“ The starting-point that every person is created by God and offered Christ’s salvation. Killing an innocent person is never acceptable, whether he or she be an embryo, foetus, infant, adult, old person or someone who is dying. Any attempt on an innocent person’s life is opposing God’s love for that person.
God calls human beings to preserve their lives and to live as Christians (except when they may have to sacrifice themselves for others). So suicide and euthanasia are wrong. Suicide denies that we have duties to others in society, to our neighbours. It is different from self-sacrifice, which is directed towards other people.
People who commit suicide are always responsible for their actions. Suffering can lead people to make mistakes, not just in the case of suicide but also in asking for euthanasia. It is best to understand this as a crying out for love and for help. Circumstances like long illness and old age can actually help people to face death, even though death is frightening.”
Branching out into four different categories, euthanasia isn’t as black and white as the word itself may appear. The word euthanasia stems from a Greek word, which means “good death” or “dying well”. It means ‘ending a person’s life painlessly as an act of kindness especially in a case of incurable and painful illness’. However euthanasia is split into four main groups; active euthanasia, compulsory euthanasia, voluntary euthanasia and passive euthanasia.
*- Commonly known as suicide, active euthanasia is the taking of one’s own life.
*- Compulsory euthanasia is where a decision is made that a person should die, and their life is taken without their consent.
*- Sometimes known as mercy killing, voluntary euthanasia is when a person chooses to end their life in a dignified way.
*- Passive euthanasia is when a person is not helped to die, but their life is not prolonged in any way using technology or drugs.
Keeping these subjects in mind, the Roman Catholic Church fully condemns suicide:
*- God created us and Jesus’ death saved us. Suicide throws God’s gift back in his face. It is a rejection of all God has done for us.
*- We are not given complete charge over our own lives. God loves us and cares for us-he is in charge at the end. (Suicide therefore rejects this sovereignty of God.)
*- On of the Ten Commandments is ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ This applies to suicide as well
*- Despair, which leads to suicide, is denial of hope. Despair says, “This is the end: there is nothing else.” It is denial of God
*- Christianity teaches the suicide is wrong. But the days are gone when suicides were denied a Christian burial. There is more understanding today about mental illness. And suicide is not always the answer.
Abortion is plain and simply the premature expulsion of the foetus from the womb. However there are two methods in which this transaction can be performed; the natural method, i.e. a miscarriage and the unnatural method, i.e. an operation which causes the foetus to be deliberately aborted. Before 1967, abortion was illegal in England, although thousands of back street abortions (usually involving a wire hanger) were carried out. As a result, many women died and thousands were permanently injured. The law clearly had to be changed – and was. Nowadays, abortions do take place, however the women do have to go through not only physical but also mental examinations. Despite this, the Catholic Church still preaches that all forms of unnatural abortion are wrong.
Christians are divided on the issue of abortion, because some believe that because God created life, no one ever has the right to destroy it; “Know that the Lord, He is God; It is he who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people and the sheep of his pastures” (Psalm 100:3). Whilst others believe that there are times when a woman’s circumstances should be treated sympathetically and that abortion may be a “necessary evil”, i.e. if a woman is raped or is part of some kind of activity involving incest and she becomes pregnant, is abortion acceptable in her case? You see then it becomes a widely arguable discussion. With Christian groups such as the Anglicans and Methodists, who believe a human beings life begins when a baby has a chance of surviving independently of its mother, they believe that abortion is justifiable, however is an evil that should be avoided if at all possible. However there are Christian organizations, such as ‘Christians for Free Choice’ who believe that the situation is entirely up to woman and the decision to continue a pregnancy should not be forced on any woman, concluding to the point that the rights of the woman override the rights of her unborn child.
Opposed to that statement, are other non-Catholic organizations such as ‘Save the Unborn Child’ (Life), who believe that the unborn child is in existence from the moment of conception and is obligated the right to live, and the action of a termination is infanticide (child killing). Concurring with them is Pope John Paul II, who stated, “I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral. This doctrine, based upon that unwritten law which man, in the light of reason, finds in his own heart, is reaffirmed by Sacred Scripture, transmitted by the Tradition of the Church and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium.”
There are many similar organizations who say either similar, the opposite, or the same thing. There are organizations such as S.P.U.C (Society for the Protection of Unborn Children), who believe abortion is wrong, however actively campaign for the law to be changed to allow abortion only in cases where the mother’s life is at risk. Nonetheless, the Catholic teachings still remains that unnatural methods of abortion is wrong. Referring to the Bible, which indirectly constructs references to abortion, it does however have a lot to say about life. “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:15-16)
Sharing similar comparisons with S.P.U.C, the Muslim religion believes that, all things are in harmony with nature and the best way to live is to support this harmony. Everyone has a responsibility for the Earth and the people in it, and this includes the elderly, children and the unborn. However, the Qur’an says that a woman should not be treated unfairly because of her child (Surah 2:223) and some Muslims take this to mean that abortion can take place if the health of the mother is in danger. However also bearing similarities with Catholic Church, the Muslims believe that all human life is sacred because it is a gift from Allah. They must submit to the will of Allah by protecting life, not destroying it.
Alike with abortion, euthanasia too becomes a widely arguable matter for both Christians and non-Christians. Some Christians believe that euthanasia is understandable in some cases, like when a person has reached a certain phase in their lives where they feel it is no longerP½Íøé~
¬‡{n believes in a lot of things but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I am obligated to believe those exact same things. My answer obviously stems from the Catholic Church’s teachings, because I sternly disagree that a woman should be granted the opportunity/privilege to abort her baby, for solely personal reasons. You see, if you know that you don’t want a baby at a certain time in your life, or you know that you can’t support the child for the years to come, simply don’t engage in sexual activities. The idea that abortions will be on demand and that people can have casual sex and see abortions as a contraception sickens me. Which leads me on to my other point, I do however agree to contraception, which is another thing the Catholic Church disagrees with. I do believe that the prevention of conception ever taking place is some thing satisfactory, but I don’t believe that this is a good way of promoting casual however safe sex. A matter, which is of my own conscience.
I do believe that life begins at the moment of conception, and therefore that must mean that I agree with murder; for I do believe that in certain cases abortion is right. Even though I don’t agree with all cases of murder I do agree to some, nonetheless it doesn’t make it any more right that I consent to murder. I can fully understand both sides of the argument about abortion and euthanasia, and empathise with the frustration that is brought about by discussing this topic. My belief’s state that God did give life, however in an ideal world only God should be the taker of life, however seeing that this is not the case in our ‘modern society’ doesn’t it make it anymore more right? Because our society has become ‘comfortable’ with the issues that occur in modern day life, it doesn’t mean that they have to like it. Concluding this assignment on the point that the Lord Is God, and he is almighty, I am left to conclude that only he can decide on what is wrong and what is right, and only he will be the one for whom we stand in front of the day of judgement.
Written by:
Tyrone Sinclair
