Chapter 3
The Human Person
Personalistic Norm
• A response to utilitarianism
– the moral course of action based on what can
accomplish the greatest good for the greatest
number of people
– The few can be “sacrificed” for the good of the
many
– St. John Paul II  persons are used in the same
way things are used; people can be seen as
obstacles, treated as objects or disposable
Discussion
• What are some ways we can use one another?
• Can a boyfriend and girlfriend use each other?
• Can young people use their parents or vice
versa?
People were created to be loved.
Things were created to be used.
The reason the world is in chaos
is because things are being
loved and people are
being used.
(Unknown)
The Human Person
Societal Values
Not valued by society
Societal Values
Not valued by society
God’s Values
The Human Person
Reflection
• What does it mean to be equal in dignity and
how does that affect one’s interactions with
others?
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Definition of Murder
“The deliberate killing of an innocent human
being”
• Which qualifies as murder?
– Killing someone in an automobile accident
– Killing a game for meat
– Taking someone’s life as the only means of selfdefense
– Abortion
Abortion
Opinion
What challenges in today’s families might make
abortion look like an attractive “solution”?
What do you think is the most important factor
in the abortion industry – women’s rights or
economics?
Abortion
• Each person in the womb is a unique child of
God who deserves to be treated with dignity.
• 1.21 million babies are aborted each year in
the USA since Roe v. Wade
• Abortion in the USA generates approximately
$1 billion dollars per year – 1/3 of which
comes from taxpayers subsidy.
• Economic gains, the breakdown in family and
the perception that freedom is an absolute
value are some factors that has contributed to
abortion.
Catholic Teaching
• All innocent lives must be protected –
including children conceived in cases of rape
or incest.
• The child does not deserve the death penalty
because of the crime of the father.
• The Church offers support for those who are
facing unplanned pregnancies, as well as
healing for those who have had an abortion.
Is abortion really legal through all nine months of
pregnancy for any reason in the United States?
 Roe v. Wade (1973) ruled that though states did have an
interest in protecting fetal life, such interest was not "compelling" until
the fetus was viable (placing viability at the start of the third
trimester). Thus, all state abortion laws that forbade abortion during
the first six months of pregnancy were thereby invalidated. Third
trimester abortions were declared to be legal only if the pregnancy
threatened the life or health of the mother.
 Doe v. Bolton (1973) defined "health of the mother" in such
broad terms, that any prohibitions to 3rd trimester abortions were
essentially eliminated:
… We agree with the District Court … that the medical judgment may be
exercised in the light of all factors – physical, emotional, psychological, familial,
and the woman's age – relevant to the well-being of the patient.
All these factors may relate to health.
Abortion
Opinion
Do you agree or disagree with the current laws
on abortion? Why or why not?
Should abortion be allowed for cases of rape
and incest?
How about in the case when a woman’s life is in
danger?
DUE DATES
• October 30 – Chapter 3 Vocabulary; Service
Evaluation
• November 3 – Social Justice Project Proposal
• November 16 – Application Paper #3
• Read Chapter 3
Film: Silent Scream
Silent Scream (Full Length)
Viewer Discretion is Advised
Worksheet –
Abortion: The Teen Male
Perspective
Principle of Double Effect (pg. 80)
1. Is the action either morally good or morally
neutral?
2. Is the intention of the action the good effect
and not the bad effect that results from it?
3. Does the good outcome outweigh the bad
one?
Is it moral or immoral? Explain
In 1985, the Tebow family, with four children, was living in
the Philippines as missionaries. Pam Tebow contracted
amoebic dysentery, likely from contaminated drinking water.
She fell into a coma and received strong drugs to combat
the infection.
It turned out she was pregnant with her fifth child.
Those drugs caused the placenta to detach from the uterine
wall, depriving the fetus of oxygen. When it was realized that she was pregnant,
doctors stopped the drugs but said that the high doses of medicine had already
damaged the fetus.
The doctors believed there was danger to Pam and that the baby would
not survive, or if he did, would have very serious problems. His parents went to
the best doctor in their area of the Philippines who told her: “An abortion is the
only way to save your life.”
Pam refused to have an abortion and asked for God’s help. She was in
bed rest at a Manila hospital for the final two months of the pregnancy. Bob and
Pam prayed for a healthy baby, but left that up to God.
After Timmy was born, the doctor who delivered him said only a small
part of the placenta was attached, but it was “just enough to keep your baby
nourished all these months.” In 2007 Tim Tebow won the Heisman
Abortion
Trophy while playing football for the University of Florida.
Promoting Life
• See page 82
Other Beginning of Life Issues:
Objectives
• Embryonic stem-cell vs. adult stem cells
• Why does the Church teach that using and
destroying embryos for stem cell research is
morally wrong (evil means) even if it provides
therapeutic treatment (good result).
• Why cloning and most forms of genetic
engineering violates the dignity of life
Other Beginning of Life Issues
Note: Taking Summarizing
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Cloning and Genetic Manipulation
Stem cells have the potential to
become other types of cells
Cloning embryos just to destroy them
is gravely immoral
Destroying embryos to obtain stem
cells is morally problematic; it is evil
to treat human lives as disposable
commodities.
Cloning humans is gravely immoral.
Using adult stem cells is morally
permissible.
Every human has the right to be
conceived from the mutual self-gift of
husband and wife
Even the good intention of finding
Cloning calls into question the
cures for diseases does not justify the possibility of cloning for a “superior”
evil means of destroying human life.
human being.
