James Renna

Marriage, Abortion, and Personhood James Renna

"Look Inside" the Kindle version to read more interior content. "I was pleased to read that my presentations about marriage assisted you in preparing [your book]. Thank you for your thoughtfulness in sending me a copy... Invoking God's blessing upon you while confiding your intentions to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Joseph, and Saints Peter and Paul, I remainYours devotedly in the Sacred Heart of Jesusand in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke" Part I: In contemporary western culture, sexual behavior is often defended as an area in which a person has very little choice and ought to be submissive to desire in how one acts. However, even in the homoerotic climate of ancient Greco-Roman culture, great thinkers did not hesitate to say that one does have a choice as to how he or she acts with regard to sexuality; among these thinkers were Aristotle, Plato, and perhaps most notably Socrates, who regarded homosexual acts as unreasonable even though he himself exhibited a strong homosexual inclination. The intent of this document is to remedy some of the confusion surrounding this issue by presenting a coherent and consistent Catholic position that gives fuller expression to the thought of the philosophers mentioned above and of others throughout human history. Part II: Both pro-choice and pro-life groups have argued forcefully to defend their respective positions for and against abortion. Frequently, however, persons on both sides have used ambiguous terminology, incoherent argumentation, and even appeals to emotion to convey their message. The following contribution to the ongoing discussion is a pro-life position built from the ground up, written primarily for the benefit of pro-life leadership. Part I aims to show that an argument in favor of abortion cannot have the mother as its starting point because such an argument begins at Question 6 without sufficiently addressing Questions 1 through 5. Part III: Today, there are some who argue for the personhood of certain animals and machines because these animals and machines have a high level of functional ability. By incorrectly identifying personhood with functional ability, these men and women knowingly or unknowingly deny the personhood of many low-functioning human beings, thereby placing human lives in grave danger of manipulation, torture, and disposal. A coherent definition of "person" that recognizes all human beings as people is of the highest importance for the preservation of human society because only such a definition can permanently enshrine the dignity and equality of all human beings in civil law.