Some Christians believe that abortion of a baby is wrong. Others however, think this depends on the individual case. The Church of England said, “the life of a foetus is not absolutely sacrosanct (sacred) if it endangers the life of the mother” (1984). What this means is that that the mother’s life is in danger then the abortion is acceptable. So, in this case, they are for abortion under certain circumstances. Another quote, which agrees with this is from the General Synod (the governing body of the Church of England), “we believe that abortion is an evil, but we also believe that o withhold compassion is evil. Christians need to face frankly that an imperfect world of right choice is sometimes the acceptance of the lesser two evils”. In easier terms it is better to have an abortion than an unfit mother and an unhappy child. However, the Didache (a short early Christian manual) contradicts this point of acceptance by saying “you shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder the infant already born” this is an early Christian saying dating back to 200AD. It means to kill a child of any form is wrong.
Everyone knows that it is wrong to kill including Christians who are strictly against it. The teachings on the subject of murder are very clear. A straightforward command from God told them “thou shall not kill” (one of the Ten Commandments in exodus). I believe that life must be protected form the moment of conception and that it is an abominable crime to have an abortion. I also think that it is wrong to kill a child of any form. Judging by all the research I have done, I found it obvious that all denominations of Christianity have strict rules against abortion.
Section B
Dear Aunt
My name is Mohammad Khan and I am 15 years old. I have a friend who is a Roman Catholic Christian and is having to face a decision of a lifetime, she has to decide whether to have an abortion or not. She is willing to stick to her beliefs, but she also thinks that she will not be able cope if she does have the baby. She is only a teenager who is going to turn 16 in a few weeks and with her education in the way she probably won’t be able to care for the baby at home and will always be at school. I tried explaining to her about the “sanctity of life” and how precious life really is, whatever the age, I even tried to tell her that every living thing is unique, and killing a bay will be the same as killing any other organism in the world. To be honest I think it is like murder and “if a mother can kill her own child, what is there to stop you and me from killing each other?” as mother Teresa said. I have tried my hardest explaining it to her and I would be grateful if you could give her some advice in making the decision. Anything will be helpful.
Thank you.
Mohammad Khan
-Reply-
Dear Mohammad Khan
I have looked into your friend’s ethical problem on abortion and I suggest that she gets on with life. “You are God’s temple and God’s spirit dwells in you” is what the bible says, this means that killing a human of any kind would be the same as killing God’s spirit and you should never even try to kill that, whatever the circumstances. I hope that all I have told is going to help your friend make the right decision. I really really wish you and you friend all the best.
Yours truly,
Aunt
Section C
“Death is God’s business and no-one has the right to interfere”
In the given quotation, the word death means, to die because God chooses that particular person to pass, and no-one has the right to interfere with God’s business. However, it could also mean the same when abortion and euthanasia are the case. There are two types of euthanasia, voluntary euthanasia and involuntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia is when the patient chooses to end their life to relieve themselves from physical suffering due to a terminal or degenerative illness. Involuntary euthanasia is when the decision to whether or not the patient should live is made by the friend, relative or doctor, this is probably because they feel that it is for the patients own good,
Christians believe that abortion is almost always wrong, however different denominations believe differently. Church of England Christians believe that abortion is a very serious issue and should not be chosen unless it is the last resort, but it can be allowed in some circumstances, and the final decision should be made by the people involved. Some Christians think that in some situations, helping someone to die (euthanasia) and ending their pain is the most loving thing to do, nevertheless some Christians think differently. I agree with the Christian views because I think that abortion is almost always wrong, because in the case of a rape the mother would be carrying an unwanted child and would probably want to get rid of the baby.
In my opinion, abortion is wrong. I believe that life must be protected from the moment of conception and that it is an abominable crime to harm a living being. I also think it is wrong to kill a child of any form. I think that an abortion should only be permitted if the pregnancy was due to a rape because if the mother did not want the child in the first place she has the right to terminate the baby. I also think that it should be permitted if the abortion were to save the mothers life, for example if she had a cancer of the uterus.
As far as euthanasia is concerned, I believe that voluntary euthanasia should be allowed if the patient himself wishes to have an easy death and that involuntary euthanasia is wrong, this is because I believe that no-one has the right to interfere with your life even during the time of suffering and disease.
My personal beliefs are most similar to the beliefs of Roman Catholic Christians. Roman Catholics have very strong beliefs, they agree with the fact that all life is sacred and must be treated with the utter most respect from the moment of conception as do I.
My ideas don’t one hundred per sent fit with idea of that all life is sacred because in certain times in life you have to make some sacrifices whether it were to be giving up a habit or even ending a life which has yet to begin. In a case of euthanasia I think that no-one has the right or power to interfere with anyone else’s life in any situation, everyone is going to die anyway and it is not up to anyone to choose when it happens.
