(LifeSiteNews) — Human life is sacred and inviolable. It must be protected from conception to its natural end.
The dignity of every person comes from God himself. The Creator called human beings into existence in His image, and His fatherly Providence accompanies them from the beginning:
You formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works!
My very self you know.
My bones are not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
fashioned in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me unformed;
in your book all are written down;
my days were shaped, before one came to be. (Ps 139:13–16)
Those who allow these words of Holy Scripture to sink in recognize God’s love story with mankind, whom He describes as “like us” (Gen 1:26) at the time of creation. We see the utterly impressive miracle of life, which we can only marvel at with gratitude. Human beings did not create themselves, nor are they a biological accident. This truth is expressed in the well-known song Vergiss es nie (Never forget)[1], which addresses the child himself:
That you live was not your own idea,
and that you breathe was not your decision.
Never forget: That you live was someone else’s idea,
and that you breathe is His gift to you!
You are wanted, not a child of chance, not a whim of nature!
It doesn’t matter whether you sing your song of life in minor or major.
You are a thought of God, a brilliant one at that!
The Creator is the guarantor of man’s inalienable right to life, because He always wanted him, gave him an immortal soul, and calls him by name:
He has loved us from eternity.
‘Consider, O man,’ he says, ‘that I was the first to love you.
You had not yet seen the light of the world, the world did not yet exist, and I already loved you. Since I have been, I have loved you!'[2]
It follows that every child – born or unborn – must be defended and respected in his or her dignity. Every person has the right to life from the moment of conception. From the moment of conception, the embryo does not develop into a human being, but rather as a human being. With fertilization, the life of a new creature begins with its own development. Scientific knowledge of the significance of genetic material confirms: here is a human being from the very beginning!
Genetic research “has demonstrated that from the first instant there is established the programme of what this living being will be: a person, this individual person with his characteristic aspects already well determined. Right from fertilization the adventure of a human life begins, and each of its capacities requires time-a rather lengthy time-to find its place and to be in a position to act.”[3]
At conception, therefore, “the essential characteristics of the human person are already present. They develop in a complex interplay with each other and in exchange with the maternal organism.”[4] Thus, the human being undergoes a fascinating development. “Important characteristics and features of his person, such as the color of his eyes and hair, are already imprinted and can be found on the head of a pin. Biologically, fertilization sets off a stormy development. Millions of cells are created in the first four weeks of life.”[5] Already after this interval, impressive primary beginnings of vertebrae formation are visible, and the heart provides the small body with blood.[6]
The child therefore does not receive the corresponding inviolable dignity at birth, but has it from the first moment of conception. It must be protected and consistently defended at every stage! “A human being must be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception, and therefore, from that moment on, the rights of a person must be recognized, the first of which is the inviolable right to life, which every innocent human being enjoys.”[7] This also applies, of course, in cases of illness and disability.
The necessary protection of human life has a special historical dimension in Germany. After dark and extremely painful experiences, the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany was adopted on May 8, 1949. Its preamble emphasizes “responsibility before God and man.” Its irrefutable message is stated in Article 1: “Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.”
Constitutional law clearly states what this means.
“While the personal scope of protection of Article 1(1) of the Basic Law covers the dignity of ‘human beings’, Article 2(2), sentence 1 of the Basic Law protects human ‘life’. The Basic Law not only prohibits the state from directly interfering in human life, it also obliges it to protect and promote all human life. This also includes unborn life.”[8]
The disastrous situation for children, however, is that the state is effectively failing to fulfill its duty to protect them. Under current law, abortion is generally considered illegal, but remains unpunished under certain conditions.
There is a glaring contradiction in the Criminal Code!
Section 218(1) states: “Whoever terminates a pregnancy shall be punished with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine.”
This is then effectively nullified in Section 218a. Paragraph 1 states the following:
“The elements of Section 218 are not fulfilled” if the abortion is committed in the first 12 weeks – and by a doctor. In addition, the pregnant woman must seek counseling at least three days in advance.
