The CatholicVote.org Video Sends the Wrong Pro-Life Message

Alright, since I'm on a pro-life blog kick, let me get out one or two more posts on the subject...

CatholicVote.org has put out a compelling pro-life video.

Tools like this are a powerful way to put our pro-life arguments into narrative form. Unfortunately, I think this video inadvertently gives the wrong justification for the pro-life message. Watch it and then ask the following question: "According to this video, what is the grounds for human value?" The video mistakenly communicates that human life is valuable merely in virtue of its instrumental value.

What's instrumental value? Something that has instrumental value is only valuable in that it leads to something else that has intrinsic value. A classic example of something that has instrumental value is money. Money itself is not valuable, but it's valuable in that it can get something that has intrinsic value. Money might get you happiness. Money might get you pleasure. Money might get you friendship. Money might buy you mercy. In other words, the money has value in that it leads to something else that is valuable in itself. This is very important because something that has instrumental value is valuable in a very tenuous way.

But what if President Obama never reached the presidency? Indeed, what if his life was filled with hardships that he had trouble overcoming? What if he never went to college? What if he never found success in politics? What if he struggled with homelessness? Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Would he not still be a valuable human being, with the fundamental right to life and worthy of protection? Yes, because the pro-life argument is that human beings have intrinsic value.

Intrinsic value is something that has value in itself. The value or worth that it has is inherent in its very existence. For example, love is something that most people would consider has intrinsic value. Love is something that is valuable in itself. Health is something that is valuable in itself. Happiness is something that has intrinsic value. Mercy or virtues or dozens of things are ends in themselves and have value. That's intrinsic value.

You see, it's not the potential in a human being that makes him valuable. He's valuable in virtue of the kind of thing he is. Human beings are valuable precisely because they are humans beings, created in God's image.

Comments

Tue, 02/03/2009 - 20:25 — TK

Brett,
I think you're right. I'm guessing the writers of the video didn't intend to communicate the instrumental value message, but many who watch it will probably come away thinking that "think of the Einsteins we've already aborted" is the keystone of pro-life argumentation, when it just isn't. Thankfully, the video doesn't say this is the best (or only) reason to be pro-life, but because commercial airtime is money, especially for the Superbowl, we expect these sorts of ads to bring the best arguments for a view to the fore.

Wed, 02/04/2009 - 05:00 — Sean McGowan

That's a very good point that I never thought of. I'm glad you caught that for us. This really demonstrates the importance of careful thinking.