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Human dignity, bestowed by God and
recognized by man, is inherent and inviolable in each and every
human being. Human dignity cannot be taken from anyone-despite
present and past attempts by some to dehumanize, marginalize and
disenfranchise individuals and whole groups of people –because
it is not given by any government or political body.
In the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights the basic
rights of women and men were recognized by the member states of
the United Nations. The Preamble stated: "Whereas recognition of
the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of
all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom,
justice and peace in the world".
Today some governments have denied and ignored basic rights
guaranteed through natural law and resorted to
self-determination of rights to those they determine to be
"worthy" of rights based on subjective and selective criteria of
efficiency and utility to society. The failure to protect all
members of the human family— regardless of age, sex, race,
ethnicity, disability, creed, stage of development, or condition
of dependency—diminishes the rights of all and renders rights
dependent on the capricious decisions of governments.
Other governments, mostly in developing countries, maintain
recognition of inherent human dignity. Core religious beliefs
and cultural values enlighten, encourage, and empower women and
men serving in political office to stand firmly against those
who advance the view that an individual’s worth is dependent
upon their usefulness or wantedness and oppose attempts to
legalize abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia, and embryo
destroying stem cell research.
Religious values which protect human dignity for all are
recognized by pro-abortion activists as impediments to efforts
to legalize abortion and strategies are devised to thwart,
negate and even co-opt faith and religion. This is evidenced by
the statement of Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of the
United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): "I believe that religion is
the final frontier in our work to promote human rights,
including the rights of women and the right to sexual and
reproductive health. I firmly believe that including faith-based
organizations… will generate greater progress, even in dealing
with what is considered taboos such as sexual orientation,
gender identity, abortion or sex work."
PNCI advocates for inherent human dignity and urges religious
leaders and men and women of all faiths to interact with their
political leaders to defend the sanctity of life and in some
countries, to change laws which devalue and destroy life. PNCI
promotes human dignity for all from the first moment of creation
to natural death.
Dr. Alveda King serves as
PNCI’s Special Representative for Human Dignity.
Dignitatis Humanae Institute
Brings attention to the infinite value of every single human
life through the Universal Declaration of Human Dignity
http://www.dignitatishumanae.com/#/institute-homepage/4535551296
Family Research Council
Recognizes and respects the inherent dignity of every human life
from conception and provides educational material on building a
culture of life.
http://www.frc.org/issues
Manhattan Declaration
Declaration in defense of foundational principles of justice and
the sanctity of life
http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/home.aspx
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Provides educational materials on the right to life from
conception to natural death to educate the public, the faithful,
and government officials on life issues
http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/abortion/index.shtml
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