Say no to abortion

JERONIMO NGHILUNANYE KATEYAThroughout the ages, humans have been taught that killing is not allowed, yet man wants to advance the culture of death.Many institutions have been committed to the protection and defence of life.In this article, I would like to extract some pedagogic enlightenment from Catholicism. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) article 2 270 stipulates that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception until natural death”. “From the first moment of existence, a human being is formed and must be recognised as having full rights as a person or unique individual - among which are the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” This article is biblically in line with God who maintained, according to the sacred scripture of Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth”.Within the Catholic tradition, based on article 2 271, “the church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion”.This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. 'You shall not kill'Direct abortion, that is to say abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law, natural law and the Namibian Constitution.There is a biblical sense in which humanity is taught: “You shall not kill the embryo through abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish. God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to man the noble mission of safeguarding life, and man must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception. Abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.” Grave offenceAlongside this, article 2 272 highlights that “formal cooperation in an act of abortion constitutes a grave offence”. The church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication for this act against human life as an indication that life must be respected and defended at all cost.It asserts that “a person who procures abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae, by the very commission of the offence, and subject to the conditions provided by the Ecclesiastical code of canon law, which equally corresponds to the penalty articulated in the Namibian Constitution”. Merciful like the FatherThe church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy.In my view as a Namibian theologian, with regards to abortion, the words of Pope Francis during the celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy 2016 (Jubilaeum Extraordinarium Misericordiae) comes to mind, calling on Catholics and people of goodwill to be merciful like the Father. This includes to the life of the unborn child.Furthermore, based on the constitution and justice spearheaded by the legislates, the Ecclesia Catolica maintained that: “The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined.“As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights.” In the likeness of GodIn accordance with article 2 274, “the human person is created in the image and likeness of God and thus the assembly inculcates that a person should be treated with dignity”.He or she must be “treated from the moment of conception as a person; the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for and healed as far as possible, like any other human being”.Finally, in my view, those who are supporting abortion are contributing to the abuse of rights and moral decay in our society and in the world at large.The way forward is to better educate our people to become pro-life rather than pro-choice, meaning to promote a culture of life rather than death. Let's correctively create stern awareness about the dangers of abortion. *Jeronimo Nghilunanye Kateya is a philosopher-theologian from Oupale waKateya.

Say no to abortion

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Say no to abortion

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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