ID# 1815:
"On Catholicism, As Revealed in the latest Encyclical of His Holiness Pope Pius XI," Eugenics Review (vol 23:1), papal decree condemning eugenics
Date:
1931
Pages: (1|2|3|4|5)
Source:
Cold Spring Harbor, ERO, The Eugenics Review, 23

&quote;On Catholicism, As Revealed in the latest Encyclical of His Holiness Pope Pius XI,&quote; Eugenics Review (vol 23:1), papal decree condemning eugenics

42 The Eugenic Review gravely imperiled in the performance of the duty allotted her by nature, nevertheless what could ever be a sufficient reason for excusing in any way the direct murder of an innocent? This is precisely what we are dealing with here. Whether inflicted upon the mother or upon the child, it is against the precept of God and the law of nature: 'Thou shalt not kill.' The life of each is equally sacred, and no one has the power, not even the public authority, to destroy it." The attitude recalls that which, for the integrity of the Church, condemned Joan of Arc to the stake. Birth Control - and the Safe Period The same attitude characterizes the renewed condemnation of birth control in any circumstances whatever, whether the family is already over-large and poverty acute, whether merely to space births, or even when another confinement would cause an abortion, a defective child, or the death of the mother. "Holy Mother Church very well understands and clearly appreciates all that is said regarding the health of the mother and the danger to her life. And who would not grieve to think of these things? Who is not filled with the greatest admiration when he sees a mother risking her life with heroic fortitude, that she may preserve the life of the offspring which she has conceived? God alone, all bountiful and all merciful as he is, can reward her for the fulfillment of the office allotted to her by nature, and will assuredly repay her in a measure full to overflowing." The response given is that the reproductive act is itself as sacred as marriage and must not be performed to its own frustration. Hence celibacy, abstinence from intercourse, and - curious inconsistency - the 'safe period' are the only alternatives for good Catholics. This renewal of the licence of the 'safe period' is doubly surprising, not so much because recent research has thrown yet further doubt on its safeness, but mainly because, in so far as it is effective, it deliberately frustrates the results of intercourse no less than does contraception. It is strange that Catholics so seldom, if ever, advance the strongest, least answerable, and surely most 'natural' objection against contraception - the aesthetic objection. If an act is repugnant, there's an end on't. But many as are the other inconsistencies in Catholic attitude and writings, even within this little Encyclical, it is not our aim here to expose Catholics to themselves, nor to dispute on the debatable premises they adopt. As eugenists, our interest lies in the practical effect of their doctrines; and the Encyclical deals the final flow to our hopes of coming to an agreement with them - writing as long ago as 1921,* indeed, the Dean of St. Paul's said that such an agreement was no longer possible. But though a few eminent theologians had hitherto strongly supported sterilization, though others had theoretically admitted its moral justification, and though many had long been opposed to the marriage of mental defectives, the Pope here issues an unqualified condemnation of both sterilization and the prohibition of marriage. Sterilization to be Illegal Voluntary sterilization he declares to be unholy, partly because, like birth control, it frustrates the procreative act, and partly because it is permitted to none to mutilate himself. As for State action, His Holiness writes: "Finally, that pernicious practice must be condemned which closely touches upon the natural right of man to enter matrimony but affects also in a real way the welfare of the offspring. For there are some who over solicitous for the cause of eugenics, not only give salutary counsel for more certainly procuring the strength [hairline column-width rule] *Eugenics Preview, Vol. XII, No. 4. [end]

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