Created in the Image of God: Man and Abortion George Slesinski

The Linacre Quarterly

Volume 43 | Number 1 Article 9

February 1976 Created in the Image of God: Man and Abortion George Slesinski

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Recommended Citation Slesinski, George (1976) "Created in the Image of God: Man and Abortion," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 43: No. 1, Article 9. Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol43/iss1/9 Created in the Image of God: Man and Abortion

Robert Siesinski

In the Book of Genesis, we read Yet you [Yahweh] have made him that God created man in His own (man] little less than a god, image and likeness (Gn 1:26f; you have crowned him with glory and splendor, 5:1; 9:6).J The inspired author of made him lord over the work of this book uses the expression, your hands, "image and likeness of God"! set all things under his feet, with a specific didactic aim in mind. His intent is to affirm that sheep and oxen, all these, yes, wild animals too, man is the apex of God's earthly birds in the air, fish in the sea creation, and has been granted a travelling the pa ths of the ocean. special place in the order of earth (Ps 8:5-8) ly creation; first, in relation to other creatures and creations, and The psalmist, likewise, through secondly, in relation to God Him out his entire corpus, eloquently self. 1 expounds man's manifold rela This vision of man is not tionship with God. Reading and unique to Genesis, but rather re meditating on the psalms, we wit curs in other books of the Old ness that a real, dialogical rela Testament as well. For example, tionship obtains between man and the psalmist admirably expresses God in prayer. In his prayers of the relation of man to the world: adoration, petition, thanksgiving,

Mr. Slesinski holds a B.A. in philosophy from the College of the Holy Cross and an S.T.B. from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. While in Rome, he was a seminarian of the Eparchy of Passaic studying at the Pontifical Russian College. He has entered Ss. Cyril and M ethodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh in order to complete a year of pastoral studies before ordination to the diaconate.

36 Linacre Quarterly and praise, man does not merely this doctrine, no comprehensive express a formal belief in the ex and just assessment of it is pos istence of God, but above all ac sible without a prior appreciation tualizes his faith by turning to and true understanding of each God as existing for him.4 Man in component part. prayer, as it were, reveals his per son, confides his secrets, and en The imago Dei refers to man's s trusts his being to God. basic value as a person. It is a value realized by a human being's Elsewhere in the Old Testa mere existence. In other words, ment, we are told in what the we may say that the imago Dei divine image consists. God has en constitutes, as it were, the divine dowed man with an immortal soul ly-willed " giveness" of human na (d. Ws 2:23) and with an intel ture. This "giveness" essentially lect and free will reflecting His embraces man's endowment with own perfections of understanding an immortal soul and an intellect, and willing (d. Si 17: 7). Thus, on reason, and free will, which found account of this divine image with the dignity of the human person. in himself, man enjoys steward These latter mental faculties are ship over all other creatures and the cornerstone of man's spiritu creations of the world (Gn 1: 26- ality, and give man a certain no 30; Ws 9:2f; Si 17:2££). In addi bility that distinguishes him from tion, and above all, the fact that all other creatures. He, unlike man is created in the image of other creatures, is capable of be God is the basis for the deduction coming conscious of his own exist that homicide is immoral: ence and discovering his unique existential state. Moveover, these He who sheds man's blood, gifts empower man to develop and shall have his blood shed by man, for in the image of God fashion his environment-indeed, man was ma de. (Gn 9:6) to "create" his own world. Thus, man truly reflects God and His The lofty, Biblical vision of perfections. Of course, it would be man as created in the image and a gross exaggeration to state that likeness of God has been the fer man is, in a strict sense, the image tile ground and recurrent theme of God. This overstates man's true of Christian reflection from the importance, and obscures the cen patristic era to our own times. tral truth of man's creaturehood. Accordingly, Christian thinkers Only Christ is the perfect image of have carefully distinguished and God. Only in Him are all the di analyzed the two notions, image vine perfections verified. Man is of God (imago Dei) and likeness no more than a pale, analogous of God (similitudo Dei), which reflection of the divine image. constitute the essence of the Bib Thus, Sacred Scripture merely lical doctrine. As these two ele states that man is created in the ments are the integral features of image of God. 6

