Leo and the Legacy of the Seamless Garment The Seamless Garment ideology has pervaded the pro-life community over the past decades. It has accompanied the rise of the secular pro-life movement, eschewing religious arguments against abortion and belittling those who admit that humans are unable to defeat attacks on life without the help of God. The term, “Seamless Garment”, takes its cue for a passage in the Gospel of John, which mentions that the soldiers cast lots for Christ’s tunic as it was “without seam, woven from the top throughout.” (John 19:23-24). Its first use is credited to the Catholic pacifist, Eileen Egan and became part of the “consistent life ethic” philosophy that began to permeate the pro-life community during the 1970’s.
The condemnation of abortion is an infallible doctrine of the Catholic Church equal in authority to all the Marian dogmas and the founding of the Catholic Church by Christ. Abortion can never be compared to the death penalty or to immigrant status. The Pope does not know Catholic theology.
All rights stand on the foundation of the right to life. "Rights" that another (with impunity) can take away by a simple decision to kill you are no rights at all.