St. John Paul II’s guide to building a culture of life

While abolishing laws that permit abortion is a praiseworthy goal, St. John Paul II believed you needed to go further and create an entire "culture of life."

In fact, he wrote an entire document, Evangelium Vitae, that addressed many of the issues surrounding abortion.

It's a document that is worth reading in its entirety, but here are a few highlights on how the Church and state can build a culture of life.

"At the first stage of life, centers for natural methods of regulating fertility should be promoted as a valuable help to responsible parenthood, in which all individuals, and in the first place the child, are recognized and respected in their own right, and where every decision is guided by the ideal of the sincere gift of self."

"Marriage and family counseling agencies by their specific work of guidance and prevention, carried out in accordance with an anthropology consistent with the Christian vision of the person, of the couple and of sexuality, also offer valuable help in rediscovering the meaning of love and life, and in supporting and accompanying every family in its mission as the 'sanctuary of life.'"

"Newborn life is also served by centers of assistance and homes or centers where new life receives a welcome. Thanks to the work of such centers, many unmarried mothers and couples in difficulty discover new hope and find assistance and support in overcoming hardship and the fear of accepting a newly conceived life or life which has just come into the world."

"A particularly significant expression of solidarity between families is a willingness to adopt or take in children abandoned by their parents or in situations of serious hardship. True parental love is ready to go beyond the bonds of flesh and blood in order to accept children from other families, offering them whatever is necessary for their well-being and full development. Among the various forms of adoption, consideration should be given to adoption-at-a-distance, preferable in cases where the only reason for giving up the child is the extreme poverty of the child's family. Through this type of adoption, parents are given the help needed to support and raise their children, without their being uprooted from their natural environment."

There are many other aspects to building a culture of life and it's important to focus on all pillars, so that every woman and child can feel welcomed and supported by the Church.