“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well; my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee. (Psalm 139:13-18)

This Pro Life story made Bishops, Cardinals, and a Papal Nuncio rise to their feet cheering along with 15,000 Teens

The Silent Scream Complete Version – Abortion as Infanticide

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Dr. Bernard Nathanson’s classic video that shocked the world. He explains the procedure of a suction abortion, followed by an actual first trimester abortion as seen through ultrasound. The viewer can see the child’s pathetic attempts to escape the suction curette as her heart rate doubles, and a “silent scream” as her body is torn apart. The most important video on abortion ever made.

From the USCCB – the U.S. Bishops’ collection of Church teaching on every matter of human life, from conception to natural death – begins:

For the Church, there is no distinction between defending human life and promoting the dignity of the human person.

Pope Benedict XVI writes in Caritas in Veritate. . . that “The Church forcefully maintains this link between life ethics and social ethics, fully aware that ‘a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized.'” (no. 15).

As a gift from God, every human life is sacred from conception to natural death. The life and dignity of every person must be respected and protected at every stage and in every condition. The right to life is the first and most fundamental principle of human rights that leads Catholics to actively work for a world of greater respect for human life and greater commitment to justice and peace.

Writings on the Church’s teachings on every matter of human life can be accessed on the Bishops’ site here.

Catholic Answers Guide on the Five Non-Negotiables for Serious Catholics

Contraception/Birth Control/Abortion

• What does the Catholic Church teach about birth control?
• Humanae Vitae
• Evangelium Vitae
• Contraception: Why Not?

Embryonic Stem Cell Research

• Dignitas Personae and Related Information, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, December 12, 2008
• On Embryonic Stem Cell Research, USCCB, June 2008 (En Español)
• “Stem Cells: What Future for Therapy?”, Pope Benedict XVI, September 16, 2006 (En Español)
• Address to the Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope John Paul II, November 10, 2003 (En Español)
• Declaration on the Production and the Scientific and Therapeutic use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Pontifical Academy for Life, August 25, 2000 (En Español)
• Donum Vitae: Instruction on Respect for Human Life, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, February 22, 1987 (En Español)

Same-Sex Unions

• Response of U. S. Catholic Bishops to Supreme Court decision on Marriage
• Between man and woman: Questions and answers about marriage and same-sex unions
• The Church and ‘Same-Sex Marriages’

Euthanasia

• Evangelium Vitae (on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life) encyclical by Pope John Paul II, 2005 (En Español)
• Declaration on Euthanasia, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1980 (En Español)
• Statement on Euthanasia by the Administrative Committee of the UnitedStates Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1991

Human Cloning

• Dignitas Personae and Related Information, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, December 12, 2008
• The Holy See on Human Cloning, September 27, 2004
• The Views of the Holy See on Human Cloning, Statement of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, July 17, 2003
• Reflections on Cloning, Pontifical Academy for Life, September 30, 1997 (En Español)