Suicide
 
What is Suicide? Suicide is “the direct killing of oneself on one’s own authority.”[i]
 
Is suicide a mortal sin? Why should we care if someone kills himself or herself? Yes, it is a mortal sin because it is the direct taking of a life. “Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God.”[ii] When someone takes their life it can be for a number of different reasons. It is usually a temporary problem and suicide is a dangerous and permanent solution. When someone commits suicide, it does not just affect the person who kills him/herself. It also affects the family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and many other people, who must now live with that event for the rest of their lives.

SONG – Center Aisle - Derek Webb
This song is a personal reflection after the funeral of a person who committed suicide. The chorus says it all. If each person could have just waited five more minutes and had their cry for help heard, how many lives would be spared.
 
If someone commits suicide do they end up in hell? Not necessarily. While committing suicide is a grave sin, we have to remember what a mortal sin is; it must be with full knowledge, full consent, and be a grave matter. The Church teaches, “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.”[iii]
 
War
Since we are sinners, and hatred can breed violence, the threat of war is always looming. However, the Church asks us to avoid war at all costs. “All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war.”[iv] We must look to bring charity and peace before all else.
 
Is there ever a good reason to go to war? There can be reasons, after all avenues of peace have been exhausted, that going to war can be just. This is what the Church teaches:
 
“The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:

• The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
• All other means of putting an end to it must have been shown be impractical or ineffective;
• There must be serious prospects of success;
• The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.”[v]

 
These are the basic elements when looking at a “just war” doctrine. The decision-making on these is placed upon those who are responsible for the common good. [vi] In 2003, Blessed John Paul II advised President George W. Bush to not go to war with Iraq. George W. Bush and Blessed Pope John Paul II agreed on many things, but disagreed in this area. While the Vatican believed that all the elements were not present in order for there to be a just war, they also recognized the autonomy of the government to make this decision. There could be information, maybe classified, that George W. Bush knew that the Pope did not know. The Church can only make a decision based on what she knows and the State (Government in authority) can only make a decision based on what they know. 
 
 
Embryonic Stem Cell Research
 
What is embryonic stem cell research? First, we must look at what a stem cell is. A stem cell is “an unspecialized cell that gives rise to differentiated cells” (Webster’s Dictionary). Doctors are testing ways to take the cells of healthy people and infuse them into those that have serious diseases as a way to reverse the disease. Embryonic stem cells are un-matured cells that can be manipulated into what you would like them to be (i.e. a brain cell, liver cell, lung cell, etc.). Embryonic stem cells are taken from embryos; conceived children. The embryos are typically destroyed after retrieving the stem cells.
 
Why is the Church against this? The Church is against this because “Embryos are human beings, because human life begins with the fusion of a sperm cell and an egg.” [vii] We cannot destroy the child even for the sake of possibly gaining a scientific advantage in the future. Evil may never be committed so that good may come from it. The “end” cannot justify the “means”.
 
Is the Church against all stem cell research? No. There are  adult stem cells, which are more “mature cells” that we all possess. A good example of these cells is our blood cells. Adult stem cells can be taken from men, women, and children safely without hurting or killing the person. Some of the best stem cells are actually in the umbilical cord. No matter the research, medical interventions are justifiable only if they are made with the intention of healing, if the life of the person is unimpaired (i.e. the development of a child inside or outside the womb), and if the risks involved are not disproportionately great. [viii]
 
Birth Control and Contraception
 
Birth control pills, patches, injections, and contraceptives, like condoms, are the drugs and devices that have driven the culture of death.  How is birth control and contraception bad? The very name should tell us why they are not good. People try to become God when they attempt to control conception. When a husband and wife have sex, it should be for the union of the couple, and they must be open to life. Any sexual action that does not have as its purpose for the unity of a married couple and is open to life is contrary to the will of God. Contraception is not open to life and is not the unity of a couple. The couple is not giving themselves fully if they are using contraception. The condom is called the “barrier” method. When two people want to unite, they do not put up a barrier. To go even further, sex is something that is holy.


