Christian Ethics Today

When Does Human Life Begin? Conception And Ensoulment

When Does Human Life Begin? Conception And Ensoulment
By Lindsey Disney, New York University Medical Center
Larry Poston,  Nyack College, NY.

            In The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph #2322 states that “from its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion . . . is a criminal practice, gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life.”
 
[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church (New York: Image Books/Doubleday, 1994), 606, 607, 618.