February, 1976 37 If the imago Dei constitutes problems come poignantly to the the foundation of man's value as fore in the abortion controversy. a person, the similitudo Dei, on Erroneous understandings of the other hand, is the raison the nature of man and abortion d'etre or very goal of human ex appear to fall into two categories. istence.' The similitudo Dei is First, there are the errors which man's free realization and actuali tend to overemphasize the simili zation of his imago Dei. Man's tudo Dei at the price of a total or reason and free will allow him to partial neglect of the imago Dei; concert with moral values and to and, secondly, there are those take an active role in the moral which seem to misinterpret the drama of daily life. On this level nature of the imago Dei. These man actualizes his freedom in an two categories of errors often are incomparable way. He attains interwoven in contemporary spec moral perfection through the re ulat ions on abortion. Further alization of his potentialities, and achieves the most complete de more, both classes of errors are velopment of his personality. by and large the bitter outcome of the antimetaphysical thinking of From Christian Revelation we the modern age. learn, however, that man's imago Dei has been blemished by sin, The former type of error is and that a full realization of self typified by Daniel Callahan in his depends on man's free coopera book, Abortion: Law, Choice & tion with God's gratuitous grace. Morality." Dr. Callahan writes: Man can participate in God's goodness, and have his nature Abortion is a n act of killing. the transformed only if he is receptive violent, direct destruction of poten· tial huma n life, already in the proc to the curative and elevating ac ess of developmen t. That fact tivity of grace. should not be disguised, or glossed The Biblical doctrine of man as over by euphemism a nd circumlocu tion. It is not the destruction of a created in the image and likeness human person-for at no stage of of God, a perennial object of its development does the conceptus Christian speculation, is, likewise, fulfill the definition of a pe rson, an optimum point of departure for which implies a developed capacity synthesizing and evaluating many for reasoning, willing, desiring and relating to others-but it is the de contemporary positions regarding struction of a n important a nd valu the nature and moral significance able form of huma n life.1'iI of abortion. Our aim is no more than to demonstrate that a clear The definition of the human consonance exists between this person contained in this passage doctrine of man and our reflec is of immediate interest and cru tions on abortion. ~ The timeless cial import. It is a typically value of the Bible's teaching and psychologistic definition of the its total relevance and full appli human person, since it restricts cability to today's world and its its attention solely to those as- ,

38 Linacre Quarterly pects of personal activity, which we are presented with a manifest are the clear manifestations of a bifurcation between personal and conscious human person. Dr. non-personal life. Callahan's definition, as can read The psychologistic conception ily be seen, implies that a grada of the nature of the human per tion exists among persons qua son, however, is based on a funda persons according to their "de mental misunderstanding. As veloped capacities" for distinctly Dietrich von Hildebrand in his personal activities. That is, it Ethics12 skillfully shows, it con would seem that a person en fuses and identifies the concept of dowed with fewer intellectual the "person" with that of "person gifts and less capable of social ality." A personality is someone intercourse is, on this score alone, who more fully embodies the idea less a person. To continue in this of man. Personality is a qualitative line of reasoning, moreover, it notion referring directly to those would appear that if a particular intellectual, moral, and social human individual were to lack qualities and traits we like to see a these capacities (e.g., a fetus, a man possess. But there is never a severely mentally handicapped personality apart from an already person, an aged senile person, existing personal subject, which is etc.) , "it" could not be considered the essential precondition for the a personal being. Therefore, its development of a personality. The killing could not be properly con range of possible development sidered a homicide. among personalities is consider This psychologistic conception able, and to classify all the di of the nature of the human per verse types of personalities is a son, accordingly, necessitates a formidable undertaking. At any real dualism-as this passage rate, a personality, par excellence, from Dr. Callahan's book clearly is necessarily a saint, a person, demonstrates-between potential who has fully cooperated with human life and fully human life God's grace in realizing his simili or, to employ other terminology, tudo Dei. between merely human life and Notwithstanding the true im truly person-al life. Here, it is not portance and ultimate interest in a question of a simple distinction saintly personalities, personhood of different aspects contained is, nevertheless, the more founda within the human person himself, tional and basic reality as it is the i.e., of those aspects of the human ontological notion referring to the person more evidently personal being all men share. In other (reason, free will, capacity for words, the notion, "person" refers interpersonal relationships, etc.) to man's imago Dei, while the from those more strictly animal [ [ notion, "personality" ultimately held in common with other ani indicates the similitudo Dei. Ac mals (digestive and circulatory cordingly, although a noteworthy systems, for example). Rather, gradation obtains among human

