"It will be shed for you and for all…"
(cf. Matthew 26:28).
These words of the Lord Jesus indicate His universal will for salvation. He
died for each and every human being who ever existed and will exist.
Furthermore, it was through Him that they were made. "Apart from him,
nothing came to be" (John 1:3). "All things were created through Him; all
were created for Him" (Col.1:16).
The love of God has no exceptions; the command He gives us to love one
another likewise admits of no exceptions. "Love one another as I have loved
you" (John 15:12). This is the basis for saying that no innocent
human life may ever be deliberately destroyed; this is the root and source of
the unchanging truth that no abortion is ever justified.
Abortion is, according to the teaching of the Church, an intrinsic evil.
What that means is that it is evil by its very nature, and that evil is not
altered by circumstances. To put it another way, if one lived for a million
years -- or forever -- and did nothing but try to imagine circumstances that
could justify a single abortion, one could never imagine one. It simply does not
exist.
Every abortion, no matter what the circumstances, contradicts the law and
will of God.
The circumstances in which a child is conceived -- whether they were planned
or not, whether they were the embrace of spousal love or the violent act of rape
or incest -- can never make an abortion morally permissible. The circumstances
in which the pregnancy advances -- whether the health or life of the mother is
threatened or not, or whether her social or economic situation is extremely
grave -- can never justify the direct killing of a child.
Human law, furthermore, can never justify a single act of abortion. There is
no Court, King, Governor, President, Parliament, or Prince anywhere on earth or
any time in history who can issue any decision, decree or declaration that would
justify even a single abortion. When human lawmakers attempt to do so, the "law"
that results is not simply a bad law; it is, in fact, no law at all, and
carries neither authentic juridical validity nor any obligation to obey it.
Life can be confusing, and the temptation to compromise with evil can be
great. But the teaching about abortion is as clear and direct as it can be, and
is best summed up with one word: never.
