I would like to quote a brief extract from Evangelium Vitae by Bl JPII:
The future of society and the development of democracy depend on the rediscovery of the innate human and moral values no one, no majority, and no state can create, modify, or destroy. There is a need to recover the relationship between the civil and moral law. "In no sphere of life can the civil law take the place of conscience or dictate norms concerning things outside its competence " (Dominum Vitae, III). The purpose of civil law is to guarantee an ordered social coexistence in true justice. For that reason it must ensure that in the first place the fundamental right to life of every innocent human being is respected. The legal toleration of abortion and euthanasia can in no way be claimed to be based on the respect for the conscience of others, precisely because society has the right and the duty to protect itself against abuses that can occur in the name of conscience and under the pretext of freedom. Any government that refused to recognise these human rights would not only fail in its duty; its decrees lack any biding force." (from The Encyclicals in Everyday Language by Fr Joseph G Donders)
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