Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2258)

All human life is sacred. This is not a complex sentence or a complicated concept. All human life—from the moment of conception to the experience of natural death—is sacred. No exceptions. End of story.

Yes, there are exceptions to the prohibition against taking a human life. Self-defense and the defense of innocent people are the obvious exceptions. In the face of an imminent threat against human life, it may be necessary to take the life of an aggressor. But self-defense is not an exception to the principle that all human life is sacred.

On the contrary, it affirms the absolute and immutable value of this principle by saying that the protection of human life sometimes requires that we take extreme measures to protect the sanctity of human life.

Defending innocent people against violent or murderous oppressors is defending the sacredness of human life. This is true in individual cases and in the case of a just war (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2309).

The Church now teaches that capital punishment is not the same thing as self-defense. In fact, the catechism was revised in 2018 to declare the death penalty as “inadmissible”:

Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good. Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes.

In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.

Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide. (#2267)

The principle of the sanctity of human life has broad and significant implications. To be “pro-life” means to advocate for the rights and dignity of human life in every circumstance from the moment of conception to the experience of natural death.

Pro-life Catholics join with people of goodwill from all walks of life in promoting health care, the availability of affordable housing, the rights of workers, the respectful treatment of immigrants and the just treatment of prisoners. Being pro-life also means being against abortion, euthanasia, suicide, domestic and political violence and the abusive treatment of immigrants and their families.

The social teaching of the Catholic Church does not allow for selective acceptance of fundamental applications of the principle that all human life is sacred. We cannot be against abortion and be indifferent to domestic violence. Nor can we say that we are against physician-assisted suicide but for capital punishment. All human life is sacred. Always and everywhere.

It’s certainly true that the application of this fundamental principle to public policies and legislation requires interpretation and often admits legitimate differences, even disagreements. This is the realm of politics which the Church should leave to public officials and to an electorate whose informed consciences have entrusted them with choosing representatives dedicated to serving the common good.

But this doesn’t mean that elected officials have the right to pick and choose where or when they will respect the sanctity of human life. The Church has the right and the responsibility to remind all of us, but especially our elected leaders, that some things are “inadmissible” and cannot ever be permitted.

The direct killing of another innocent human being can never be sanctioned. Catholics who actively oppose one another on one or more applications of this fundamental teaching undermine their cause.

All human life is sacred. Period.

—Daniel Conway