Abortion, a christians view.

Catholic teachings on the creation of life are based on the idea of Natural Law. St Thomas Aquinas believed that God created the world for a purpose. Roman Catholics base their moral teachings around this idea. Aquinas taught Catholics, that as God created man, all of man’s actions should follow in God’s plan for creation. The main idea of natural law is that intentions are important. So, based on this abortion is wrong.

 

As far back as 70 CE the Catholic Church argued against the idea of abortions. Thus: “You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder the infant already born (infanticide).”

The Roman Catholic Church expresses the strongest objection of any Christian Church on abortion. The Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church says: “God, the Lord of Life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life … Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.”

The Protestant Churches accept abortion when the life of the mother is in danger as a result of her being pregnant.

The Roman Catholic Church maintains the strongest objection to all unnatural forms of birth control and abortion. It teaches that abortion denies the most fundamental of all human rights, the right to exist. The destruction of any foetus amounts to murder.

The Catholic Church teaches that life starts at the moment of conception and this is a main reason for refusing abortion. Another key factor is , which Catholics believe, shows that the natural consequence of a woman becoming pregnant is to give birth.

Natural Law claims that everyone has a natural ‘right to life.’ A woman’s ‘right to life’ comes before her ‘right to choose.’ People in favour of abortion argue that a woman should have the right to choose over her own life.

It is argued that abortion denies a baby the most fundamental human right of all – the right to life. This life, the Church teaches, begins the moment that a baby is conceived. The destruction of the foetus in the womb is considered to be the same as murder. So important is the life of the unborn baby that, if there is a choice, the life of the baby should be saved ahead of that of the mother. The Catholic Church supports those organisations – such as LIFE and SPUC (Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child) – which oppose abortion in all circumstances.

Due to all this abortion can never be allowed for Catholics. Although Catholics refuse to accept abortion as a suitable solution to 'unwanted' pregnancies, they do recognize that there might be a time when an abortion occurs as a result of another medical issue. For example, if the mother needed a life-saving operation, which could potentially terminate the pregnancy the Catholic Church would allow this under the doctrine of double effect. This is because the first intention is to save the life of the mother rather than to terminate the pregnancy.

The Doctrine of Double Effect, the idea that if a woman can do an action to achieve one effect, knowing that it will produce another then the woman cannot be blamed for the second effect occurring.

If a mother cannot cope with having a child, then, according to the Catholic Church she should put the child up for adoption. Thus: “Let me look after your children in time of need.” (Mother Teresa, 1983) However, though the Catholic teaching on abortion focus’ on the issue of abortion being a form of murder, what of the rights of the mother? Would many women be able to cope with having the child if they were raped? Is this not lacking in compassion? So does this not go against the teachings of Jesus? Moreover, many women develop a strong bond with a child after birth. Would women, who are in this position, find it plausible to ‘give up’ there child for adoption? Would it not be better and more compassionate, causing less emotional damage to the mother, to allow her to have an abortion before a ‘maternal bond’ has developed.

Furthermore, in some Catholic counties, such as Ireland, where abortion is illegal, this can lead to more pain and suffering. In Ireland there are, according to the Guardian (23rd September, 1996) over 30,000 women who come to the U.K each year to have an abortion. Moreover, by banning abortions this can lead to an increase in ‘Back Street Abortions.’ This is where abortions are carried out in unclean and unsafe medical conditions. Thus increasing the pain and suffering, so are the Catholic teachings practical, realistic and safe?    

The Protestant Church is reluctant to take such a hard line as Catholics do in the abortion debate. It accepts that there are certain situations when abortion is an unavoidable consequence of deciding between the ‘lesser of two evils’ (E.G., Accepting that a woman who becomes pregnant after being raped might want an abortion). Thus they generally advocate a form of Situation Ethics.

The Methodist Conference, 1976, declared that abortion is always an evil. However, single mothers should always be supported and encouraged to have their baby adopted if they choose not to keep it. The church recognizes that there are cases where abortion is the lesser of two evils: where the foetus is severely handicapped, the pregnancy is a result of rape or the health, either mentally or physically, of the mother is at risk.

“Our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve abortion. But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother, for who devastating damage may result from an unacceptable pregnancy.” 

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Methodists believe life is sacred because it is God-given. They also believe that the ability to decide when and whether individuals will be born is an ‘awesome power’. Thus the gift of life is a precious thing and should be treated with respect. However, it can be seen from the quote above that Methodists do believe that there are times when abortions may be necessary. This may be the case if the mother's emotional and/or physical well-being is at risk from her pregnancy. Yet, if an abortion is considered necessary then the church believes this should be done at the earliest possible stage.

