A culture of life describes a way of life based on the belief that human life at all stages from conception through natural death is sacred. It opposes the destruction of human life at any stage, including abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment (also known as the death penalty), studies and medicines involving embryonic stem cells, and contraception. It also promotes policies that "lift up the human spirit with compassion and love." The term originated in moral theology, especially that of the Catholic Church, and was popularly championed by Pope John Paul II; it has been widely used by religious leaders in evangelical Christianity as well. The philosophy of such a culture is a consistent life ethic. In the United States, secular politicians such as George W. Bush and Kanye West have also used the phrase. In 2004, the Republican Party included a plank in their platform for "Promoting a Culture of Life". Catholic Church The expression "culture of life" entered popular parlance from Pope John Paul II in the 1990s. He used the term in his 1991 encyclical Centesimus annus, and then more fully expanded upon it in the 1995 encyclical Evangelium vitae ("Gospel of Life"): In the encyclical, the pope noted that even those who were not Catholic "can appreciate the intrinsic value of human life." He also issued "a pressing appeal addressed to each and every person, in the name of God: Respect, protect, love, and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness!" John Paul linked this to Catholic teaching, which believes every person is created in the image and likeness of God and is intimately loved by God. The Church, then, must build a culture of life that values each person as a person, not for what they own, do, or produce. It must also protect every human life, especially those that are threatened or weak. The doctrine had foundations in earlier church teaching such as Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae, which articulated the Church's position defending life from conception to natural death, disapproving medical procedures harming an unborn fetus, which the Church holds to be a person with an inviolable right to life. Catholic hospitals and medical institutions will not perform such procedures. Following the promulgation of Evangelium vitae, advocates of a culture of life founded the Culture of Life Foundation in the