Abortion and Euthanasia in The Roman Catholic Church.
Abortion and Euthanasia
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Human life is sacred. Explain how this teaching influences its attitude to abortion and euthanasia, showing that you understand other points of view. (You should refer to the Bible, to the thinking/writing of Christians and Roman Catholic tradition to illustrate and support what you say).
"The greatest gift of God, I would think is the gift of life. The greatest sin of man, it would seem would be to return that gift, ungratefully and unopened" John Powell in the Silent Holocaust
Christians believe that Human life is sacred. In today's society many practices undermine this teaching daily, through the likes of contraception, abortion, bullying, terrorism, war, euthanasia and drugs etc...
You only have to look at recent atrocities in the United States or the increase in advertisements for contraception, to see examples of such practices.
From all of the above you need to ask yourselves why, in fact, do Christians believe human life is sacred? Well you get your answer from various Old Testament teachings one of the first examples, is in the 10 commandments Moses received from God, the fifth one being "Thou shall not kill".
New Testament teachings are for example 1 Corinthians 16:17 "I am happy about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus; they have made up for your absence" this quote shows the happiness shown for everyone and anyone. Every miracle story in the bible shows Gods love for all human life, all were life healing.
When the bible was written, the practices of abortion and euthanasia were not widely available. We must look behind the words of these teachings to the spirit of them and apply them today for example, New Testament Luke 12:6-7 "Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by God."
Euthanasia is the intentional ending of a life with the purpose of relieving suffering. Euthanasia can be voluntary (at the request of the individual) or involuntary, (without the consent of the individual). To Christians "all life is sacred and a gift from God" (genesis 1:27). Also they believe that God alone has the right to take life:
"I was born with nothing and I will die with nothing. The Lord gave and now he has taken away" Job 1:21.
In the New Testament the writers encourage the Christians to look at suffering in a positive way, "Trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God's approval, and his approval creates hope." Romans 5:3-4
The Presbyterian Church chooses to emphasis care for the dying as opposed to practising euthanasia. The church of Ireland believes that no one has the right to take away the right to life, but they also point out that if to continue the treatment of a patient is futile or hopeless, then it's not considered wrong to withhold that treatment. The Catholic Church condemns euthanasia 'morally unacceptable'.
In Holland euthanasia isn't illegal, but is only acceptable under certain guidelines; the request may come only from the patient and must be entirely free and voluntary. The patient's request must be well considered durable and persistent. The patient must not be experiencing intolerable (not necessarily physical) suffering, with no prospect of improvement. There are no open supporters of involuntary euthanasia, though supporters of voluntary euthanasia argue that it is a humane act as it prevents a dying person from losing their dignity through suffering and it can also be a relief to families, they also say that ...
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In Holland euthanasia isn't illegal, but is only acceptable under certain guidelines; the request may come only from the patient and must be entirely free and voluntary. The patient's request must be well considered durable and persistent. The patient must not be experiencing intolerable (not necessarily physical) suffering, with no prospect of improvement. There are no open supporters of involuntary euthanasia, though supporters of voluntary euthanasia argue that it is a humane act as it prevents a dying person from losing their dignity through suffering and it can also be a relief to families, they also say that it is an abuse of human rights to deny a person control over his or her own life. People who oppose euthanasia argue that doctors should preserve life not destroy it under the Hippocratic oath, and that euthanasia presents several dangers to society. If the idea that 'a life is no longer worth living' is accepted, we are saying that those who are ill or disabled are of less value than others. A patient might request euthanasia simply because they are depressed or put under pressure by relatives. It must be remembered that doctors are not always correct in their diagnosis. A person can recover even after being told they have only a short time to live.
Traditional Christian teaching places the highest value on human life, and therefore condemns abortion. One of the earliest Christian writings outside the New Testament the Didache says this: "You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder the infant already born." Views on abortion have changed today compared to the teachings in the bible, mainly because; Christians are often influenced by the society around them as well as by their faith. There has been an increasing feminist influence in American and Western European Christianity since the 1960's. Some Christian denominations today do not give very clear teaching on abortion. Each denomination has it's own view. The Church of England said that the foetus is to be specially respected and protected; nonetheless the life of the foetus is not absolutely sacrosanct if it endangers the life of the mother. The Church of Scotland came to the conclusion that abortion has no moral justification and represents the unwarranted destruction of human life that is made in the image of God, but it was careful to say that this was only in the great majority of cases. The general view of the Protestant church is that abortion is undesirable but that it may be acceptable under some circumstances. The Roman Catholic teaching can be explained in the declaration on procured abortion (1974), because it did three important things:
It re-stated the traditional teaching of the church, and pointed out as well that everybody (not just Christians) should have proper respect for human life and human rights.
It said that the movement for women's rights is a good thing when it frees women from injustice, but that this cannot be made an excuse for abortion, which denies to another person the fundamental right to life. It explained that although abortion was the killing of an unborn child, the reasons why people ask for abortions are sometimes very serious: they are the product of many sorrows and miseries. The declaration said that every man and woman with feeling, and certainly every Christian, must be ready to do what he can to remedy them.
