Known by God

By Marc Cardaronella

When is the beginning of human personhood? It’s the central question around the ethics of controversial issues such as abortion, human embryo research (cloning, stem cell research and the formation of mixed-species chimeras) and the use of abortifacients.

There’s no question about when life begins. It’s a scientific fact that human life begins at fertilization or conception. But when is that human life actually a human being, a person? That’s more of a philosophical question, and it’s the true nature of the abortion debate because a person is afforded certain legal rights. It’s unlawful to intentionally kill a human person, but is a zygote a person? Does a fetus have the same rights as a person?

Catholic doctrine states the human being begins at conception. Catechism of the Catholic Church 2270 says, “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person — amongwhich is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”

There are many ways to approach this question using not only philosophy but also bioethics, politics, genetics, medical practice or even popular opinion. I want to look at this from the perspective of faith. There are certain truths of the Catholic Faith that, if they are indeed true (some of which Catholics are obliged to accept as true), then certain other things must also be true.

The most fundamental of these truths is the Immaculate Conception. This doctrine states that by a singular grace, the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the moment of her conception, was preserved from original sin. What is original sin? It’s commonly thought of as a mark or stain that disfigures the soul. However, original sin really is a privation, a lack of sanctifying grace, which is the grace of intimate union with God.

When a man and a woman conceive a child, they each contribute to the creation of a new life entirely different from either of them. But that’s natural life. Every human person also has a supernatural life, a soul. This can’t be created by the parents because supernatural life requires a supernatural creator. So, at the moment of conception, God infuses a soul, made of spirit just like him, into the newly created material body. All of us born with original sin receive a soul deprived of sanctifying grace … but not Mary. She received the fullness of sanctifying grace, more than anyone ever had or ever will have.

The point is, God was intentional about who Mary was and would be from her very beginning. She is immaculately conceived for a singular purpose, to be the mother of the savior Jesus Christ, and God had this in mind for her from the start. Not at eight days after implantation, not at 14 days after twinningoccurs, not at neural functioning, fetal viability or birth. At fertilization. At conception.

Personhood and life are inextricably bound together from the very beginning of life. That’s because every person is known by God and created with intention as male or female. God knows who they will be from the moment life is created and a soul is infused because he has a plan and purpose for everyone. No randomness. No mistakes. That holds true for you, as well.

So, if you truly believe the Immaculate Conception is true, it’s hard not to believe human personhood begins at fertilization. This means even after a few days that zygote has the rights of a person including the right to life.

To see more examples of how the beliefs we hold about Mary point to the beginning of human personhood, visit CatholicKey.org.

Marc Cardaronella is director of the Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation