AKC 9 General – Autumn Term 2010 – Knowing What To Do
06/12/10
AKC 9 – 6 December 2010
Knowing What To Do: Ethics in a Contemporary Context
Lecture 9: The Beginning and End of Life
The Revd Professor Richard A Burridge, Dean of King's College and
Professor Clemens Sedmak, F. D. Maurice Professor of Moral and Social Theology, KCL
1
THE SANCTITY OF LIFE – Biblical and Theological Reflections
“The LORD God formed man (adam) from the dust of the ground (adamah) and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2.7)
“When you [O Lord] take away their [all living things] breath, they die and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, (or ‘your breath’) they are created.” (Psalm 104.29-30)
“He [God] himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.” (Acts 17.25)
“You shall not kill.” Exodus 20.13 or ‘You shall not murder” (New RSV translation)?
“For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. . . my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that
is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.” (Paul in Philippians 2.21-24)
* “Man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence,
because it consists in sharing the very life of God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation
reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase. Life in
time, in fact, is the fundamental condition, the initial stage and an integral part of the entire
unified process of human existence. It is a process which, unexpectedly and undeservedly, is
enlightened by the promise and renewed by the gift of divine life, which will reach its full
realization in eternity (cf. 1 John 3:1-2). At the same time, it is precisely this supernatural calling
which highlights the relative character of each individual's earthly life. After all, life on earth is
not an "ultimate" but a "penultimate" reality; even so, it remains a sacred reality entrusted to us,
to be preserved with a sense of responsibility and brought to perfection in love and in the gift of
ourselves to God and to our brothers and sisters” (John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 2; 1995).
2
THE BEGINNING OF LIFE – Contraception, Abortion, IVF, Stem Cell research.
“As soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1.44)
* “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; cf. Job
10:8-12; Psalm 22:10-11) … 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”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2270f; 1993)
* “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”
(Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Donum Vitae 3; 1987).
Official Catholic view of sex: All sexual acts must have a procreative aspect within context of a
one man, one woman in permanent and lifelong Christian marriage. Contraception thus ruled out.
AKC 9 General – Autumn Term 2010 – Knowing What To Do
06/12/10
“When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no
further harm follows [if the child is unformed, LXX], the one responsible shall be fined what the
woman's husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine. If any harm follows [if it is
fully formed, LXX], then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand,
foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” (Exodus 20.22-25) ‘icon’/image
Aristotle: soul enters foetus; Aquinas: male vivified at 40 days, female at 90 days; Pope Pius IX
1869 dropped all reference to ‘ensouled foetus’, thus making all abortions excommunicable.
When does life begin? At first breath after birth? At viability? (28 weeks in Abortion Act 1967;
now 24 weeks (1990);move to 22?; at formation of lungs? (18 weeks); formation of brain stem?
(40 days); formation of primitive streak (14/15days); idea of ‘twinning’ and splits/rejoining prior
to that? Fertilization is a process of 24 hours. Half/more? of all fertilized eggs miscarry naturally.
IVF Explanation of terms: Artificial Insemination by Husband; AI by DonorAID; Egg Donation;
Use of surrogate mother – ‘womb-renting’. Up to FIVE parents involved? Doctrine of marriage.
Stem Cell sources: a) mature adults; b) umbilical cord blood; c) aborted foetuses; d) deliberatedly
created blastocysts; e) cloning. Pluripotent (b) v totipotent (options c, d & e) cells, more useful.
3
THE END OF LIFE – (Assisted) Suicide and (In-) Voluntary Euthanasia
* “Euthanasia in the strict sense is understood to be an action or omission which of itself and by
intention causes death, with the purpose of eliminating all suffering”
(John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 65; 1995)
* “When the prevailing tendency is to value life only to the extent that it brings pleasure and wellbeing, suffering seems like an unbearable setback, something from which one must be freed at all
costs. Death is considered "senseless" if it suddenly interrupts a life still open to a future of new
and interesting experiences. But it becomes a "rightful liberation" once life is held to be no longer
meaningful because it is filled with pain and inexorably doomed to even greater suffering.
Furthermore, when he denies or neglects his fundamental relationship to God, man thinks he is
his own rule and measure, with the right to demand that society should guarantee him the ways
and means of deciding what to do with his life in full and complete autonomy … In this context
the temptation grows to have recourse to euthanasia, that is, to take control of death and bring it
about before its time, "gently" ending one's own life or the life of others. In reality, what might
seem logical and humane, when looked at more closely is seen to be senseless and inhumane.
Here we are faced with one of the more alarming symptoms of the "culture of death", which is
advancing above all in prosperous societies, marked by an attitude of excessive preoccupation
with efficiency and which sees the growing number of elderly and disabled people as intolerable
and too burdensome
(John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 64; 1995)
Rise of the Hospice Movement (UK; Cecily Saunders) v. rise of euthanasia law (Holland, Switz)
Euthanasia ( = ‘good death’ in Greek). Distinction of involuntary and voluntary important.
Intrinsic/Absolutist position v Intentionalist or Consequentialist ethics affects things here.
Acts and Omissions – withdrawal of care; feeding, or hydration? Omitting to prevent death.
Acting to cause death: Aiding or assisting suicide? Taking pills? Status of Living Wills.
Principle of Double Effect used for large ‘pain-killing’ injections to bring about or hasten death.
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Full details about the AKC course, including the handouts: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/akc
eLearning page on Blackboard: NS-0ZDOAKG1-3 10~11 Associate of King’s College
If you have any queries please contact Elizabeth on ext 2333 or dean@kcl.ac.uk
AKC lectures will recommence the week beginning Monday 17th January 2011
The AKC Examination Friday, 1st April between 14.30 and 16.30