A very important teaching in the Bible about life before birth (in the womb) can be found in Psalms 139:13 and 15
‘You created every part of me;
you put me together in my mother’s womb.
you knew that I was there,
When I was growing there in secret,
you saw me before I was born.’
This reminds us that all the children are created by G-d. The person talking may be old or young but he is aware that G-d was with him in his mother’s womb from the beginning. This shows that life begins at conception. It also reminds us that G-d ‘put me together’ so, as he created us, only he can destroy us; going back to the 6th Commandment.
In Isaiah 49: 15 G-d says, through the prophet Isaiah, that he will always remember everyone.
‘So the L-rd answers,
“Can a woman forget her own baby
and not love the child she bore?
Even if a mother should forget her child,
I will never forget you” ’
This shows us how sacred are lives are and how we are so important to G-d.
Another point in the Bible in which we are shown that are lives are regarded very highly by G-d is found in Luke 12:6.
‘Jesus said:
“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one is forgotten by G-d. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted” ’
G-d knows each and every one of us, and loves each and every one of us. Are lives are sacred; it is not up to us to end them.
- In what ways is this teaching understood and interpreted by two major Christian denominations?
Definition of denomination:
‘ A group of churches with their own individual traditions’
Christianity
Joe Jenkins
1995
Christians believe that abortion is wrong. However, different denominations have varied views on the subject. Two of these denominations are the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.
The main question that needs to answered when discussing whether abortion should be allowed is ‘when does life begin?’ Since 1869 the Roman Catholic Church has believed that human life begins at the moment of conception. They of course believe that abortion should not even be considered as it is morally incorrect and is going against the law of G-d.
Some of the Roman Catholic views on abortion are found in the following documents:
‘You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb.’
The Didache
This very clearly states that abortion is wrong and should never be permitted, under any circumstances.
‘Human life is sacred, all men must recognise that fact.’
Human Vitae 1968
This can be related to abortion, because the Roman Catholic Church believes that human life begins at conception and therefore is sacred. It is also telling us that, as ‘all men must recognise that fact,’ no man has the right to take the life of a human being, whether it is through murder, suicide or abortion.
‘Life must be protected wit the upmost care from the moment of conception; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.’
Vatican II
In this statement we are being told that abortion is one of the worst crimes that any human can commit. It can be seen that the Roman Catholic Church has a very strong view on abortion, and feel that the act should never take place.
The Catholic Truth Society issued a report in which they remind us of a lot of the teachings on abortion found in the Bible, such as those found in Genesis 1:27 and Psalms 139:13 and 15.
‘We have been created by Almighty G-d in his own image and likeness. No pregnancy is unplanned, because no baby can be conceived unless Almighty G-d intends that conception and has willed that particular that particular unique and completely individual new person into existence. What has actually happened in our society is that clever arguments have convinced those with no anchor of belief in G-d to cling to, that merciless slaughter of unborn babies is morally justifiable, and even essential for the happiness of the individual and the good of society.’
This statement sums up the feelings of the Roman Catholic Church; they believe that abortion is wrong, evil and should never be accepted in society.
The Church of England also believes that life begins at conception and that abortion is wrong, however, unlike the Roman Catholic Church, it is allowed under the following circumstances:
- If the mother’s life is at risk.
- If the woman fell pregnant as a result of rape.
- If there is a risk that the child will be handicapped.
None of the above would allow for an abortion in the Roman Catholic Church. It may be argued that aborting a child because he or she will be handicapped is discrimination. On the other hand it may be said that if the baby was not aborted then it would not have a poor quality of life, and this would not be fair on the child or its family. Although abortion is allowed at times in the Church of England it is never permitted as a method of birth control in either denomination.
The Church of England feel that, although the unborn child has rights, if the mother’s life is in danger then she is more important than the baby.
‘The Anglican view on abortion is that although the foetus is to be specially respected and protected, nonetheless the life of the foetus is not absolutely sacrosanct if it endangers the life of its mother.’
Church of England report 1984
The Church of England may be accused of breaking one of the Ten Commandments by allowing abortions, even in extreme circumstances:
‘Thou shalt not kill’
They could defend themselves by saying that, if the mother’s life was at risk, then by not allowing the abortion they would be killing the mother and also breaking one of G-d’s laws.
We can see that although both denominations feel that abortion is evil, the Roman Catholic Church is a lot stricter and will never allow abortion, whereas the Church of England feels that each case is individual and permits it in extreme cases (as stated above).
3. In your opinion, is there ever any justification for a Christian approving an abortion?
Women have abortions for many different reasons, some of these are:
- The unborn baby was handicapped.
- Her life was at risk.
- She fell pregnant as a result of rape.
- She did not feel that it was the right time in her life to have a baby, she may be working, single etc.
- She already has children and feels she could not cope with another.
- She simply does not want children.
For a non-Christian these reasons may be acceptable, but for a Christian that belongs to the Roman Catholic Church none would be permitted and for somebody that belongs to the Church of England the first three would allow for an abortion.
There are many arguments for and against abortions, but when the laws of G-d are involved it becomes increasingly hard to justify the act. In Psalms 139:13 and 15 it says how G-d was present with the unborn child, from the moment that he was conceived in his mother’s womb. For a Christian this proves that life begins at conception, so the Commandment, ‘thou shalt not kill’ applies to abortion, meaning that abortion can be considered as murder. Despite this, if the life of the mother is in danger it would be acceptable for a Christian to have an abortion, as if she had the baby she may die; this may be thought to be murder as it was known that she was going to die.
A Christian should not approve having an abortion on demand, as this would mean that people were not ‘being fruitful and increasing’ as instructed to by G-d. It may seem unfair to say that it is wrong for a Christian to approve having an abortion, however people belong to the religion of Christianity because they love and respect G-d so they should follow his laws; these include all the teachings found in the Bible (as mentioned earlier).
The fact that Christians believe that G-d created them, loves them and is always with them means that they should respect the gift of life that has been given to them in their unborn child; destroying this life would be destroying something that was given to them by G-d. This could be argued by saying that, as G-d is always with us, on heaven and on earth, aborting the unborn baby would be kinder to the child then bringing it into a family where it would no be loved; it would then be happy with G-d in heaven. As Christians believe in heaven and hell they may feel that they would be sent to hell for carrying out abortion.
On denomination, the Roman Catholic Church, follows all the laws concerning abortion, as it is never allowed. The Church of England treats each cases differently but still feels that abortion is wrong.
It may be felt that the Roman Catholic Church is too strict and the Church of England’s views suit today’s society better. However, if the Church does not obeyed by the laws of G-d then Christians will start to approve abortions; something that G-d himself does not want us to accept.
