Matthew Lewin        Page         

AQA RELIGIOUS STUDIES – SPECIFICATON A

COURSEWORK: OPTION 2B

In my coursework, I shall be exploring the topical issues of abortion and euthanasia.  I shall cover the various arguments for and against these subjects, and the church’s opinion.  The church says that every human life is important; an example of this is during the sacrament of baptism.  Baptism welcomes a child in to the church and forgives the sin inherited from the first humans.  This shows that children are viewed as very important in the church, despite their young age.  Parents and godparents are asked, during the baptism service, to raise the child in the way God intended until the child is old enough to accept his or her responsibilities as a Catholic Christian.  Married Catholics are given the possibility to create new life, which is why the Church condemns anything that prevents the creation of new life, such as contraception or abortion.

When people reach the end of their life, they are still considered just as important, no matter what their state of health is.  The Sacrament of the Sick allows people who are gravely sick, to have their sins forgiven before they die.  This can provide comfort to a dying person and allows them to die at peace.  Jesus proved that sick and dying people are important, when he healed sick people (such as Legion who was possessed by demons), and instructed his disciples to heal other people.  Also, the Church condemns euthanasia, which denies the sick and dying their right to life.

The Catholic Church believes that all human life is sacred, which is why it does not support abortion.  The church says that only God has the right to end a life, and that life begins at conception.  The church believes that abortion denies the right to exist and that there is no difference between abortion and murder.  The Bible states ‘Before you were born, I knew you.’  The Ten Commandments say ‘Respect your Mother and Father.’  Both of these quotes show that God values human life from the very beginning, to the very end.  In the past, the church has threatened to excommunicate anyone involved in abortion.  In recent years the church has formed a strong alliance with the Evangelist wing in the Protestant Churches to oppose abortion under any circumstances.  In Genesis, God commands ‘be fruitful and multiply.’  The Psalms claim that ‘Children are a heritage of God’.  God’s covenant of life, family and children rejects and condemns abortion.

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The church believes that Euthanasia is morally wrong, and that only God can end somebody’s life.  The Catholic Church claims that life is the most basic gift from a loving God – a gift over which we have stewardship, but not total control.  The Second Vatican Council declared ‘Euthanasia (is an) offence against life itself’.  It ‘poisons civilisation’ and that it ‘debases the perpetrators more than the victims and militate against the honour of the creator’.  The church teaches that ‘Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect’.  Also ‘Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to ...

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