Culture of life

The phrase "culture of life" is a term used in moral theology. It is shorthand for a concept that human life, at all stages from conception through to natural death, is sacred. As such, a "culture of life" is opposed to practices seen by its proponents as destructive of human life, such as embryonic stem cell research, abortion, euthanasia, contraception, capital punishment, and war. The culture of life has often been contrasted by politicians and religious figures with a "culture of death". This view is frequently expressed in United States politics by social conservatives, particularly those in the Republican Party.

Origins
The expression owes its origins to Pope John Paul II, who first used it in a tour of the United States in 1993. Speaking to journalists at Stapleton International Airport near Denver, Colorado, the Pope denounced abortion and euthanasia, stating that "The culture of life means respect for nature and protection of God's work of creation. In a special way, it means respect for human life from the first moment of conception until its natural end." Cardinal Bernard Law reiterated the theme, urging Americans to "spread the culture of life over the culture of death".

The Pope returned to the theme in April 1995 through the encyclical Evangelium Vitae Gospel of Life:


 * In our present social context, marked by a dramatic struggle between the culture of life and the culture of death, there is need to develop a deep critical sense capable of discerning true values and authentic needs.

Culture of Life is also the title of a movie currently being produced at Franciscan University of Steubenville for release in Spring of 2008.

U.S. Politics
Following the promulgation of the Pope's encyclical, The Culture of Life Foundation & Institute was founded in the United States to promote the concepts behind the Evangelium Vitae. It was recognized and blessed by the Pope in 1997.

The "culture of life" entered the mainstream of US politics on October 3, 2000, during the U.S. presidential election. It was cited by George W. Bush during a televised debate with Vice President Al Gore in which Bush expressed concerns that a newly-approved abortifacient pill would cause more women to have abortions, while his goal was to make abortions more rare and to "promote a culture of life." Bush went on to say:


 * Surely this nation can come together to promote the value of life. Surely we can fight off these laws that will encourage doctors or allow doctors to take the lives of our seniors. Sure, we can work together to create a culture of life so some of these youngsters who feel like they can take a neighbor's life with a gun will understand that that's not the way America is meant to be.

As the media pointed out, this was a direct borrowing from Pope John Paul II's language. His invocation of the phrase was seen as an attempt to reach out to moderate Catholics who dislike abortion, while not coming out so strongly against the practice that it would alienate voters. It was, however, criticised by some Catholics for being inconsistent with Bush's strong support for the death penalty and his repeated authorisation of executions while serving as Governor of Texas. He returned to the same theme on a number of other occasions during his campaign, stating that "I think the next president must talk about a culture of life."

The "culture of life" has repeatedly been invoked by politicians during Bush's terms as President of the United States. Notable instances included:




 * The summer of 2001, when a major political controversy occurred over the federal government's position on stem cell research and President Bush faced accusations of backtracking on his earlier "culture of life" rhetoric;
 * March 2003, when the US Congress passed a bill prohibiting partial-birth abortions which proponents cited as advancing the "culture of life";
 * The Unborn Victims of Violence Act in April 2004, which defined a violent attack on a pregnant women as two distinct crimes: one against the woman, and the other against her fetus - this was promoted as improving the rights of the "unborn", hence advancing the culture of life;
 * The US presidential election, 2004, when the phrase was incorporated into the platform of the Republican Party, referring to the party's opposition to abortion, stem cell research involving the destruction of human embryos and euthanasia.
 * The Terri Schiavo controversy of March 2005, when the phrase was used in support of legislative and legal efforts to prolong the life of a brain-damaged woman.

The Texas Futile Care Law
Under this law, signed by then Texas Governor George W. Bush, hospitals and physicians have the right to withdraw life support from a patient who they declare terminally ill. 

On March 15, 2005, six month old infant Sun Hudson was the first person to die under this law. 

In December 2005, Tirhas Habtegiris, a young woman and legal immigrant from Africa, was removed from a respirator against the wishes of her family.

Defining the opposition
Often, defenders of the "culture of life" compare their opponents to the perpetrators of the Nazi genocide, much like some pro-life advocates do. They claim their opponents share the same disregard for human life. Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor argued, for example, that without morals, "it is the strong who decide the fate of the weak," and "Human beings therefore become instruments of other human beings. That way lies eugenics, and we know from German history where that leads. We are already on that road: for what else is the termination of six million lives in the womb since the Abortion Act was introduced, and embryo selection on the basis of gender and genes?”

Some of the issues that are included in the Catholic Church's description of the culture of life include:
 * Opposition to abortion
 * Opposition to capital punishment
 * Opposition to cloning
 * Opposition to contraception
 * Opposition to embryonic stem cell and fetal research (coupled with support for adult stem cell research)
 * Opposition to euthanasia
 * Opposition to unjust war

Disputes surrounding the term
Like the term "pro-life," the term "culture of life" is not without its critics, who argue that religious conservatives do not have a monopoly on valuing life, or that they devalue it themselves, or that by emphasizing quantity of life they devalue quality of life. Two examples commonly raised are that politicians who say they endorse the culture of life are often supportive of capital punishment and war. Even the tenets of opposition to abortion and euthanasia as part of the culture of life are not undisputed. For example, Leonard Peikoff argues that "Sentencing a woman to sacrifice her life to an embryo is not upholding the 'right-to-life'... You cannot be in favor of life and yet demand the sacrifice of an actual, living individual to a clump of tissue." Another example is Andrew Sullivan, a Catholic who opposed the religious right on the issue of euthanasia for Terri Schiavo.

In some cases, the culture of life has been applied to other issues such as a living wage, opposition to racism and invidious discrimination, and access to health care.