Anti abortionists believe that an embryo is a cluster of cells and has the potential to be a human being, not an actual person. Each woman should have the right to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes. Abortion should be legal in order to prevent dangerous and unhygienic 'back-street' abortions. An expectant mother may realise that the task of raising a child would be unbearable, and so it would be better if she did not have it. Abortion should be available for women suffering under extreme circumstances, for example, if a woman becomes pregnant after being raped, or if the mother's life is at risk, she should not have to bear the child.
Pro abortionists believe that a human being exists from the moment of conception. This means that the single cell formed at contraception has the potential to develop through all stages of the human lifespan. All human life is of equal value - even a foetus or embryo has rights. Less than one per cent of abortions are carried out solely to protect the mother. The anxiety a mother experiences during pregnancy is not a reliable indicator of how she will feel once the baby is born. With help and support she may be able to cope. Abortion is always evil therefore should always be forbidden.
There are a number of groups that campaign for a change in the abortion laws to bring the number of abortions down or to stop them altogether. Their members include Christians (Catholic and Protestant), together with members of other religions, and of none. The most important of these groups in the U.K are: LIFE and the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC)
LIFE concentrates it's efforts on providing women with counselling and support for women who are pregnant or think thy might be. This is often done through parish groups. SPUC campaigns heavily for changes to the law by lobbying politicians, raising petitions and activity in political parties and trade unions. Both SPUC and LIFE provide educational material for use in schools and churches.
After taking in all of the above information I had to ask myself two questions, does making something legal make it right? And the Catholic Church doesn't agree, do I?
On the first question, I don't believe that just because something is legal it is right, in the case of abortion, the fact that abortion is legal under the abortion act, still does not take away from the fact that the foetus inside of the womb, no matter how small, still will have to potential to become a human being, with independent thought. We were all embryos at one point, and if someone took away your right to live, to have a chance at living, because "it didn't fit in with their lifestyle" or another pathetic excuse, how would you feel? Though in some extreme circumstances a difficult decision may have to be made, I still believe that abortion is morally wrong, which brings me on to the answer of the next question, I also don't agree, but on some matters such as contraception, I feel that it should not be condemned by the Catholic Church, because it is preventing putting people into the situations where they might have to make a decision on abortion, but on the other hand, it has the potential to stop the procreation of the human race and prevent the birth of a child.
On euthanasia I feel that although the idea of it is wrong, there are some circumstances in which I feel euthanasia would be appropriate, for instance a critically ill patient. I agree with Holland's policy, but still think that it could be abused, in this case I would say that then I would disagree. So yes, human life is sacred and should not be destroyed, in any other way than, naturally.
Evaluation
"God gives life and only God can take it away."
Do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer, showing you have considered more than one point of view.
The Catholic Church teaches that human life is sacred, though in our daily lives sometimes we don't show it. For example, people getting bullied in school, drug pushers and child abusers are all part of today's society. On the other hand though, there are many people who dedicate their lives to safe guarding human life such examples are firemen, nurses and doctors etc. Maybe the differences in our society reflect the different opinions on the issue that God gave us life as a gift and therefore only he can take it away. There are a large number of people who believe that God gave man the mission of safeguarding life in Genesis. He made us in his image and likeness - a true sign of the enormity of the gift, which he bestowed on us. Many Christians firmly believe that we each have a responsibility to act as 'stewards' of life, to safe guard it, to protect it from all harm. Human life is a very precious gift, which should not be abused. To put what was said in the past in to the context of the present, if someone returned a gift to you that you gave them, you might feel hurt or offended; think then of how often God's gifts are returned to him, unopened, in the case of abortion, or some might argue in the case of euthanasia that its old or broken and so now is useless, only fit to be thrown out. This undermines Jesus' teachings - by healing people e.g. the story of the 10 lepers that Jesus healed, only one came back to thank him, he illustrated that the sick should be cared for, and he spoke highly of children.
On the other hand, God gave us the gift of free will - the freedom to make our own choices and decisions. If we do not use this gift, then we are simply like robots, living a life, which has already been planned for us - i.e. Predestination or fate. When God gave us the gift of life alongside it he gave us an equally great gift - the right and the freedom to choose how we live or fulfil it. Surely then it is up to the individual to do as they wish. Genesis tells us that human beings are given the gift of free will therefore we must make our own choices and decisions based upon our own knowledge and judgement, if we didn't use this gift we would be like robots. Without free will the essence of life, uniqueness and individuality would be worthless. The gift of free will - gives everyone of us, regardless or prejudices or discriminations, the right to make our own decisions in life, and take the consequences of those decisions
After looking at both sides of the argument I've decided that I agree "God gives life so only God can take it away". Issues such as the taking of life (by various forms) are major decisions to make and require our moral and spiritual judgement, and guidance. Therefore though we all have the gift of free will, we are always guided by God. He gives life and he can take it away.
Henry Deazley
