Homiletic and Pastoral Review Nov 2000)
"The progress of  humanity must  be measured not only by the progress of science and technology, but also and chiefly by the primacy given to spiritual values and by the progress of moral life. So it is deplorable [that] legitimate pluralism is often confused with neutrality of values.
In the name of misunderstood democracy, people think they can increasingly do without ethical norms, and... the moral categories of good and evil in public life....It is as if knowledge and scientifioc research stretched out toward the infinite, only to snap back to their origins. The old problem of the connection between science and faith has not become outdated with the development of modern sciences; on the contrary, in a world more imbued with science, [faith] manifests..vital importance. .. both parties must continue listening to eachother." Pope John Paul II Nov 15, 1980 quoted in Ossservatore Romano Nov 24 1980.

*Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

          Donum Vitae: Instruction on Respect for Human Life (1987)Donum Vitae.  Section I, "Respect for Human Embryos," Part 4:  "How is One Morally To Evaluate Research and Experimentation on Human Embryos and Fetuses."  1987.
"Medical research must refrain from operations on live embryos, unless there is a moral certainty of not causing harm to the life or integrity of the unborn child and the mother, and on condition that the parents have given their free and informed consent to the procedure.  It follows that all research, even when limited to the simple observation of the embryo, would become illicit were it to involve risk to the embryo's physical integrity or life by reasons of the methods used or the effects induced.
     "If the embryos are living, whether viable or not, they must be respected just like any other human person; experimentation on embryos which is not directly therapeutic is illicit.  No objective, even though noble in itself, such as a foreseeable advantage to science, to other human beings or to society, can in any way justify experimentation on living human embryos or fetuses, whether viable or not, either inside or outside the mother's womb.  The informed consent ordinarily required for clinical experimentation on adults cannot be granted by the parents, who may not freely dispose of the physical integrity or life of the unborn child.
     "To use human embryos or fetuses as the object or instrument of experimentation constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings having a right to the same respect that is due to the child already born and to every human person.  The Charter of the Rights of the Family published by the Holy See affirms:  "Respect for the dignity of the human being excludes all experimental manipulation or exploitation of the human embryo."
     "The practice of keeping human embryos alive in vivo or in vitro for experimental or commercial purposes is totally opposed to human dignity.  In the case of experimentation that is clearly therapeutic, namely, when it is a matter of experimental forms of therapy used for the benefit of the embryo itself in the absence of other reliable forms of therapy, recourse to drugs or procedures not yet fully tested can be licit.
     "Furthermore, the moral requirements must be safeguarded, that there be no complicity in deliberate abortion and that the risk of scandal be avoided.  Also, in the case of dead fetuses, as for the corpses of adult persons, all commercial trafficking must be considered illicit and should be prohibited."

          Declaration on Euthanasia (1980)Christian prudence suggest for the majority of sick people the use of medicines capable of alleviating or suppressing pain, even though these may cause as a secondary effect semi-consciousness and reduced lucidity.  As for those who are not in a state to express themselves, one can reasonably presume that they wish to take these painkillers and have them administered according to the doctor's advice.
     "Painkillers that cause unconsciousness need special consideration.  For a person not only has to be able to satisfy his or her moral duties and family obligations; he or she also has to prepare himself or herself with full consciousness for meeting Christ.  Thus Pius XII warns:  "It is not right to deprive the dying person of consciousness without a serious reason.""
 "Declaration on Euthanasia."  May 5, 1980.

          Declaration on Procured Abortion (1974)"It must in any case be clearly understood that a Christian can never conform to a law which is in itself immoral, and such is the case of a law which would admit in principle the licitness of abortion.  Nor can a Christian take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or vote for it.  Moreover, he may not collaborate in its application.  It is, for instance, inadmissible that doctors or nurses should find themselves obliged to cooperate closely in abortions and have to choose between the Christian law and their professional situation"

Special attention must also be paid to the treatment of human subjects who undergo research who are especially "vulnerable" because of their state of life, as the example of human embryos clearly illustrates. Because of the delicate stage of their development, possible experimentation on them in the light of current technological advances would involve a very high - and therefore ethically unacceptable - risk of causing them irreversible damage and even death.
The attitude some adopt concerning the legitimacy of sacrificing the (physical and genetic) integrity of human beings at the embryonic stage in order to destroy them, if necessary, in order to benefit other human individuals is likewise totally unacceptable. It is never morally licit to do evil intentionally in order to achieve ends that are good in themselves.
Moreover, it should be borne in mind that, although the human individual at the embryonic stage deserves the full respect that is due to every human person, human embryos are certainly not subjects who can give their personal consent to experimentation that exposes them to grave risks without the benefit of any directly therapeutic effect for themselves. Therefore, any experimentation on the human embryo that does not have the goal of obtaining direct benefits for his/her own health, cannot be considered morally licit. http://www.vatican.va/news_services/or/or_eng/text.html#3

*The Bishops of Ireland        "But the point is that we are not free to refuse to recognize another human being as a person.  Refusal to recognize another human being as a person is in fact the essence of all immorality in human relations.  It is the basis of all oppression, torture, denial of civil rights, religious and racial discrimination, exploitation, all forms of inhumanity of man to man.  All of these are simply ways of refusing to recognize other human beings as human.  Once human life exists, we are morally bound to respect its right to life, to development, to human dignity.  Otherwise, the very basis of morality is undermined" "Some will argue that not every life is of equal value.  But in the eyes of God, every life is equal and of priceless value.  We must see every life as having the value which it has for God."
     "It is significant that the arguments advanced for euthanasia are exactly parallel to those advanced for abortion.  It is argued that the fetus is human only potentially; that it is not a free or rational person; that it is kept alive only through the life-support given it by others.  In exactly the same way, it is said that the incapacitated or senile person is only "a piece of human wreckage" (this is an exact quotation from a recent plea for euthanasia); that he is "only a vegetable;" that he is being kept alive only by the kindness of relatives and the life-support systems of medicine.  It is, in fact, impossible to construct a definition of abortion in such a way as to justify abortion but to forbid euthanasia."
Joint Pastoral Letter entitled "Human Life is Sacred," March 1, 1975.

* FOR THE LOVE OF LIFE:   A Pastoral Letter by Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., Catholic Diocese of Fall River, MA, October 27, 2000
* "Our world is beginning to divide very rapidly into two classes of people:  the biophiles and the necrophiles.  The biophilic people are those who love life.  The other class of people are the necrophiles ... the lovers of death."
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen at his 1972 "Celebrate Life" holy hour address at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral..