Chapter 7: The Fifth Commandment: You Shall Not Kill

1. Chapter 7: The Fifth Commandment: You Shall Not Kill Ms. DeMeuse Xavier High School

2. Where is the first episode of killing in the Bible? • Gen 4:2-16 • Every human life from conception is sacred because they are made in the image of God • How has human life been degraded in our current society? • Unless God is acknowledged as having exclusive dominion over human life, each person’s well being and safety will be in great peril

3. You shall not Kill • Deliberate taking of human life • Beatitudes makes us have a heart of mercy • Read Matthew 5:21-24

4. Sins against Human Dignity • The challenge to love must be rooted in prayer and the sacramental life • The command to charity – love others as God has loved us – enriches the OT interpretation • People should know Christians by their love • Scandal – leading another to do evil

5. Respect for Our Own Lives • Only God has absolute dominion over human life • We are stewards of our own life – good health, avoiding physical injury, treating all people with respect • Suicide = willful termination of one’s own life; takes away God’s exclusive right to our life • Psychological problems may significantly diminish responsibility • We try to replace God with other things that fail to satisfy

6. Cult of the Body = disfigure or mutilate one’s body • Attention to health and well-being give way to obsession • Food deprivation, inordinate body piercing and tattooing, extreme body-building, unnecessary plastic surgery • Gluttony = eating to excess beyond purpose of proper nourishment • Eating is the end in itself, not to nourish the body • We must be moderate in eating and give attention to exercise • Substance Abuse = excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages • Intoxication relinquishes self-control, impairs judgment and use of reason

7. Respect for the Lives of Others • Murder = termination of life through violence • Sermon on the Mount extends that to the root causes or murder • Hatred, physical violence, uncontrollable anger • Omission of Service = sin of failing to serve others • Racism = hatred or lack of respect for other persons because of their skin color, ethnicity, or national origin • Revenge, Vindictiveness, poor treatment of oppressors – Christians do not have to be pacifists but be grounded in love

8. Abortion • Unborn child is the most innocent of all humans • A fertilized egg is a completely new person with its own genetic code • “termination of pregnancy” • Reasons for an abortion • Physical/mental deformity do not take away dignity • Pain in women and men after an abortion • The first century Christian text told Christians not to “procure an abortion” (AD 80)

9. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) • = Medical technique used for couples who cannot conceive children • in vitro = in class refers to where the fertilization of the egg happens – in a test tube or Petri dish • Removal of eggs from the woman and fertilized with sperm in the lab • Embryos are inserted into the woman’s uterus • excess embryos can be discarded or frozen • 12-24 fertilized eggs can be created and weaker embryos can be discarded • Some eggs used for scientific experimentation

10. Embryonic Stem Cell Research • Stem cells = cells that are pluripotent meaning they have the capacity to adapt and repair any human organ • Some think that they may provide a cure for incurable conditions (Parkinson’s, juvenile diabetes) • Embryo dies after 8-21 days because stem cells are extracted from him or her • Not all stem cell research is BAD! • Umbilical cord blood, adult skin cells, bone marrow • Better because many can be taken from the same human they hope to cure to prevent incompatibility

11. “If the embryos are living, whether viable or not, they must be respected, just like any other human person; experimentation on embryos which is not directly therapeutic is illicit. No objective, even though noble in itself, such as a foreseeable advantage to science, to other human beings or to society, can in any way justify experimentation on living human embryos or fetuses, whether viable or not, either inside or outside the mother’s womb…To use human embryos or fetuses as the object or instrument of experimentation constitutes a crime against their dignity as human beings having a right to the same respect that is due to the child already born and to every human person.” (Donum Vitae, 1,4)

12. Euthanasia • Euthanasia = decision by doctors, family members, or public officials to end the life of a person who has been given little or not chance or recovery and is thought to have a poor quality of life • Comes from Greek euchanatosmeaning “good or sweet death” • Officially implemented by the Nazis between 1939 and 1941 – 75,000-250,000 non-Jewish German citizens who had mental or physical disabilities were killed

13. Assisted Suicide • = person who is suffering requests help from doctors, nurses, family members, or friends in ending his or her own life • legal status in Oregon • Dr. Jack Kevorkian • Why do good people suffer? • A person can refuse extraordinary or disproportionate means of sustaining life when there is no hope of recovery • Nourishment, hydration, and medication to sustain life are always required • Terri Schiavo Case

14. Just War • War is always a terrible tragedy • War is never a desirable option • 1) Self-Defense • 2) Last Resort – diplomacy, negotiations, persuasion, trade restrictions, embargos must be exhausted • 3) Probability of Success – one cannot begin war knowing the result is simply more casualties • 4) Proportionality – military response must not be greater than self defense (Examples?) • 5) A nation must never deliberately target non-combatants • Was the ATOMIC BOMB justified? • Opposed to kidnapping, torture, hostage-taking, terrorism

15. Self-Defense • Every person can defend and protect himself or another against an unjust aggressor • Parallels the criteria for just war • Police force, protection, etc.

16. Arms Race • After WWII, nations built weapons of mass destruction as a preventative measure against attack from other countries • Nations are stockpiling weapons • Arms race is not a safe way to preserve a sure and authentic peace in the world • Money spent contributes to the economic miseries that afflict the modern world

17. Capital Punishment • Death penalty should be used only as an extreme measure when it is absolutely necessary to protect society from the one convicted • These instances are “very rare if not practically nonexistent” (Evangelium Vitae) • Authorities can impart just punishment after due process • Justice is meant for the spiritual and moral rehabilitation of the person guilty – not for retribution

18. Integrity of the Human Body • Human body is considered sacred - Jesus became one of us! • Organ removal – any type of mutilation, abuse, is not permitted; it is morally permissible to remove an organ to save a life • Organ Transplant – donor and recipient give informed consent and dangers/risks are proportionate to the good • An organ cannot be removed resulting in killing or mutilating a person • One cannot assume a premature death • Brain and gonads may not be transplanted bc they ensure personal and procreative identity

19. Human cloning • 1997 Scottish scientists cloned a sheep • Fused genetic material from a living sheep into an egg cell that had its cytoplasm removed • Therapeutic cloning = cloning for the purpose of research for medical cures • Reproductive cloning = cloning with the intent to allow his or her eventual birth • Both methods are gravely immoral • Reduces human beings to objects that can be manufactured and manipulated

20. Discussion • What if a couple wants to genetically pick the physical features of their child?

21. Sterilization • = alteration of the reproductive organ depriving the person of their procreative capability • Direct sterilization (vasectomy, tubal ligation) = intends to destroy a person’s ability to procreate • Indirect sterilization = unintended result of a medical procedure directed toward the cure of a patient or as a result of an accident • This is morally licit (ok) only under necessary medical conditions (EX: ovarian cancer)