Personhood and Humanity

The questions that have emerged around the issue of abortion concerns the definition of “Personhood”.  Science has stilled the controversy of when human life begins.  It seems that both sides of the debate agree that, even in the earliest stages of development, after fertilization some form of human life exists.  Therefore, the question shifted to whether this human life is a person.  The definition of “Personhood” has been elusive, as many disciplines point to personhood but cannot seem to propose a universally accepted definition.

The Bible gives an illustration of how personhood is linked to life itself.  In Genesis 2:7, it reads; Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.  Essentially, this text is saying that a living soul (person) is composed of two components; a physical form (Adam, which translates “red clay) and immaterial life force or breath.  Any fertilized and developing human fits these conditions.  In Exodus 21, we read; “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows.  But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,  eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,  burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. (Exodus 21:22-25)  Therefore, even in the early stages of the Torah, the unborn has recognized legal status as a person in the eyes of God.

The great Philosopher, Aristotle, taught in a similar fashion.  He felt that life was composed of material substance and an immaterial force.  He called this the “hylomorphic union”.  He understood that the person we see is made up of parts that are seen and unseen. 

The modern medical profession, Thanotology (death studies), has recognized for decades a life force that defies scientific data. This is often called the “will to live”.  Formal studies of this phenomena dates back to the 1970’s.  It shows that there exists a life force than cannot be measured.  This is part of a person.

·     The Personhood Alliance proposes the following argument; To acknowledge the personhood of a human being is to recognize that human being as a brother or sister, a son or daughter, and a bearer of God-given inalienable rights and the equal protection of the law. Personhood is the right to have rights. On the other hand, to deny a human being’s personhood is to cast them out of the human family, to create a second class of human beings, and to deny them the standing before and equal protection of the law. A doctor who recognizes personhood and treats a pregnant mother understands that he or she has two patients who are equally deserving of care and attention.

·     An attorney or judge who upholds personhood interprets the law so that the child in the womb enjoys all the same basic protections afforded to other human beings.

·     An activist who stands upon personhood shows the world the hidden injustices being perpetrated against pre-born children and demands those injustices are rectified by principled, non-discriminatory laws.

·     A pro-life organization that promotes personhood never accepts the dehumanization of any human being based on race, sex, economic status, stage of development, level of dependency, physical and mental ability, medical prognosis, manner of conception, contribution to society, wantedness, or any other factor.

Abortion advocates know that if we clearly define the pre-born child as a person, the child will have the same legal right to life as any other human being. They know that, to continue to legally kill pre-born children, they have to hold the line on personhood. Because personhood not only scientifically and philosophically destroys all their arguments, it targets, pulls up, and exposes the very root of the culture of death.

Personhood holds the key to filling the “Blackmun Hole,” a startling admission in Roe’s majority opinion that exposed the antithesis of the pro-abortion position:

“If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant’s case, of course, collapses, for the fetus’ right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the 14th Amendment.”

– Justice Harry Blackmun, Roe v. Wade

A person is a human being from its earliest biological beginning—at every stage of development and in every circumstance—who naturally possesses the inalienable right to life and deserves to be protected equally under law.

Personhood, then, stands on a solid foundation that proclaims there can never be a path to abolishing abortion or any other assault on human life and human dignity that includes the killing of innocent human beings. The Personhood Alliance works to strengthen this foundation, educate the pro-life movement on adhering to a consistent morality in both policy and strategy, and call the Church to raise up the biblical standard in today’s corrupted landscape

In 1969, the American Convention on Human Rights was signed by 24 Latin American countries. This treaty which became effective in 1978, sees the issue of fetal rights as a human rights issue and states that from the moment of conception, human beings have rights.

Article 4.1 of the treaty states: “Every person has the right to have his life respected. This right shall be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life."

This treaty is open to all who are members of the Organization of American States, an organization which has its headquarters in Washington D.C. The United States signed this treaty in 1977 but has yet to ratify it.

In 2004, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act was passed. It was signed by President George W. Bush. This law makes it illegal to kill a "child in utero" without the mother's consent. The law defines "child in utero" as "a member of the species Homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb".  The Unborn Victims of Violence Act was strongly opposed by those who are pro-choice because Roe. v. Wade states that according to the Fourteenth Amendment, the human fetus is not a "person" and that if the fetus were a "person," then he or she would have a constitutional right to life.  This has spawned two major types of argument; the “emergent personhood” theory, wherein personhood can be gained (or, apparently lost) in the course of development, and the “social consequence”, where personhood is gained only by interacting with society.

At the time this bill was proposed, Senator John Kerry stated, "I have serious concerns about this legislation because the law cannot simultaneously provide that a fetus is a human being and protect the right of the mother to choose to terminate her pregnancy."   Following the words of Senator Kerry, the President and his pro-abortion adherents, in trying to make abortion the law of the land, moves directly against already standing laws of our country.  Perhaps, we can remind our “devout Catholic” President, and his followers, of these laws.  Also, we should remind our President that recognizing the personhood of all human life goes back to antiquity.