Toward a Pro-Life Environmental Movement

Toward a Pro-Life Environmental Movement, 20 Life & Learning ____ (2010)

CUA Columbus School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-4

36 Pages Posted: 10 Jun 2015

See all articles by Lucia Ann Silecchia

Lucia Ann Silecchia

Catholic University of America (CUA) - Columbus School of Law

Date Written: 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.

Suggested Citation

Silecchia, Lucia Ann, Toward a Pro-Life Environmental Movement (2010). Toward a Pro-Life Environmental Movement, 20 Life & Learning ____ (2010) , CUA Columbus School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-4, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2616340

Lucia Ann Silecchia (Contact Author)

Catholic University of America (CUA) - Columbus School of Law ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://law.cua.edu/fac_staff/SilecchiaL/

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