The pope thanked the Movimento per la Vita, one of Italy's leading political pro-life groups, for their work, urging them to continue "with courage and love" for life "in all its phases."

"It is therefore necessary to reiterate the strongest opposition to any direct attack on life, especially innocent and defenseless, and her unborn child in the womb is the innocent par excellence," the pope told the gathering of politicians and pro-life activists at the Vatican today.

"If you look at life as something that is consumed," the pope said, "it will also be something that sooner or later you can throw away, with abortion to begin with."

Human life, however, is "a gift from God" and if it is accepted as such, "then you have before you a valuable and intangible asset, to be protected by all means and not to be discarded."

In a different tack from previous popes, Pope Francis took the opportunity to link the pro-life message of the Church to his critique of the global economy, a major theme of this pontificate. "This economy kills. It considers the human being in himself as a commodity; a commodity that you can use and then throw away." He added, quoting his own recent document Evangelii Gaudium, "We started the culture of 'waste' that, indeed, is promoted" through abortion in which "even life is discarded."

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