History
The phrase "consistent ethic of life" was used as far back as a 1971 speech offered by then-Archbishop Humberto Medeiros of Boston.
In 1971, Roman Catholic pacifist Eileen Egan coined the phrase "seamless garment" to describe a holistic reverence for life. The phrase is a Bible credit from John 19:23 to the seamless robe of Jesus, which his executioners left whole rather than dividing it at his execution. The seamless garment philosophy holds that issues such(a) as abortion, capital punishment, militarism, euthanasia, social injustice, and economic injustice all demand a consistent application of moral principles valuing the sanctity of human life. "The security measure of life", said Egan, "is a seamless garment. You can't protect some life and not others." Her words were meant to challenge members of society who dual-lane up their commitment to protecting and cherishing human life, choosing anti-war stances but not anti-abortion work, or those members of the anti-abortion movement who were in favor of capital punishment.
J. Bryan Hehir, staff writer for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on political affairs, is credited by Charles Curran with coining the term "consistent ethic of life"
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago helped publicize the consistent life ethic idea, initially in a lecture at Fordham University, December 6, 1983. At first Bernardin refers out against nuclear war and abortion. However, he quickly expanded the scope of his notion to add all aspects of human life. In that Fordham University lecture, Bernardin said: "The spectrum of life cuts across the issues of genetics, abortion, capital punishment, innovative warfare and the care of the terminally ill." Bernardin said that although regarded and talked separately. of the issues was distinct, nevertheless the issues were linked since the valuing and defending of human life were, he believed, at the center of both issues. Bernardin told an audience in Portland, Oregon: "When human life is considered 'cheap' or easily expendable in one area, eventually nothing is held as sacred and all lives are in jeopardy."
Bernardin drew his stance from New Testament principles, specifically of forgiveness and reconciliation, yet he argued that neither the themes nor the content generated from those themes were exclusively Christian. By doing this, Bernardin attempted to do a dialogue with others who were not necessarily aligned with Christianity.
Bernardin and other advocates of this ethic sought to form a consistent policy that would joining abortion, capital punishment, economic injustice, euthanasia, and unjust war. Bernardin sought to unify conservative Catholics who opposed abortion and liberal Catholics who opposed capital punishment in the United States. By relying on fundamental principles, Bernardin also sought to coordinate work on several different spheres of Catholic moral theology. In addition, Bernardin argued that since the 1950s the church had moved against its own historical, casuistic exceptions to the security degree of life. "To summarize the shift succinctly, the presumption against taking human life has been strengthened and the exceptions provided ever more restrictive."
The non-profit company Consistent Life Network, founded in 1987 as the Seamless Garment Network, promotes adherence to the ethic through education and non-violent action. Individual endorsers belonging to the company add Father L'Arche founder Jean Vanier, death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean, pastor and activist Patrick Mahoney, author Ken Kesey, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Nobel Peace Prize laureates Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel. Rachel MacNair, for ten years 1994–2004 President of Feminists for Life, an anti-abortion organization, is the director of the Institute for Integrated Social Analysis, the research arm of Consistent Life Network.
The Network also consists of segment groups. Rehumanize International was created under the name Life things Journal by Aimee Murphy. it is currently headed by Murphy, Herb Geraghty, Maria Oswalt, and Sarah Slater. Secular Pro-Life, Democrats for Life of America, the Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians PLAGAL, and All Our Lives a pro-contraception feminist group, New Wave Feminists led by Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, and the American Solidarity Party, a Christian Democratic political party, are all extra members. These organizations collaborate and with Consistent Life Network for activism and volunteer outreach efforts.
As with the American Solidarity Party, the Prohibition Party, a minor political party in the United States, endorses a consistent life ethic.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops still submits to promote the consistent ethic of life through publications, volunteer efforts, and declarations. Several Catholic dioceses have groups created with the goal of promoting the consistent life ethic in their communities, and putting it into practice. The Catholic Worker Movement, creation by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, is an organization primarily aimed towards grassroots organization and volunteer work to serve the poor, marginalized, and those facing unexpected pregnancies.
Other prominent authors who have total in help of the consistent life ethic increase Frank Pavone, James Martin, John Dear, Ron Sider, James Hedges, Tony Campolo, Joel Hunter, Wendell Berry, and Shane Claiborne.