Under canon law, however, the situation is clear: “Anyone who performs an abortion incurs the penalty of excommunication latae sententiae upon completion of the act,” meaning that the penalty is automatically imposed upon committing the offense.
Excommunication applies to all those who commit this offense with knowledge of the penalty, including accomplices without whose actions it would not have been committed.
With this reaffirmed sanction, the Church presents this offense as one of the most serious and dangerous crimes and thus encourages those who commit it to quickly find their way back to repentance. For in the Church, the penalty of excommunication has the purpose of making people fully aware of the seriousness of a particular sin and thus encouraging appropriate repentance and contrition.[9]
Every year in our country, a large city’s worth of unborn children fall victim to the perfidious state practice of using the counseling certificate as a license to kill. In the case of a disability such as Down syndrome, selection is even possible until birth.
Mother Teresa found powerful words against this bloody culture of death when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979: “Today, millions of unborn children are being killed, and we say nothing. We read this and that in the newspapers, but no one speaks of the millions of little ones who were conceived with the same love as you and me, with the life of God. […] For me, the nations that have legalized abortion are the poorest countries.” Her appeal against this heinous crime was clear: “The greatest destroyer of peace today is the cry of the innocent, unborn child. If a mother can murder her own child in her own womb, what worse crime is there than when we kill each other?”[10]
The politicians responsible for abortion laws will have to answer to the Creator! The same applies to all those who contribute directly and behind the scenes to the culture of death. In this regard, the largely deafening silence of the German episcopate is regrettable. In addition, the great responsibility of the doctors involved is obvious. It is not uncommon for the fathers of unborn children to exert decisive pressure.
With a mainstream media landscape dominated by left-wing ideology, which often trivializes abortion by referring to it as “termination of pregnancy,” it is important to face reality: every abortion kills a small, defenseless human being! The various methods used are appalling.[11] The severe psychological stress experienced by women when they realize – often only after the fact – what has really happened is also almost completely ignored in this context.
It is absolutely necessary for all people of goodwill to work together for the culture of life, courageously fighting for the protection of unborn children and defending the true well-being of women!
Mothers in distress need our full solidarity and support! Affected women often say that in their despair they would not have had an abortion if only one person had been there to help them. They deserve every support through prayer, human companionship, and material assistance.
When tragedy strikes, what is needed above all is genuine pastoral care. It is not uncommon for affected mothers to feel that everything is now over and that there is no hope left. Some express the impression that they are now lost because of the severity of their guilt and that there is no way out. This is not the case! Therefore, we refer to the guiding words left to us by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Evangelium vitae.
“I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To the same Father and his mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child. With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone’s right to life.”
[1] Jürgen Werth, song „Vergiss es nie – Du bist du“.
[2] Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, On the Love of Christ [De praxi amandi Iesum Christum], Rome 1909, 9–14.
[3] Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life (March 25, 1995), 60.
Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Premeditated Abortion Quaestio de abortu procurato (November 18, 1974), Nos. 12–13: AAS 66 (1974), 738.
[4] Secretariat of the German Bishops’ Conference (ed.), Brochure “Mensch von Anfang an,” Bonn 1980, p. 2.
[5] Ibid., pp. 2–3.
[6] Cf. ibid., p. 3.
[7] Pope John Paul II, 60.
Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation Donum vitae (February 22, 1987), Part 1, 1: AAS 80 (1988), 79.
[8] German Bundestag – Scientific Services, Status Report “Der Schutz des ungeborenen Lebens in Deutschland,” 2018, WD 7 – 3000 – 256/18, p. 4.
[9] Pope John Paul II, 62.
Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1397 § 2; cf. ibid., can. 1329.
[10] Mother Teresa, Address on the occasion of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1979, in Oslo.
[11] Cf. Sundaysforlife, “Die verschiedenen Methoden für Abtreibungen,” in: sundaysforlife.org/de/ressourcen/abtreibung/methoden; accessed on September 7, 2025.
[12] Pope John Paul II, 99.