Stem Cell Research
• The Catholic Church does not oppose stem cell
research, but the use of embryos to obtain stem cells
– which leads to the destruction of the embryos.
• Using adult stem cells – which is acquired from
placentas and umbilical cords are morally
permissible.
• No cure has ever been discovered by the use of
embryos.
• The end (good result) does not justify an immoral
means (methods).
Cloning
• Cloning or creating embryos for research violates
human dignity.
• This has become a multi-billion industry in and of
itself.
• Every child deserves to be conceived through the act
of a mother and father and not through a lab
• Manipulating genes could create a world in which
people could create “superior” children, suggesting
that there are also “inferior” children.
Cloning for “Superiority” = Eugenics?
Logo from the Second
International Congress
of Eugenics, 1921,
depicting the eugenics
as a tree which unites
a variety of different
fields.
Other Beginning of Life Issues
The end justifies the means
• Examples:
– China enforces population control measures in
order to slow population growth and reduce
poverty.
– A student cheats for good grades to become a
doctor and serve the poor.
– A dad drives home at 90 mph each night to help
his kids with homework.
• What’s wrong with this message?
the end does not justify the means
A good intention (for example, that of helping one's neighbor) does not make
behavior that is intrinsically disordered, such as lying and calumny, good or
just. The end does not justify the means. Thus the condemnation of an
innocent person cannot be justified as a legitimate means of saving the nation.
On the other hand, an added bad intention (such as vainglory) makes an act
evil that, in and of itself, can be good (such as almsgiving). CCC, 1753
Example 1
Someone argues that a
pregnant woman feels
she’s not ready to care for
a child so she procures an
abortion; in effect, saying
that taking the life of her
unborn child is justified
by the benefit of avoiding
motherhood.
Example 2
Someone argues that
society has a right to
execute a murder to
avenge a killing; in
effect, saying that the
death of the criminal is
justified by society’s
desire for revenge.
Example 3
Someone argues that
aiding a terminally sick
person’s request for death
is humane; in effect,
saying that helping
someone to kill himself is
justified by the desire to
eliminate the suffering.
Other Beginning of Life Issues
CCC, 1753
A good intention (for example, that of helping one's
neighbor) does not make behavior that is intrinsically
disordered, such as lying and calumny, good or just. The
end does not justify the means. Thus the condemnation
of an innocent person cannot be justified as a
legitimate means of saving the nation. On the other
hand, an added bad intention (such as vainglory) makes
an act evil that, in and of itself, can be good (such as
almsgiving).
Letter to Mrs. Reagan and
Mr. Michael J. Fox
Objectives: End of Life Concerns
• Define two types of euthanasia and explain
why euthanasia in all of its forms is an assault
on human dignity.
• Point to concrete examples of the mentality
that leads to a culture of euthanasia.
• Relate Church teaching on capital punishment
to the moral principles of self-defense and
explain why capital punishment is very often,
but not always, a moral wrong.
End of Life Concerns
Euthanasia
• Euthanasia – Any act or omission which, of
itself or by intention, causes death in order to
eliminate suffering.
• Two types of Euthanasia:
– Involuntary – when someone else chooses
euthanasia for a dying or sick person.
– Voluntary euthanasia – when the sick or dying
person chooses euthanasia for him or herself.
Euthanasia con’t
• Physician Assisted Suicide – the process of
ending one’s own life with the help of a doctor
rather than directly by the doctor’s hand.
• Development of the Euthanasia Mentality
– Cultural climate that sees no value in suffering
– Neglect of God has made people think that they
have sole control over life and death
– Aging population has put pressure on a costly
health care system
Euthanasia con’t
• All lives belong to God, and every human
person has value and the right to live.
• However, the patient does not have to accept
every form of medical treatment.
– Ordinary Medical Treatment– standard medical
care as well as food and water, even if the person
is fed artificially.
– Extraordinary Medical Treatment – medical
treatment that attempts to do more than keep a
patient comfortable and cared for in a basic
manner.
Reflection
Is there a value in
suffering?
Sacrament of the Anointing of the
Sick
• What is this sacrament?
• Who can receive it?
• What are the spiritual benefits of the
sacrament?
Hospice
Goals of Hospice Care
• Manage pain and any other symptoms
that cause discomfort and distress
• Create a comfortable
environment for the patient
• Allow the patient to be close
to family and loved ones
during the dying process
• Give relief to the patient’s
caregivers
• Offer counseling for the patient
and those close to the patient
End of Life Concerns
End of Life Concerns
End of Life Concerns
Capital Punishment
• Church position is seen in light of self-defense
• Four premises regarding the Church’s Teaching on Self
Defense – applies to individuals and society
– Respecting the dignity of the human person includes
protecting one’s own life.
– Murder takes an innocent life, whereas an unjust
attacker is not “innocent” in that particular moment.
– Taking the life of an aggressor is always a last resort
when it is necessary to defend life would not be
murder.
– Taking the life of an aggressor is always a last resort; if
there are other alternatives, that should be used
instead.
How is Capital Punishment
morally different than abortion,
destroying embryos, and
euthanasia?
No One Is Beyond Redemption
(pg. 93)
• Luke 15:11-32
• Matthew 5:38-39
• Luke 6:35-37
• John 8:1-11
• Romans 12:14-19