Catholic Trends
October Catholic Trends

The right to life is the very first right named in the Declaration of Independence. In Thomas Jefferson’s memorable formulation, the United States of America was founded on the recognition that all human beings are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Pope John Paul II has reiterated often this special commitment of the United States to human rights. He has observed that "at the center of the moral vision of [the American] founding documents is the recognition of the rights of the human person...." The greatness of the United States, he adds, lies in "respect for the dignity and sanctity of human life in all conditions "and at all stages of development".

Nowhere is this responsibility more clear than in connection with the contemporary assault on the fundamental right to life. To devalue life is to strike at the very foundations on which the American republic is erected. Without the right to life no other rights are possible; to the extent that life itself is jeopardized, all other rights are equally threatened.

Rights are indivisible. If only some human beings possess them then they are not truly human rights. They are merely the advantages that the politically more powerful enjoy over the most vulnerable. Such domination of some over others is precisely what the rule of law is expected to prevent. The law is there to ensure that the strong do not oppress the weak; all have equal rights in law.

This common ground is most powerfully present in American secular principles of respect and reverence for individual dignity.

By seeking to make the Gospel of Life central to political life, Christians can make their fullest contribution to the common good of the nation.

David Walsh is professor of politics at Catholic University of America.