Catholic Beliefs on Abortion

The Catholic Church has consistently condemned abortion from the time of Tertullian in the 1st century to the current reign of Pope Francis. The Catholic Church recognizes the start of life as the time of conception, and the taking of life any point after that is morally wrong and considered murder. Plentiful excerpts from scripture support this stance and the consistent condemnation of abortion is evident in the Church’s teachings and practices.

Numerous excerpts in the bible support the Catholic viewpoint that life begins at the time of contraception. In Psalms 51:5, David says “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” [1]. Also, Psalm 139:13 reads “Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb” [1]. These both point to the fact that Catholics believe life begins at contraception and, thus, abortion is murder. Therefore, Catholics are against abortion because it violates one of the 10 Commandments, “Thou shalt not kill”. In more modern times, the Catholic Church has come out with more doctrine to follow on the issue of abortion. In 1987, the Catholic Church issued the “Donum Vitae” which addresses the modern medical issues within the Church’s followers, including abortion and contraception. The Donum Vitae reads “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” [1]. This instructs the followers of the Catholic Church, in simpler terms, that murder, including abortion, is unacceptable at all times.

The Catholic Church has also continually condemned abortion in their leaders’ actions. In the year 300, a local church council in Spain passed specific legislation condemning abortion. In 374, St. Basil wrote to a residing Catholic Bishop saying “A woman who has deliberately destroyed a fetus must pay the penalty for murder" [1]. In modern times, Catholic followers have seen the last three Catholic Popes strongly denounce abortion, even if many outside the faith believe the Church is wavering on the issue. Pope John Paul II, who often voiced his strong anti-abortion beliefs, said in a speech in 1995 that “abortion…always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being” [2]. Even the current Pope, Pope Francis, who is seen as the most progressive Pope of all time by many, attacked abortion as “a sin against God" [3].