Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2010
Abstract
In modern times, the secular environmental movement seems to have taken on an anti-life message, in ways both subtle and direct. This anti-human – and often anti-life – view has crept into the heart of the “mainstream” ecological movement with consequences that can be detrimental to both human dignity and to the environment itself. This essay does not aim to analyze the complexities inherent in economic development, demographic predictions, or climatology. Instead, it is a call to reflect carefully and soberly on the troubling moral consequences of grounding respect for the environment in disrespect for the dignity of the human person. The first part of the essay outlines the ways in which the ecological movement has run into conflict with pro-life values. This includes a discussion of both the anti-life rhetoric of the ecological movement and illustrative environmental policies that may have a detrimental effect on human life. The second part of the discussion sets forth the essential components of a pro-life vision of environmental responsibility and explores how the pro-life movement can enhance and renew the ecological movement.
Recommended Citation
Lucia A. Silecchia, Toward a Pro-Life Environmental Movement, XX LIFE & LEARNING 1 (2010).