(quiet gentle music)
FUTURE LIBBY: Okay, now tell me why society should let you live.
KAI: Uh, what kind of reasons do you need?
FUTURE LIBBY: What do you bring to the table?
Are you famous?
Rich?
A genius?
Or are you smelly, diseased and annoying?
KAI: Uh, how about I'm a unique human being
with unique DNA and inherent dignity and worth?
FUTURE LIBBY: (laughing) Oh please, that stopped being a valid reason
for existence ages ago.
(laughing)
KAI: No!
No!
(sighs) Lucky I don't have to
prove my worth to you, Mr. Cuddles.
(pops kiss)
(energetic rock music)
LIBBY: Hi, and welcome to Catholic Central.
I am Libby.
KAI: And I am Kai.
LIBBY: And today we're talking about the issues
that fall under the umbrella of pro-life.
KAI: I'll just sum it up, Catholics care about
the beginning, the end and everything in between.
I think we're done here.
LIBBY: No, okay, let's dive in a little deeper.
Living a committed pro-life world view
is a beautiful, yet challenging path.
Caring about the beginning, middle and end
is what Catholics call a consistent ethic of life.
KAI: A consistent ethic of life holds that
there is a sacredness within all human lives
that goes deeper than our physical existence
and that there is a purpose and meaning
to be found in every stage of life.
LIBBY: That means that, at the foundational level,
the Church stands in opposition
to all direct taking of life.
KAI: This includes abortion and euthanasia,
but also the death penalty and the direct targeting
of civilian populations in war.
LIBBY: But a consistent ethic of life also addresses
social issues and condemns things that devalue human life.
KAI: Or, according to the Vatican
II document Gaudium Et Spes,
whatever violates the integrity of the human person.
LIBBY: And whatever insults human dignity.
KAI: So that includes torture, arbitrary imprisonment,
abuse of the environment, lack of access to healthcare.
LIBBY: Bingo, as well as forced deportation,
human trafficking, hunger, homelessness
and disgraceful working conditions.
KAI: The reason behind this is the fundamental belief
that all lives are equal in dignity.
No one is worth more than anyone else.
LIBBY: And Jesus commands us to treat everyone
as we would want to be treated.
RICH GUY LIBBY: (laughing) Surely not those scurrilous,
good for nothings who steal from us upstanding citizens
and drain our society.
LIBBY: Yes, Catholics believe that you and every other person
is created by God, with an equally important life
that should be protected in every aspect of society.
KAI: For Catholics, life issues are a matter of human rights.
The lives of the vulnerable have to be defended,
no matter how the current culture frames them.
LIBBY: Especially since history has proven that
the lives labeled dispensable can change
depending on who's in power.
KAI: So that includes the poor.
LIBBY: The disabled.
KAI: The homeless, the sick.
LIBBY: The marginalized, the bullied.
KAI: The immigrant, the refugee.
LIBBY: You get the idea.
To be pro-life means believing that all the messy,
stinky, sinful people mean as much to God as you do,
you stinky, messy, sinful person.
KAI: We are called to speak up and give a hand to those
less fortunate as children of God.
LIBBY: Which brings us to some of the most vulnerable among us,
the children of humans.
KAI: Right, the entire premise behind a pro-life worldview,
is to hold sacred every human life from conception
to its natural end, and Catholics believe
what science confirms, at the moment of conception,
a human being begins its journey
through all the uniquely human phases of life.
Everything is in place, the genetics, the DNA,
the building blocks that create
a specific and unique physical and emotional human person.
LIBBY: Unlike any other cluster of cells in our bodies,
a fertilized egg is on a specific journey
to become an individualized human being
and Catholics believe that is a holy creation,
a growing child worthy of being protected.
KAI: Even before it can breath on its own or feel pain.
LIBBY: For Catholics, it's the life itself that has value.
FEMINIST KAI: Yeah, right.
Everyone knows that Catholics are really just pro-birth
so that they can control women and their bodies.
LIBBY: Okay, abortion does get a lot of attention,
but it's not about control at all.
KAI: As we said before, Catholics believe that a new life
has the exact same value as it's mother's life
and all other lives and Catholics dedicate
a lot of time and money to helping people
throughout those lives.
LIBBY: Catholic groups are among the biggest providers
of social services in the world,
operating hospitals, schools, orphanages,
shelters, soup kitchens and supporting life in other ways.
KAI: But those aren't that controversial,
so yada, yada, yada, lots of great moments
of human triumph and fast forward to the end.
COMIC KAI: So I said, euthanasia, (laughs)
what do I care what teens in Mongolia are up to?
Youth in Asia, Mongolia's in Asia, anybody?
WOMAN: You're racist.
CROWD MEMBER: Get off the stage!
LIBBY: You died up there.
KAI: And without dignity, which, by the way,
is the opposite of what the Church wants for everyone,
to die with dignity, naturally
and with as little suffering as possible.
LIBBY: Yes, and to be clear, the Catechism of the Catholic Church
clarifies that medical treatment can be refused or stopped.
KAI: That is, basically,
to say that you can refuse over-zealous treatment.
It's the difference between the will to cause death
and accepting the inability to impede it.
The Church clearly sees that sometimes
complicated or painful circumstances and choices
that disease and modern medicine lay before us.
KAI: Catholics believe that the person who's life is ending
is of great value to the world up to their very last breath.
LIBBY: And even though Catholics don't want anyone to suffer,
they believe that suffering can have meaning.
KAI: Part of that meaning is having a community
that enters along side both
the suffering and the caregivers.
LIBBY: The dying teach us compassion,
patience, tenderness, selflessness
and prepare us to face our own end of life.
KAI: On that light hearted note,
let's remember that defending human rights takes effort.
It's disruptive and demanding.
In every stage of the human journey,
Catholics realize that there
can be complicated circumstances.
LIBBY: And recognize there is a fraught cultural history
in which the Church did not always live up
to its own guidelines and still struggles
to grow in integrity today.
KAI: But what we are talking about is the core
of Catholic beliefs and human rights.
Also remember that applying Catholic teaching
transcends politics.
LIBBY: While we can work towards having just laws,
it goes beyond what is legal versus illegal.
KAI: A consistent ethic of life requires us
to examine how we are supporting human dignity
in our interactions everyday, with everyone,
especially those we disagree with.
LIBBY: Being Catholic does not require you
to solve every social and economic ill all by yourself.
Catholics are called to a deeper activism,
love in action.
If only everyone did their best with that,
our culture would be transformed.
KAI: To sum up, respecting, upholding and defending
every human life from conception to its natural end,
is good news.
LIBBY: To paraphrase Flannery O'Connor,
the life that's saved may be your own.
KAI: For Catholic Central, I'm Kai.
LIBBY: And I'm Libby.
KAI: Until next time, choose life.
LIBBY: And choose love.
KAI: For more on living a consistent ethic of life,
go to our website, catholiccentral.com.
LIBBY: And check out our episode on Catholic social teaching
and be sure to hit subscribe.
KAI: Do it.
LIBBY: Right now.
KAI: I dare you.
LIBBY: It's so good.
(cheerful energetic music)