February, 1976 39 personalities-from the awe-in school of thought when he writes: spiring, yet humble personalities of saints to the more superficial . .. the embryo, fetus and newborn and bourgeois ones encountered of the human species, in point of fact, do not really become func in daily life - no gradation ex tionally human until humanized in ists among human persons. All the human socialization process. human persons, in that they are Humanity is a n achievement, not persons, are equal in the eyes of an endowment. God. In a word, a person is no more The apparent, non-metaphysi than a function of society. Hu cal approach underlying the psy manity is not an intrinsic dignity, chologistic conception of the but merely a dignity (like a tro nature of man merits attention. phy, perhaps) conferred by so This stance unilaterally empha ciety to a possible human subject sizes man's unique processes and granted its sufficient social devel activities, and neglects his more opment. Before the conferment of fundamental being. Consequent humanity by society, presumably, ly, its understanding and appraisal the killing of this subject would of the nature of man tends to re not be a homicide. main on a purely functional level. This fact plus the concomitant Clearly, the same confusion failure to marvel at and appre symptomatic of the psychologistic ciate the primordial aspects of the conception is at work here. Per simple being of man not infre sonality once again is mistaken quently favor the drawing of an for the person. Once more, certain unwarranted conclusion: namely, aspects of man, like his essential only those human individuals ac ly social nature and his capacity tually engaging in these distinct to engage in interpersonal rela ly personal activities and func tionships, receive exclusive atten tions or with the immediate ca tion. However, these aspects, pacity to do so are truly men or though undeniably true marks of really human persons. If a greater the nature of man, nonetheless attentiveness to man's being were denote a more fully developed present, on the other hand, one man alone. It is, therefore, invalid would be more reluctant to de to give them the sole considera prive a particular human being tion and attribute an absolute (e.g., a fetus or a senile man) of value to them. Otherwise, a dual personhood merely owing to the ism analogous to the one implied lack of certain processes indIca by the psychologistic understand tive of "functioning" human per ing of the nature of man obtains. sons. Human individuals subsequently This same w e a k n e s s also fall into two categories: those in plagues the various sociologistic a pre-social, and therefore pre approaches to the nature of man. human or pre-personal state and Ashley MontaguJ3 typifies this those socialized, i.e., the "true

40 Linacre Quarterly men" or "real persons." quently raised: human life can The critique of the psycholo not possibly be present in the gistic and sociologistic concep zygote, the embryo, and the fetus tions of the nature of man is both (again, at least in its initial simple and the same. Their dual stages) , since no brain is yet pres istic separation 14 of human indi ent.16 As this physical organ is the viduals into pre-social, potential necessary condition for man's ra human persons, on the one hand, tional activity by which he is dis and fully humanized or true hu tinguished from mere animals, no man persons,lS on the other, pre human life obtains until the ex sents an inescapable and unsolva istence of a brain is verified in the ble dilemma. How does one know fetus. This objection, however, is In a non-peremptory manner based on a faulty understanding when the difference becomes of the process of growth witnessed manifest? That is, how does one in living phenomena as it presup fix the point between the two poses a mechanical understanding stages without arbitrariness? In of organic growth. short, is it not impossible to find In this line, the noted abortion a criterion to deterinine what is advocate, Dr. Paul Ehrlich states "authentically" hum a nan d that a "fetus isn't a human being; "truly" personal which does not it's a potential human being. Re completely beg the question in ligious objectors [to abortion] are the first place? confusing the blueprints for a Finally, there are those errone building with the building it ous views concerning the nature self."1 7 This analogy, however, is of man, which appear to refer fallacious. Insofar as a process of more directly to the imago Dei in growth is described, no significant that they do not mistake "per correspondence whatever is to be sonality" for "person" in their found between a blueprint and a treatment of this question. For fetus.1s A blueprint never trans synthetical purposes, we may forms itself into a building; it designate these views the overly never becomes an integral part of biologistic or mechanical concep the building it represents. True, tions of the nature of man. The contractors do enlist blueprints center of the debate gravitates as aids, but they construct build around one's particular interpre ings with timber, stone, mortar, tation of the phenomenon, life it etc. The zygote, on the other self. To express this issue more hand, does in fact organize, de immediately in terms of the abor velop, and transform itself into an tion controversy, the chief ques embryo. A comparable process of tion is whether the life present in internal growth occurs in the em the embryo and the fetus (at bryo, the fetus, and the child un least in its initial stages) can be til the adult individual results. justly considered human life. Obviously, when we employ the The following objection is fre- terms, zygote, embryo, fetus, and

