Ensoulment
[8][9] This is called epigenesis, which is "the theory that the germ is brought into existence (by successive accretions), and not merely developed, in the process of reproduction",[10] in contrast to the theory of preformation, which asserts the "supposed existence of all the parts of an organism in rudimentary form in the egg or the seed;"[11] modern embryology, which finds both that an organism begins with an inherited genetic code and that embryonic stem cells can develop epigenetically into a variety of cell types, may be seen as supporting a balance between the views.
[16]: 109 From the 12th century, when the West first came to know more of Aristotle than his works on logic,[17][18] medieval declarations by Popes and theologians on ensoulment were based on the Aristotelian hypothesis.
[23]: 9, 24 It has been commented that "the LXX could easily have been used to distinguish human from non-human fœtuses and homicidal from non-homicidal abortions, yet the early Christians, until the time of Augustine in the fifth century, did not do so.
[6][22][20][21]: 150 Aquinas, in his main work, the Summa Theologica, states (Part I, question 118, article 2 ad 2)"...that the intellectual soul is created by God at the end of human generation".
[29] In 1588, Pope Sixtus V issued the Bull Effraenatam, which subjected those that carried out abortions at any stage of gestation with automatic excommunication and the punishment by civil authorities applied to murderers.
Three years later after finding that the results had not been as positive as was hoped, his successor Pope Gregory XIV limited the excommunication to abortion of a formed fœtus.
It seems probable that the fetus (as long as it is in the uterus) lacks a rational soul and begins to first have one when it is born and consequently it must be said that no abortion is homicide.
[32]In the 1869 Bull Apostolicae Sedis, Pius IX rescinded Gregory XIV's not-yet-animated fetus exception and re-enacted the penalty of excommunication for abortions at any stage of pregnancy, which even before that were never seen as merely venial sin.
In spite of the difference in ecclesiastical penalties imposed during the period when the theory of delayed ensoulment was accepted as scientific truth,[34][35] abortion at any stage is currently claimed to have always been condemned by the Church[36] and continues to be so.
Right from fertilization is begun the adventure of a human life, and each of its great capacities requires time ... to find its place and to be in a position to act".
The Magisterium has not expressly committed itself to an affirmation of a philosophical nature, but it constantly reaffirms the moral condemnation of any kind of procured abortion.
iii), to refute the slander that a child was slain, and its flesh eaten, by the guests at the Agapæ, appealed to their laws as forbidding all manner of murder, even that of children in the womb.
In the fourth century the Council of Eliberis decreed that Holy Communion should be refused all the rest of her life, even on her deathbed, to an adulteress who had procured the abortion of her child.
Even scientific and philosophical discussions about the precise moment of the infusion of the spiritual soul have never given rise to any hesitation about the moral condemnation of abortion.
[51] The latter half of the Second Temple period saw increasing acceptance of the idea of the soul as joining the body at birth and leaving it again at death.
[55] It has been suggested that the reason why they were not more concerned about the exact moment of ensoulment is that Judaism does not believe in strict separation of soul and body.
(23:12–14)...We created you from dust, then from a drop of fluid (nutfah), then a clinging form ('alaqah), then a lump of flesh (mudghah), both shaped and unshaped: We mean to make Our power clear to you.
Thus, the termination of a pregnancy, even at the earliest possible stage, without medical justification is not allowed (even for social or economic reasons), as stated in the Glorious Qur’an:
[59][62] In 2003, Shia scholars in Iran approved therapeutic abortion before 16 weeks of gestation under limited circumstances, including medical conditions related to fetal and maternal health.
The physical body is a biological growth undergoing constant reflexive testing and trial runs as it grows into a physiology capable of housing human consciousness.
[29] But the flexibility of Hinduism allows for destruction of embryos to save a human life, or embryonic stem cell research to benefit humankind using surplus blastocysts from fertility clinics.
[29] Although beliefs vary for different individuals, some followers of Jainism hold the belief that souls (called jivas) or life exist in sperm prior to conception, thus practicing celibacy or abstinence from sex can be done as a way to avoid releasing and killing sperm cells in order to follow Ahimsa (non-violence).
[64] In a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi dated October 9, 1947 (Lights of Guidance # 1699), it is stated: "The soul or spirit of the individual comes into being with the conception of his physical body.
Richard Charles Playford[66] of Institute of Theology, St Mary’s University, London, notes that "Many contemporary Aristotelians believe that a human being is present [in the mother’s reproductive system] from the moment of conception.
Ford also differs sharply, however, from those who would delay the beginning of the human person until the brain is formed, or until birth or the onset of conscious states.
The entire collection, including the outer layer, still falls under the rubric of ‘embryo'…but it is only the cells of the ICM whose descendants will form a fetus and then an infant.
