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AnetaGawkowska
remindusofthegiftedwayofourhumancondition.Afterall,ourvery
lives,togetherwiththeirmanyaspects,constitutethefundamentalgifts
forus,andourhumandignityisalsogiveninordertobelaterrecognized
andrespectedratherthansociallycreated.
Wemaythussaythateverychildremindsthesocietythattheworld
itself,includinghumansandlifeitself,isfundamentallygiven.Inthe
wordsofJohnPaulIIwecanfindanexampleofsimilarexpressionofthe
giftedcharacterofspousalandparentallove:“Ingivingorigintoanew
life,parentsrecognizethatthechild,“asthefruitoftheirmutualgiftof
love,is,inturn,agiftforbothofthem,agiftwhichflowsfromthem.”9
Connectedwiththefactofourgiftednatureistheconsequenceofthe
waywebecomeactualizedbyacceptingandpresentinggifts,including
themostimportantgiftofourpersonsinrelationstoothers.Ifwedeprive
thechildofthestatusofthegift,wewillalsodeprivethesocietyofaclear
signofgiftednessasthenatureofour(socialandpersonal)existence.Los-
inggiftednessfromourperspectiveandconsciousnessmightcausenot
onlythelackofgratitudeandsolidarity
,asSandelnotes,butalsothe
lossoftouchwithrealityandincreaseoftheillegitimateattitudeofpride
takeninthesupposedlysocialself-constructionistactivity
.Ipurposefully
usetheadjective“social”becauseanindividualiswithinthisframework
producedbythesocialdesign,thatisbyothers,soheorsheisnotcreat-
inghim-orherself,buttheautonomyispracticedonthepartofsociety
,
inthiscaserepresentedbytheparentsandvariouskindsofsocialpressure
contestingtheacceptanceofwhatisgiveninachild,whilepushingfor
genetic“improvement”ofachild.
Societybroadlyunderstoodthusseemstobetheagentconsidering
itselflegitimatetoplanandproducechildrenaccordingtoitsdesign,
whilethetraditionallyunderstoodautonomyanddignityofachildmay
notbeprotected,ifsuchanoutlookgetssocialacceptance.Asimilaratti-
tudetowardschildrenisvisiblealreadyincasesofinvitrofertilization:
possibleparentsclaimittobetheirrighttohaveandproduceachild
withouttheregardforthelimitsofnaturewhichinthiscaseprotect
thechildrenfrommanipulatingonthembyartificialmeans.Oneofthe
so-calledNewFeminists,10MicheleM.Schumacher,writesthatthisview
of“arighttoachild”isalsovisibleinclaimsofhomosexualcouplescon-
9
JoHNPaUlII:Encyclical“Evangeliumvitae,”no.92.Thecitationinsidecomes
from:JoHNPaUlII:AddresstoParticipantsintheSeventhSymposiumofEuropeanBishops,
onthethemeof“ContemporaryAttitudestowardsLifeandDeath:aChallengeforEvange-
lization”(October17,1989),No.5:InsegnamentiXII,2(1989),945.
10
Iusecapitallettersinthename“NewFeminism”inordertodiferentiatethis
kindfromothernewfeminismsinhistoryandtorefertothespecificstreamoffeminism
inspiredbyCatholictheologyofwomanasoferedbyJohnPaulII.