At Conception

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is a compendium of Catholic belief, states, “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 — among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” (CCC #2270).

There are few scriptures which underlie this essential tenet due to the fact that peoples of the ancient world did not understand the medical and biological sciences. Nonetheless, there are passages which support the biblical belief of real human life in the womb. Chief among these would be the following: Psalm 139:13,16, Jeremiah 1:5, Isaiah 44:24 and Galatians 1:15.

While these passages are not scientific in nature, they do speak to the God’s care and intentionality for every developing pre-born baby.