Procured abortions are the complete opposite. These methods require assistance by trained doctors or specialists. Then medical phrasing of this is “When the growing baby is deliberately killed and removed from the womb.” There are two methods of procured abortion out of the five possible, which are most common.
Firstly there is suction. Suction (dilation and curettage) abortions are often done in the first trimester. The mother's cervix is dilated. Then, a curette (an instrument like a sharpened spoon) is used to scrape the uterus. A suction catheter is inserted to vacuum the parts of the child out of the mother's womb. Secondly there is extraction.
D & E (dilation and extraction) abortions are done between 12 and 16 weeks. Since the child is larger, the cervix must be dilated further. With a forceps, the abortionist reaches into the womb and grasps the limbs of the child, dismembering the body into small enough pieces to remove. The skull must be crushed before removing it. The placenta and smaller pieces of the child's body are suctioned out. The abortionist must identify all body parts to ensure that the womb is completely empty.
Religiously, abortion is frown upon from most denominations, mainly from catholiscism. The roman catolic views says that abortion is the ending of pregnancy before the birth and the Catholic Church would say that this is morally wrong. An Abortion results in the death of an embryo or foetus. Abortion, the Church says, destroys the lives of helpless, innocent children. By aborting these unborn infants, humans are hurting themselves and they are not allowing themselves to meet these new identities and unique personalities. The Church says that human life begins at the moment of conception. But people think and react very differently if they are involved within the process itself.
Emotionally, abortion is a big topic for women as they are affected directly with the issue. Women vary greatly in their emotional response to having an abortion. Research suggests that having an abortion does not lead to long-term emotional or psychological problems. However, some women can experience feelings of sadness or guilt after an abortion, and post-abortion counselling services are widely available for women suffering with this. But before the abortion even happens women can feel pressured and unsure about the procedure as they cannot handle the thought of killing a foetus which will later become a child.
Overall abortion is any death of a baby in the womb and its expulsion from the mother’s body. The effects being emotional and physical but in the whole there is more to this word then a simple definition. So in conclusion when you ask what is meant of the word you can say that it is to abort a potential life before it has started, medically or naturally.
B) What is the Roman Catholic view on abortion?
Abortion is the ending of pregnancy before the birth and the Roman Catholic Church would say that this is morally wrong. An Abortion results in the death of an embryo or foetus. Abortion, the Church says destroys the lives of helpless, innocent children. By aborting these unborn infants, humans are hurting themselves; they are not allowing themselves to meet these new identities and unique personalities. The Church teaches the human life begins at the moment of conception.
The Church says that human life begins when the woman's egg is fertilised by a male sperm. From that moment a unique life begins, independent of the life of the mother and father. The features that distinguish us from our parents - the colour of our eyes, the shape of our face - are all laid down in the genetic code that comes into existence then. Each new life that begins at this point is not a potential human being but a human being with potential.
But what does the bible say about abortion?
Despite the fact that the word abortion does not appear in the Bible, there remains a very clear and straightforward path upon which we can determine God's view of abortion. Since the Bible is explicit in its condiment of murder, if we can find evidence that the Bible views human life before birth to be just as valuable as human life after birth, then abortion is biblically condemned under the broader banner of murder.
But because of this view from the bible seeing abortion as murder then really the whole bible is full of it immediately saying that is does say no to abortion. Even though is does not say abortion directly certain passages and quotes from relevant stories in the bible can underline the basic condemning of abortion. For example Genesis 9:5 – “Murder is forbidden.”
In conclusion, Christians believe that abortion is wrong, because of their belief that the act of abortion is murdering an unborn baby according to Gods teachings and from passages and stories in the bible.
C) “Abortion is never justified”
I believe that abortion is never justified because I agree with the fact that life begins at the moment of conception and that life is sacred. I feel that a foetus has a right to life and that the only decisions made should be by God, as He caused the foetus to be conceived and I believe He has decided the life of the unborn child.
However, I can appreciate that it could be very difficult for instance to bring up a disabled child. But in this instance, as in every other, abortion is not the answer. There are people in this world that cannot have children themselves, for whom any child would be a blessing. The same applies to conceptions as a result of rape. The sins of the child’s father are not the child’s fault, and rather than just try and brush over the matter by terminating the pregnancy, the effort should go into trying and bringing the rapist to justice.
Also abortion can lead to complications later on in life for the women. An abortion can result in medical complications later in life; the risk of pregnancies doubles, and the chance of a miscarriage and Pelvic Disease also increase.
On the other hand, Abortion to some women can provide a way out or a certain freedom from the responsibility of being a mother. Especially to younger mother, abortion can be a door to a new life without the worry of a child. The catholic view would go against this opinion but for many young mothers the ordeal and afters of having a baby would be too much to cope with and emotionally there lives may be affected for the worst.
Also abortion can be used for incidents like rape. In the case of rape or incest, forcing a woman made pregnant by this violent act would cause further psychological harm to the victim. Often a woman is too afraid to speak up or is unaware she is pregnant, thus the morning after pill is ineffective in these situations.
Possibly a big factor for abortion is a women’s right. The ability of a woman to have control of her body is critical to civil rights. Take away her reproductive choice and you step onto a slippery slope. If the government can force a woman to continue a pregnancy, what about forcing a woman to use contraception or undergo sterilization?
In conclusion, I neither agree, nor disagree with the statement. I believe that having an abortion depends on a number of different factors, each contributing equally to whether a woman may or may not choose to have an abortion. Taking into account the knowledge of Christian teachings that I have acquired I still feel that abortion is justifiable in some cases and unjust in others.