Another organization with the same view as the Roman Catholic Church is SPUC. SPUC (Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child) aims to ‘defend and promote the existence and value of human life from the moment of conception’ it is a non-religious pro-life organization. It is also concerned about the welfare of mothers during pregnancy and that of the child.
The Church of England believes that the foetus is God given life and is to be ‘nurtured, supported and protected.’ The mother is to be shown compassion, and her feelings and wishes are to be recognized. Abortions are to be carried out early in pregnancy. They believe that the number of abortions should be cut and more support should be given to pregnant mums.
Some Christians that reject abortion support alternatives. If the baby is not wanted then it can be put up for adoption. In addition, some Christians will never accept abortion because they believe it is murder. Some more alternatives to Abortion would be seeking help from different organizations such as Social Services, NSPCC and Life. They would help take care of the baby, and assist in filling out benefit forms for baby equipment, believing in a pro-choice way of life where Christians have free will.
Euthanasia is another widely discussed controversial topic where a patient who is dying or in intolerable pain asks someone to help him or her to die to avoid any further suffering. The Roman Catholic Church believes that like Abortion it is very wrong. Life is sacred and euthanasia promotes a ‘profound change in the way life and relationships’ they believe that it is right to ease the suffering of the terminally ill. If a side effect is that he will ultimately die it is justly rightful.
The Synod on behalf of the Church of England reiterates that the rights of humans are to be valued. 1n 1993 the Synod published a report that stated that a person has a right to refuse treatment but he or she does not have a right in law to die at a time of his choosing. Quaker guidance states ‘we do not state down rules, we offer a process for working out the decision that is right for each individual.’
Some Christians say that the Bible does not state that a person must be kept alive at any cost. They would state that Jesus showed compassion, and voluntary euthanasia is just that. The patient wants to die with dignity and believe that he or she has that right. The patient may fear the loss of bodily functions and having everyone to do everything for them.
There are many alternatives for euthanasia. One alternative for euthanasia is a hospice. This is a hospital for terminally ill where experts take care of the people and help them to enjoy life as much as they possibly can until they pass away. The Roman Catholic Church has set up some hospices because they have such strong beliefs about euthanasia and want to provide another option. By setting up hospices, one may argue that it reduces the need for euthanasia.
Christians actively help in the community and have a pivotal role to educate people about abortion and euthanasia. Some denominations place a higher value on the sanctity of human life that compassion for the individual and some are more absolute than others are. Some judge each case individually e.g. Quakers, whilst Roman Catholics seek to guide all.