But more than anything else,at work here is the certainty that the life which parents transmit has its originsin God. so shall your descendants be' ( Gn 15,5). Ps Ps 128,3-4).This belief is also based on Israel's awareness of being the people of theCovenant, called to increase in accordance with the promise made to Abraham:'Look towards heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. In the Old Testament, sterility is dreaded as a curse,while numerous offspring are viewed as a blessing: 'Sons are a heritagefrom the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward' ( Ps 127,3 cf. The word of God frequently repeats the call to show careand respect, above all where life is undermined by sickness and old age.Although there are no direct and explicit calls to protect human life at itsvery beginning, specifically life not yet born, and life nearing its end, thiscan easily be explained by the fact that the mere possibility of harming,attacking, or actually denying life in these circumstances is completelyforeign to the religious and cultural way of thinking of the People of God. 'For you formed my inmost being': the dignity of the unborn child ( Ps 139,13)Д¤4 Human life finds itself mostvulnerable when it enters the world and when it leaves the realm of time toembark upon eternity.

Inmost being meaning