February, 1976 41 child in describing a process of Fr. Donceel favors a change in growth, we are not referring to terminology, however. He prefers different individuals as such, but instead to speak of "immediate rather to different stages of animation" and "delayed homini growth witnessed in anyone in zation."21 According to his usage dividual organism. All the mate of these terms, no one places in rial supplies used in constructing doubt the fact of the immediate buildings, on the other hand, do animation of the zygote with life. enjoy separate existences before The point in great dispute, on the the construction of the completed other hand, is whether this living building. cell is immediately human. Fr. In sum, if a fetus is considered Donceel supports the view that human in a later stage of growth, the hominization of the conceptus it is difficult to understand why occurs at a later date, i.e., is de it could be less human or not hu layed. man at all in an earlier period of In the various critical exposi its existence. Considering hu tions of the mechanical concep manity in an organic perspective, tion of human life-be they those therefore, it is not evident why a supporting immediate hominiza special significance should be at tion or be they those upholding tributed to the appearance of the delayed hominization-however, brain. Human individuals, after there seems to be more or less all, do not roll off a production universal agreement on one point, line upon the assemblage of a namely, that a Cartesian-dualist brain. metaphysics implicitly underlies Some authors19 sharing this in this view. This dualism holds that terpretation and critique of the man is composed of two separate mechanical understanding of hu substances, the soul (the thinking man life would use it to support substance of the mind) and the the theory of the immediate ani body (an extended substance ). mation of the human soul in the The interpretations of this dual zygote, i.e., that there is truly ism vary, however. On the one human life in the zygote from the hand, employing the dualist sche moment of conception. Others, ma of man as a mind in a ma notably Joseph Donceel, S.J.,2" chine, one could argue that such in an interesting twist of thought, a dualist vision tends more to fa see in this critique of the me vor delayed hominization since chanical conception of human life the infusion of the human soul a confirmation of its contrary, the into a ltlOre completely organized theory of the mediate animation body would be analogous to pour of the human soul. In other ing gasoline into a completed mo words, these latter support the tor, not yet in operation. Accord position that the humanity of the ingly, the humanity or the "func conceptus comes at some later tioning humanly" of an individual date. can come about only once the

42 Linacre Quarterly body is sufficiently organized human soul as a separate, spirit physically and thereby capable of ual thinking substance is capable receiving the "fuel" of the human of inhabiting, as it were, an un soul. organized body (the extended But, to go in the opposite di substance of the zygote), and, rection, one could legitimately then, proceed to develop this po challenge the validity of this dual tential human body into an actual ist argument, and, thus, deny the human body in much the same truth of its conclusion, delayed way as a sculptor molds clay into hominization by attacking and re a statue. Clearly, the immediate jecting the soundness of the hominization of the zygote is en analogy employed to sustain it. tirely plausible in this under One could object, as I do, that no standing of the relation of the analogy from mechanics can do human soul to the human body. complete justice to the phenome But, Fr. Donceel rightly count non of human life or mere life ers this position by disclaiming (i.e., not qualified as human) for the validity of the analogy that that matter, since it cannot suf the soul is the "sculptor" of the ficiently take into account the body. In effect, it equates human specific note of all living phe beings with mere artifacts. Fr. nomena, their organicity. In this Donceel instead upholds Thom line, one could reasonably argue istic hylomorphism and its teach for immediate hominization by ing that the human soul is the noting that a living human indi formal cause or substantial form vidual, on account of his organi of the human body. In this sys city, is a con tin u u m, i.e., a tem of thought, form (a structure continuous whole whose stages or intelligible unity having no cannot be radically separated and power as such) and matter are juxtaposed. Thus, an embryo is essentially correlative notions. not merely an embryo, or a fetus The form, consequently, can nothing more than a fetus. In re emerge and exist only in matter ality, an embryo or a fetus is sufficiently developed and dis what he is to persist to be and be posed for it.22 In other words, the come. soul as a formal cause does not On the other hand, one could form or produce the body, but argue, as in fact Fr. Donceel does, rather is the first act of this or that the Cartesian view, on the ganized body. Applied to man, contrary, more readily corrobo this means that the human soul rates the theory of immediate can exist only in a highly devel hominization and not delayed oped body (i.e., one with a brain). hominization. The case for this The zygote and the embryo, position is as follows: in Cartesian therefore, cannot be animated by dualism, the human soul may be a human soul as their substantial considered the efficient cause of form, since no highly organized the human body. Accordingly, the body is yet present. At most, they

