What would John Courtney Murray say? On abortion & euthanasia

Commonweal, Oct 7, 1994 by Todd David Whitmore

From the perspective of the Murray tradition, then, there appear to be a number of parallels between abortion and assisted suicide. Both involve at least the high probability that a human life is being taken. This leads to the presumption that the issues are matters of public morality. Against the argument that assisted suicide is a private matter between a person and her physician, the Catholic tradition counters that suicide is an act against the common good.

Moreover, the fact that the legal protection of presumably private choices inevitably leads to the call for positive governmental support suggests that the human person is more social than liberal political theory, with its accent on the individual, recognizes. The question of precisely what laws to seek to put in place will always depend on prudential judgment that takes into consideration the state of the American public. While consensus is not reducible to public opinion, legislators are wise to recognize the limits of leading with the law. Intermediate institutions have an irreplaceable role in society. The most neglected requirement of the Catholic community is its obligation to exemplify through its own practice the kind of community where official teaching on abortion and assisted suicide is plausible. It is only in this way that there can be any hope that other persons, communities, and constituencies will reshape their beliefs on these two fundamental issues. Aiding and joining women in the care of the children for the full eighteen years that is required, and providing hospice care for the duration needed are not only ways to exemplify the "true visage of the Church of God's kingdom"; they also constitute the most prudent way to proceed if we are concerned about the common good of the earthly city.