Deutsche Welle, 2 February 2013
Two Catholic hospitals in Cologne declined to give emergency
contraceptives to a rape victim. The archbishopric in Cologne has now changed
its mind - and has also shown an impressive capacity for contraceptive nuance.
That the Catholic Church intends unequivocally to protect
conceived life is nothing new. What has changed is how Cologne Cardinal Joachim
Meisner approaches the "morning-after" pill.
Through his spokesman Christoph Heckley, the Cardinal issued
a personal explanation on Thursday (31.01.2013) which read: "If, after a
rape, a supplement is used with the intend of preventing fertilization, that is
in my view justifiable." Heckley reiterated once again, however, that
everything which is abortive in nature is not allowed.
Cardinal Meisner's change of heart is the result of
consultations with specialists. He now understands that certain forms of the
"morning-after" pill prevent conception and are not technically
abortive. This suggests that the Cologne church leader previously believed that
all kinds of pills which could be taken by a woman after intercourse prevented
an already fertilized egg cell from implanting in the uterus.
The morning after
The pill's effect is, in medicinal jargon,
"anti-ovulatory." It prevents ovulation and thus the chance that an
egg cell will be fertilized, resulting in conception. The active hormonal
ingredient, levonorgestrel, is comparable to traditional birth-control pills
but is simply taken in higher, post-coital doses.
The morning-after pill has been accompanied by controversy |
"The Catholic Church already had a problem with that
one," says Antonio Autiero, a professor of moral theology at the
University of Münster, in a reference to the traditional pill.
"Artificial
contraceptives" have been prohibited by the Catholic Church ever since
Pope Paul VI published an encyclical, "Humanae Vitae," in 1968.
"Nothing has changed doctrinally to this day," Autiero said.
When does life begin?
Yet what happens when ovulation occurs just before
unprotected sex and the pill's "anti-ovulation" effect doesn't serve
its purpose? Then the pill's "anti-nidative effect" comes into play,
preventing the fertilized egg from settling on the surface of the uterus.
"Whether the morning-after pill inhibits ovulation or nidation, it still
lacks a final safety mechanism. If that's the case then we're heading more
toward abortion," Autiero said.
"The doctrinal outlook is very clear in that the fusion
of egg and semen cells constitutes life and human dignity. That is why it is seen
as a form of abortion when one prevents fertilized egg cells from
nidating," Autiero said.
Abortion, or the ending of human life - even a life so tiny
- is something with which the church doctrine can find no accord. "There's
no room for discussion within Catholic doctrine," Autiero said. The
termination of a pregnancy would never be carried out at a Catholic hospital -
not even in the first few hours or days of a pregnancy.
Ethical absolutes
Or that is the principle, at least. So are there exceptions?
What happens in cases of extreme bodily harm or emotional emergencies, such as
when a woman has been raped?
"For the church the answer is clear," Autiero
said. "Abortion and contraception are condemnable in and of themselves,
and there is no situation where they can be ethically justified."
Antonio Autiero: Nothing has changed doctrinally |
This "normative ethic," which allows no exception
to the highest principles, has "radicalized" over the years, he said.
Yet in moral theological science there is also an ethical
counterweight that "depends on objectives and the context of an
action." And this is where, beyond the untouched highest principles, even
more questions come into play.
They relate to concrete medicinal and emotional situations,
human empathy, companionship, one's own conscience and professional ethics.
"Are we a church of ethics or are we a church of compassion?" Autiero
asked.
'Deep shame'
The cardinal's new position gives a sense of clarity to the
work of Catholic hospital doctors. Previously they had feared that they would
be drawn into conflict with their employer.
In all likelihood they would have previously found
themselves in situations where they would have had to discuss the morning-after
pill with patients - something that would have been difficult for them to
justify to their hospitals before Cardinal Meisner's recent clarification.
As for the treatment - or lack of treatment - two Catholic
hospitals in Cologne gave to the allegedly raped woman, Meisner had already
apologized publicly. "This incident shames us deeply," he said,
"since it contradicts our Christian duty and self-image."
Scandal in Ireland as woman dies in Galway 'after being denied abortion'
Archangel Michael: The Declaration of Human Freedom
“… No person shall be forced into marriage against his or her will. No woman shall be forced to bear or not bear children, against her will. No person shall be forced to hold or not hold views or worship in a manner contrary to his or her choice. Nothing vital to existence shall be withheld from another if it is within the community’s power to give. …”
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Archangel Michael: The Declaration of Human Freedom
“… No person shall be forced into marriage against his or her will. No woman shall be forced to bear or not bear children, against her will. No person shall be forced to hold or not hold views or worship in a manner contrary to his or her choice. Nothing vital to existence shall be withheld from another if it is within the community’s power to give. …”
"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa,Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism, Higgs Boson), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text Version)
"... I want to define life for you - not biological life, but spiritual life. So for all those intellectuals, just hold on, for many won't like this. Spiritual life, as measured by Spirit, is when a Human has free choice. When is that? It's when they take their first breath. Not in utero. There will be those who will say, "That's wrong, that's wrong. The soul in the woman's body is alive!" Just wait. I'm talking about spiritually. That which Spirit sees, and it's when you come from the other side of the veil and take your first breath.
A child with the mother has no free choice. That child is linked to the choice of the mother until it is born. It is, indeed, a soul in preparation for free choice, and there are many attributes that are spiritual that we have discussed before about how that soul reacts. But now I'm discussing life with polarity [duality], free choice.
But let's discuss that "child inside" for a moment, for there is a process I want you to know about. I want to talk about 240 days into the pregnancy. At about that time, the child has perfect DNA. It hasn't taken its first breath. The DNA hasn't measured the energy of the planet yet, since it is contained. Did you realize that? Inside the womb is a perfect child. The child's DNA has all the attributes of the Akash and also the parent, but it's different in a way you have not been told. The DNA is 100% as designed.
The quantum instructions within the DNA are all talking to the biology of the child,, getting ready for the first breath. ..."
But let's discuss that "child inside" for a moment, for there is a process I want you to know about. I want to talk about 240 days into the pregnancy. At about that time, the child has perfect DNA. It hasn't taken its first breath. The DNA hasn't measured the energy of the planet yet, since it is contained. Did you realize that? Inside the womb is a perfect child. The child's DNA has all the attributes of the Akash and also the parent, but it's different in a way you have not been told. The DNA is 100% as designed.
The quantum instructions within the DNA are all talking to the biology of the child,, getting ready for the first breath. ..."
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