February, 1976 43 are animated by plant and sensi stantial form of man (i.e., actual tive souls later transformed into humanity) only upon the devel a human soul. opment of a highly organized body. To clarify this complex, meta physical thought, Fr. Donceel makes use of several analogies. 23 An objection to Fr. Donceel's In Cartesianism, the soul as ef thesis, however, must be raised at ficient cause is related to a body this point. Does Fr. Donceel, in much like the sculptor is to a fact, overcome the chief defi statue or an architect or a blue ciency of the Cartesian-dualist print is to a finished building. Hy view, namely, that it overlooks lomorphism, however, in its con the organicity of man and mis ception of the soul as a formal takes him for a mere artifact? cause, relates the human soul Has he actually presented an ade (whence humanity) to the body quate account of the nature of in the same fashion as the shape man and the phenomenon of hu of a statue is related to the statue man life? I think not. The analogy itself or the shape of a building of the statue, building, and ball (its "building-ness") to a com are all borrowed from the inani pleted building. In other words, mate world. Whatever may be the just as the essences, "statue-ness" correct metaphysical interpreta and "building-ness" are not reali tion of their reality,24 it is an er ties apart from existing statues ror to think an interpretation and buildings, so also "human which suffices to describe inani ness" or humanity is present only mate phenomena is, likewise, ade in sufficiently organized human quate for explaining the nature of bodies. living phenomena. Life is a unique, irreducible phenomenon, Thus, the zygote or the embryo and organicity is an univocal no with its virtual or potential hu tion. No analogy to objects or man body possesses humanity realities in the realm of the non only potentially. It achieves true living, therefore, can place the re humanity only after the develop ality of an organism into proper ment of an actual human body. relief. After all, the process of To elucidate this point, a deflated " growth," which occurs when air baH analogy is developed by Fr. is pumped into a deflated ball to Donceel. His argument may be make it an inflated one hardly paraphrased as follows: just as a parallels the growth of a living deflated ball contains merely a human organism from an embryo virtual sphericity, and acquires into a fetus and a fetus into a actual sphericity only after hav child. The former process is no ing been inflated, in a like fash more than a mechanical proce ion, the zygote and the embryo dure of an individual inflating a possesS' a virtual or potentia! hu ban with a pump! But the latter, manity alone, and receive the sub- however, is an entirely immanent