The most common reasons why abortion is carried out are to preserve the life or health of the mother, to prevent a pregnancy brought on by rape, to prevent a child being born mentally or physically disabled or to prevent a birth because the mother is very young. It has been legal in Britain since 1967; this law allows a pregnancy to be terminated up until the 24th week as long as two doctors agree that the mother or the child is in some way at risk. The Church of England feelings towards abortion are similar to that of the government.

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) Jesus taught: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy’. This would suggest that Christians should do all they can to support women with unwanted pregnancies and not condemn them, as Jesus did not condemn the woman taken in adultery. Also the principle of love (agape) is an important consideration for Christians. Therefore, Christians must do all they can to support women in need and should not condemn or judge them. Christians believe in condemning the sin, but not the sinner.

Other forms of Christianity may regard the Catholic teachings to be a little harsh, lacking in compassion.

Methodists believe life is sacred because it is God-given. They also believe that the ability to decide when and whether individuals will be born is 'an awesome power'. Thus the gift of life is a precious thing and should be treated with respect.

Muslims regard abortion as wrong and haram (forbidden), but many accept that it may be permitted in certain cases.

Like Christian teachings, Muslim law does accept abortion in certain circumstances, for example, if continuing the pregnancy would put the mother's life in danger.

Muslim law holds different views on whether abortion should be allowed for any other reasons and at what stage of pregnancy it should be allowed. Most Muslims believe it should be carried out in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, others believe it should only be permitted in the first seven weeks of pregnancy.

However, all Muslims, including those who permit abortion in certain cases still regard abortion as wrong, but they do not regard it as a punishable offence. They agree that the more advanced the pregnancy, the more it is wrong.

A slightly more liberal opinion is that if, in the early stages of pregnancy it is found that the unborn baby suffers from an untreatable disease, that will cause suffering to the child, Muslims would say that abortion is allowed, only if the pregnancy is in its first 120 days old.

Similar to Christians, the majority of Muslims believe that a foetus in the womb should be treated as a human life, as they trust that life begins at the moment of conception.

Like the Bible, the Qur'an does not explicitly refer to abortion but offers guidance on related matters.

As well as Christianity, Islam allows abortion to save the life of the mother because it sees this as the lesser of two evils and there is a general principle in Muslim law of choosing the "lesser of two evils".

The Qur'an states this on the issue of abortion, "Whosoever has spared the life of a soul, it is as though he has spared the life of all people. Whosoever has killed a soul, it is as though he has murdered all of mankind." (Chapter 5, Verse 32)

Islam considers life as a sacred gift from God. There are two views to Islamic teachings; there are those who oppose all abortions, the right wing approach. Hence saying that no one is allowed to take or stop the life of anyone else except by way of justice or according to the Islamic law. Thus, the Holy Qur’an says: "Kill not your children for fear of want; it is We who provide sustenance for them as well as for you; for verily killing them is a great sin." (Chapter 17, Verse 31)

In Islam law killing any person is strongly condemned in the Qur’an. God has made life sacred. Killing the children is specifically condemned, as they are the helpless victims in every society. Therefore abortion is considered wrong.

The Qur'an states that a foetus should not be aborted just because the family believe that they can’t support the child, they should trust Allah to look after them. "Kill not your offspring for fear of poverty; it is We who provide for them and for you. Surely, killing them is a great sin." (Chapter 17, Verse 32)

"But Islam is also a religion of compassion, and if there are serious problems, God sometimes doesn't require his creatures to practice his law. So under some conditions--such as parents' poverty or overpopulation--then abortion is allowed."

(Los Angeles Times, December 29, 2000)

Like Christian beliefs, if the mother is a victim of rape or of incest, abortion is acceptable in the first 120 days of the pregnancy.

"I believe that the value of life is the same whether this embryo is the result of fornication with relatives or non-relatives or valid marriage. In Sharia life has the same value in all cases." (Sheikh M. A. Al-Salami, Third Symposium on Medical Jurisprudence)

Islam does not permit abortion where an unwanted pregnancy is the result of unforced adultery. It also forbids the termination of a pregnancy after the soul or 'Ruh' is given to the foetus, the main problem with this is when the soul is created. There are three main opinions; at 120 days, at 40 days or when there is voluntary movement of the foetus. 

 

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