Doesn’t contraceptives help reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancies and thus reduce abortions? This is not the case. With more people believing in the term “safe sex”, the number of STD’s and pregnancies have skyrocketed. Research shows that “programs in safer sex education and condom distribution have not reduced the out-of-wedlock birth rates among sexually experienced teens. . . . The fact is, increased condom use by teens is associated with increased out-of-wedlock birth rates.” [ix] With so many women getting pregnant they turn to abortion. Studies show that about half of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion. [x] Now, some may say if they were using condoms or the Pill then this would not have happened however, “the research institute of the nation’s largest abortion provider admits that most women who receive abortions had been using birth control during the month they became pregnant. [xi]” [xii]
 
VIDEO – Yaz Birth Control Investigation
The sad truth is every birth control pill has these possible side effects not just the one in this video. It is also scary that there is a 2-4:10,000 chance of having blood clots that can lead to death. That might be small, but imagine filling a stadium with over 10,000 people and having everyone in that stadium take a pill. Once everyone takes it, the announcer says that 2-4 people who took this pill will obtain a blood clot that will cause severe medical problems and possibly death. There would be a riot! Yet, this is exactly what women are doing when they take these pills. Are women really willing to risk their lives for this?
 
ACTIVITY – The Mystery Pill
Download “The Pill Warning Sheets Part 1 and 2” sheets on the main page of the Pro-Life series.
Above our two links to FDA approved birth control medications. One is taken orally and one is inserted vaginally. In the document look in the sections that say “Warning”, “side effects”, etc. If you have a group tell them the FDA just came out with a magic pill to help prevent a “disease” almost 99% of the time. But here are the possible side effects. Then list all the side effects and warnings this drug has. For example: Blood clots, stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure, heart disease, and cancer. Also, all of these problems and risks increase if the person smokes and/or is over thirty-five years of age. Now explain that this is not a magic pill but is the birth control pills and these are put in all birth control packs. The prevention of a “disease” is a baby. Every birth control contraceptive must say it does not prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Women have been trained to think that if they were on the pill and they become pregnant, then the pill failed to prevent the disease of a baby. Many women go on the pill to help with symptoms while on their period; bloating, cramping, heavy bleeding, etc. However, no birth control pill “cures” this. They can only mask them, and some make them worse by having other side effects like nausea, longer and/or irregular cycles.
 
Lastly, there is no birth control that can say it is 100% guarantee it will prevent pregnancy. Even if the woman does everything perfectly, there is still a chance a woman can become pregnant. If a woman misses a step, the pills are less effective and the greater a chance the pill will fail. The true, 100%, and safe way to ensure you will not become pregnant and get a transmitted disease is to practice chastity, abstain from any sexual contact until that person is in a Sacramental marriage.

How is sex holy? When a man and a wife join in consummating their marriage, they are showing offertory love to one another. It is full, faithful, free, and fruitful. They hold nothing back and are open to God’s love in the conception of a child. When contraceptives are introduced into the marriage, the couple is telling God that we do not want to be fully, faithfully, or fruitfully open to His will. This attitude can easily lead to the mutual use of one toward the other for the sake of pleasure. Lastly, another reason why the Church is against birth control is because it can act as an abortifacient. Millions of women have aborted their babies due to birth control while not even knowing that they were pregnant.

VIDEO – How "The Pill" works as an abortifacient 
This video shows how the pill works as an abortifacient. The pill is bad medicine with bad results. It works primarily in three ways. One, it tries to prevent a woman from ovulating. Two, it tries to prevent sperm from reaching an egg if it is released. Three, if an egg is released and a sperm fertilized the egg, the pill causes the lining of the uterus to harden and thus the new life cannot implant in the uterine lining and this new life will be flushed out of the woman’s body. The result, a life, known only to God, never had a chance to live. Abortion begins with contraception. If we allow contraception we will allow Abortion, for Abortion is the last result when contraception fails. We must work to not only have an anti-abortion mentality but also an anti-contraceptive mentality.
 