44 Linacre Quarterly process of growth of an actual stead, I suggest that there is a human organism developing all its strong need for the development potentialities. of a personalist metaphysics,2 ·; In the end, this approach for which would be more consonant upholding the delayed hominiza and faithful to the sublime, Bibli tion of the conceptus seems to cal vision of man as created in the hinge upon "appearances:" if the image and likeness of God. Two fetus looks human, it is human: points26 call for special develop" otherwise, no. Moreover, how can ment, first, the Marcelian notions it resolve the differences of opin of being and having, and second ion concerning the biologically ly, the relation of potentiality to edifying point mar kin g the actuality. In a personalist per boundary between a potential and spective, certain pivotal insights an actual human being? Some are more readily grasped and ca may say the traces of a rudi pable of being deepened, as for mentary brain suffice for humani example, - the primacy of being ty. Others may argue for the over having, the fact that a person presence of a structurally com mayor may not have a personali plete brain. Still others may pre ty, the truth that potentiality is fer that the spinal cord also be a kind of actuality, the fact that present along with a complete the zygote has the being of the brain. But then, are we not in the brain which the fetus subsequen~ same dilemma that ineluctably ly has, etc. confronted the psycho logistic and Simultaneously, one particular sociologistic approaches? Does moral attitude must become more not any attempted solution neces widespread and developed, name sarily entail begging the question? ly, reverence.!' Reverence is the No, the biologistic, psycholo response to the call of being it gistic, and sociologistic concep self, and only in a reverent atti tions of the nature of man are tude can one attain a true know!." artificial frameworks creating edge of being and grasp and ap many, insolvable pseudo-problems praise the values grounded in be regarding the line of demarcation ing. Reverence, moreover, is the. between actual and potential per most effective antidote to utili" sons or between merely human tarianism, since only in a reverent life and authentically personal attitude does one realize that the life. In reality, no such line exists. value of being comes from God To conclude briefly, it appears and is subtracted from the ar ~ necessary to reject the solutions bitrary, egoistic desires and utili offered by the biologistic, psy tarian motivation of man. chologistic, and sociologistic at In the abortion controversy, tempts to explain the problemati reverence to life acquires speciaJ cal nature of man, the person, and import. No adequate assessment human life along with the theory of the value of each individual 0'£ delayed hominiza:tion. In> their human being is possible without

February, Un6 45 reverence. When confronted with F iorentina, 1973), pp. 62ff. the biologistic, psychologistic, and 4. von Hildebra nd, Alice, Introduc sociologistic conceptions of man tion to a Philosophy of R eligion (Chi cago: Franciscan H e rald Press, 1971 ), with their dualistic separation of p.96. human individuals into potential 5. The psalmist excla ims: " From the and actual persons, one can not depths I call to you, Y a hweh ." (Ps help but suspect that, in the final 130:1) . analysis, the really determining 6. The analogous cha racter of m a n's image becomes evident when we com· factors for deciding whether a pa re divine crea tion with huma n c re· particular individual merits hu a tive activity. While God creates m a t manity are more often than not te r from nothing, m a n must use the utilitarian considerations alone. elem en ts of the m a te rial world before The only sure remedy to the abor him when engaging in his creative ac tivity. tion crisis is reverence. 7. von Hildebra nd, Dietrich , Ethics (Chicago: Fra nciscan H e rald Press, REFERENCES 1972), pp. 129-39. The first edition of 1. The exact m eaning of the terms this book published in 1953 by the " image" a nd " likeness" has been the D a vid M cKay Co. bears the title, object of conside rable exegetical reo Christian E thics. This la tte r title is search. H e re, we shall limi t ourselves more felicitous in m y opinion consid to one observation. The H ebrew word e ring the ove rall contents a nd intent for image, selem provokes the image of of the book. Idem, "The Modes of Par a "sta tue." In the a ncient Middle E ast , tici pation in Value," lnternational a statue of a king could se rve as a Philosophical Quarterly , vol. 1, n o. 1, re presen tative of the king in those re p. 59. Se rgius Bulgakov, Agnetz Boz gions of his empire whe re he could not hij (The Divine La mb) (Pa ri s : YMCA be present pe rsonally. Accordingly, Press, 1933) , pp. 169f. ma n, as God's image, is His re pre 8. It goes without saying, of course, senta tive on ea r th , and hence has the tha t a ll an achronistic interpre ta tions ri ght to rule ove r c reation. Cf. , Eugene must be avoided . W e cannot expect to H . M a ly , " Ge nesis," in The J erome find scriptura l passages readily corro Bibilical Commentary, edited by R. 8 . bra ting developed philosophical syn Brown, 8 .8., A. Fitzmeyer, 8 .J ., R. E. theses and m a ture Christia n refl ec Murphy , O.Carm. (London: Geoffrey tions of la te r epochs or biological dis Cha pma n , 1970), p . 11. coveries m ade centuries la te r. Nor 2. It is important to note tha t, prop should we, on the othe r ha nd, be sur e rly speaking, only Christ is the image prised that the Bible is not free of a nd likeness of God. All othe r c rea· difficulties and does conta in som e a t tures a re c reated in a nd through least a ppare n t cont radictions to mo re Ch rist. This is a theme especially d e· developed a nd mature Christia n veloped by 8 t. P a ul in his le tters (Col thought a nd scie ntific a dva nces. 1: 15; cf. 2 Co 4 :4 ). M a n has only been In this line, we m ay respond, fo r ex " c reated in the image a nd likeness of a mple, to the objection that Genesis God ;" he is not the image a nd likeness 9:6 does not apply to the fetus in light of God as such . C f. John L. M cK e n zie, of othe r scriptura l texts like Exodus 8 .J., D ictionary of the Bible (Mil 21:22 whe re the penalty for a bortion wa ukee: The Bruce Publishing Co., is a fine ra ther tha n the shedding of 1965), p . 385. blood, which is imposed only if the 3. Flick, M., 8.J. a nd Z. Alszegh y, mother dies. Thus, the question a rises 8 .J ., Fondamenti di una antropologia whethe r the comma ndment, " Thou leologica (Firenze: Libre ria Editrice sha lt not kill" (which is based on the

