Since our Supreme Court will soon be considering cases dealing with the dignity of human life, I know these thoughts will be valuable to your readership:
Our Founding Fathers held to the Biblical principle that human life is precious and created equal. In the Declaration of Independence, it is God the “Creator” who endowed every man, woman and child with the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The signers called them self-evident truths. Each life has inherent dignity and matchless value, from conception to death.
The founders knew that if God the “Creator” was taken out of the national value system, our rights as citizens are no longer absolute and become subject to the relative values of those who are in a position to make or change the laws. In truth, we are no longer equal in value as people, and typically it is the weakest and most vulnerable members of society who are the first to pay the price as others take the role of determining what rights we do and do not have. Universal moral laws that promote the good of all people and protect the innocent and vulnerable give way to the selfish pursuits of those who demand the moral license to do what they want.
The dignity of human life is not just a Biblical principle, it is a principle of a decent life. Every human being, born or unborn, deserves the equal protection of the law, and the value of life is not conditional upon its usefulness to others or to the state. Neither scientific progress nor the desire to help others can justify the sacrifice of any human being’s life or inherent dignity, whether it takes the form of abortion, euthanasia or any of the many new forms of biotechnology. We must reaffirm our steadfast determination to defend the sanctity of human life.
Danny Taylor
Chehalis