But isn’t controlling the population good? Aren’t we overpopulated? In 2011, we will hit the seven billion mark in the earth’s population. While that is a lot of people, it is nothing to worry about, considering we could still fit every human being in their own four-bedroom house in the state of Texas.  [some great videos and resources to refute the myth of over-population can be found at www.overpopulationisamyth.com]
 
Big Companies and Organizations
 
The last thing we will look at is what to do with large companies and organizations that support the culture of death. As mentioned in the “Gospel of Life” lesson, the culture of death has a lot of power and resources to pull from. For example, the largest abortion provider in the United States is Planned Parenthood.
 
What is Planned Parenthood? Planned Parenthood is a company that provides “reproductive health and maternal and child health services”. They have billions of dollars to lobby for pro-choice legislation. With any company or organization, it is always good to go back and trace their roots.
 
What are the roots of Planned Parenthood? A woman named Margret Sanger in the 1920’s founded Planned Parenthood. Her intent was to get rid of “unfit” [xiii] people and races. She particularly hated African Americans and started Planned Parenthood to get rid of them. Sanger said, "We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities.  The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don't want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members." [xiv] She even spoke at Ku Klux Klan rallies [xv].
 
As we can see, the roots of Planned Parenthood were in the culture of death. While they feel that they are helping women and families, it has only hurt and destroyed them. It is not just Planned Parenthood who supports the pro-choice movement and the culture of death.
 
What other companies support the culture of death? There are sadly too many companies, musicians, actors, entertainers, and organizations to count. Just to name a few: Pepsi, Bank of America, AT&T, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Gap, General Electric, Starbucks, Verizon, and many more. Even groups like Susan G. Komen for the Cure, who are doing great things for breast cancer research, donate millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood who do not even do mammograms and gives money towards embryonic stem cell research.   What can we do to stop this? Sadly it is difficult to withhold our money from certain companies that support organizations we do not endorse. But we can try and limit our money to them and look for alternative companies or groups to use and support. We can certainly contact the companies we use on a consistent basis and respectfully ask them to stop giving to groups that promote abortion, euthanasia, and other attacks against life.  Are we held responsible for companies who give to the culture of death by spending our money with them?No, because your intent was to buy the product or purchase from the company, so you are not held responsible. However, we should try to avoid it if at all possible.
 
We should always look to instill a positive value on all human life and celebrate it. We need to begin to value all life as a precious gift and give every soul respect and dignity. To conclude this lesson and the packet, we will look at two quotes from our past and current popes. “Never tire of firmly speaking out in defense of life from its conception and do not be deterred from the commitment to defend the dignity of every human person with courageous determination. Christ is with you: be not afraid!” [xvi] “God’s love does not distinguish between the infant in the mother’s womb or the child or the youth or the adult or the older person. In each one God sees His image and likeness. Human life is a manifestation of God and His glory.” [xvii]
 

---

[i] Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 524
[ii] CCC 2281
[iii] CCC 2283
[iv] CCC 2308
[v] CCC 2309
[vi] cf. CCC 2309
[vii] YOUCAT 385
[viii] Cf. YOUCAT 385
[ix] The Consortium of State Physicians Resource Councils, “New Study Shows Higher Unwed Birthrates Among Sexually Experienced Teens Despite Increased Condom Use” (February 10, 1999).
[x] Stanley Henshaw, “Unintended Pregnancy in the United States,” Family Planning Perspectives30:1 (1998), 24–29, 46.
[xi] Rachel Jones, et al., “Contraceptive Use Among U.S. Women Having Abortions in 2000–2001,” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 34:6 (November/December 2002), 296.
[xii] http://chastity.com/chastity-qa/birth-control/safe-sex/isnt-using-birth-control-
[xiii] Engelman, p 132
[xiv] Margaret Sanger's December 19, 1939 letter to Dr. Clarence Gamble, 255 Adams Street, Milton, Massachusetts. Original source:  Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, North Hampton, Massachusetts.  Also described in Linda Gordon's  Woman's Body, Woman's Right:  A Social History of Birth Control in America .  New York:  Grossman Publishers, 1976.
[xv] Sanger, Margaret (1938). Margaret Sanger, An Autobiography. New York: W. W. Norton. pp. 361, 366–7.
[xvi] Pope John Paul II
[xvii] Pope Benedict XVI