46 Linacre Quarterly fact of man 's va lue as crea ted in the for example , Germain G. Grisez, A bor image of God) directly refers to abor lion: The Mylhs, Ihe Realities, and tion. Ihe A rguments (New York: Corpus It is true that in a ve rse like Exodus Books, 1970), pp. 277ff; Donald D e 21:22 the underly ing vi ew seems to be M a rco, "The Philosophical Roots in that the fetus is not equal in dignity to Weste rn Culture for the Pro-Abortion a man, and, the refore, tha t an a bortion Sta nd," Linacre Quarterly, vol. 41, no. should not exact the same penait.y as 2, p. 92; K. D. Whitehead, R especta a homicide. But, there a re othe r scrip ble K illing: The New Abortion Im tural texts in which a contrary current perative (N ew Rochelle, N .Y.: Catho is present. If one appeals to texts like lics United for the F a ith, Inc., 1973), Psalm 139:13-15 or 2 M acca bees 7:20- p. 54. The subsequent quota tion can 29, for example, one could definitely be found in Montagu 's lette r to the susta in tha t a fetus, a t least implicitly. New York T imes, March 3, 1967. It is understood to be fully huma n and is quoted in its entirety by Grisez a nd a n image of God. In this line, the com in pa rt by D e M a rco a nd Whitehead. mandmen t against murder is directly 14. It is ra the r significant that t hese relevant. positions, which basically a re non No explicit tea ching on a bortion a nd m etaphysical a pproaches to reali ty, condemna tion of it is found in eithe r tacitly presuppose a dualist meta the Old or N ew T estaments. Howeve r. physics of ma n. Christia n philosophy, one can find the necessary founda tions on the contra ry, tra ditionally supports susta ining the la te r Christian con a unitary vi sion of ma n. demnation of a bortion in Sacred Scrip 15. The exact te rminology u sed in ture. Analogously, though the re are a given instan ce depends on the author ma ny passages throughout the Bible in question. Certa in a uthors use the either directly or indirectly referring te rms "huma n" and "pe rsonal" inte r to slavery, nowhere is slave ry explicit changeably. Othe r authors, howeve r, ly condemned . Nonetheless, all the es do not consider them to be synonyms. sentia l underpinnings (e.g., all men as The re fore, in some writings, the term, being created in the image of God, a ll " huma n " refe rs to a " pe rson," while men as children of the same Fathe r, in others, it must be unde rstood to no essential difference be tween slaves mean "pre-pe rsonal." a nd free men , etc.) of the la te r de 16. After eight weeks, the embryo, nunciation of slavery by the Church now called the fetus, possesses a bra in, a re present in the Bible. but one not yet fully developed. The 9. Callaha n, Daniel, A bortion: Law. fetus' brain structure is completed aft Choice & Morality (New York: M ac e r twelve weeks. Some authors, there millan Co., 1970) . fore, may choose to argue for the hu 10. I bid. , pp. 497f. m a nity of the fe tus at the eighth week, 1l. We can only say that there a re but others may p refer to place it at the "' more strictly" a nimal aspects of the tweUth week. D eciding which is the huma n pe rson, because all as pects of really correct position is not relevent the human person a re fully person-a l to us as our critique will a ttack this owing to the essen tial unity of the hu whole way of reasoning a bout huma n ma n person. N othing in the bodily di life. mension of the huma n person is me re 17. As quoted in K. D . Whitehead , ly animal. This fact is the very reason op. cit., p. 58. [or the existence of the sepa ra te dis 18. From another perspective, how cipline, medical e thics. ever, a certa in a nalogy m ay be ob 12. von Hildebra nd, D ., Ethics, pp. served between a blueprint and DNA. 136f. The genetic code, which is conta ined 13. Ashley Montagu 's position has in DNA, is the ba sic determinin g fac been criticized by seve ra l a uthors. C f. , tor of a person's physical features, a nd

February, 1976 47 also appears to influence certain psy unity of the huma n person, but not the chological aspects of the person. N ev unity of the huma n nature. The a rgu ertheless, the differences between the ment is, however, of relative validity, two are greater than their similarities. as Fr. Donceel himself stresses, for the A blueprint never becomes a physical intent of the Council was not to define feature of an edifice, while DNA is a hylomorphism as such, but to define basic biological constituent of a human the essentia l unity of man by making individual. use of the theory of hylomorphism. 19. Cf., for example, Germain G. 25. Cf. Joyce & Joyce, op. cit., pp. Grisez, op. cit., pp. 275f, 283; Robert 21-24, 37f, 90ff for helpful indications. E. Joyce & Mary Rosera Joyce, Let 26. Such a meta physics would also Us Be Born (Chicago: Franciscan have to be capa ble of responding to H e rald Press, 1970), pp. 29ff. the objections from biology to the 20. Donceel, J ., S.J., " Abortion : Me theory of immediate hominization, dia te v. Immedia te Animation," Con e.g., the problem of twinning or the tinuum, vol. 5 (1967), pp. 167-71; formation of identical twins and · the Idem, "Immediate Animation and D e fact that a considerable percentage of l aye d Hominization," Theological fecunda ted ova never, it seems, be Studies, XXXI (1970) , pp. 76-105; come implanted in the u terus. It is Patrick J . O'Mahony & Malcom Potts, beyond the limits of this brief study " Abortion a nd the Soul," The Month, to treat these objections in detail. It 224 (1967) , pp. 45-50. su ffices to n ote that reasonable a n 21. Cf. Donceel's Theological Studies swers to them h ave been suggested in a rticle, p. 76. dicating that the difficulties posed by 22. O'M a hony & Potts, op. cit., p. them a re not insurmountable. Cf., e.g., 47. Grisez, op. cit., pp. 23-32, 274 and 23. Cf. Donceel's Continuum a rticle, Joyce & Joyce, pp. 31-35. The devel p . 169 and his Theological Studies ar opment of identical twins seems to be ticle, pp. 83, 94. a case of asexual reproduction, a pos ·· 24. The Thomistic-hylomorphist sible example of parthenogenesis. It metaphysics as presented by Fr. Don has thus been suggested that identical ceel does give a sufficient account of twins a re, in reality, the grandchildren inanimate reality, but it does not seem, of their putative pa rents. Grisez refers in my opinion, to provide a convincing to Luigi Gedda, Twins in History and expla nation of organic phenomena. A Science (Springfield, Ill.: Cha rles C. refined hylomorphism taking into ac Thomas, 1961), p. 125 on this point. count organicity may accomplish this The argument accrues added respec task. tability with the imminent possibility Anothe r point is worthy of note. Fr. of cloning human individuals. Donceel also m a kes use of a strictly Confronted with the fact of the la rge theological argument from authority percentage loss of fecundated ova, on'3 to help support his philosophical thesis could point to God's inscrutable will. (Cf. his Theological Studies a rticle, p . True, it would mean that m any per 86). He draws our attention to the sons never a re destined to achieve an definition of the substa ntial unity of adult existence. But, then, it would man by the Council of Vienne (Den also a ppear to be a fact that a m a zinger-Schonmetzer 902). This Coun jority of men never become perfect cil at once endorses the hylomorphic similitudes of God, the very reason conception of man , and condemns all for their existence. forms of Pla tonic or Cartesian dual 27. For a concise trea tment of rev ism. Its primary purpose was to pro erence, cf. Dietrich and Alice von tect the reality of the human nature Hildebrand, The Art of Living (Chi of Christ (DS 900) against the errors cago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1965), of Peter John Olieu, who admitted the pp. 1-9.

48 Linacre Quarterly