The current law in the UK on abortion is 24 weeks, and must be agreed upon by two doctors, it must also absolutely take place in a government approved hospital or clinic otherwise it is regarded as illegal. This law currently depends on two conditions that, continuing with the pregnancy will harm the women or her existing children in any way, mentally or physically. This law has always from its origins been affected by religion in some way or another, and Catholics, plus other religious organizations have always debated the law and currently want the limit to be decreased because of there beliefs.
Christian teachings in general are not consistent. The Roman Catholic Church is the only part of the church to lay down precise teachings (The Roman Catholic view that the soul enters the fetus from conception was established as early as the 17th century when a microscope revealed similarities between the fetus and a fully grown person). The Roman Catholic beliefs on abortion are absolutist and deontological, their beliefs are concerned with the nature of the act itself (intrinsically right or wrong) because of the absolute law laid down by God and the sanctity of life principle. For instance, ‘do not murder’, do not steal’ because the very act of murder or stealing is wrong. So the actions do not depend on the situation, decisions are made objectively rather then subjectively.
The Roman Catholic Church has condemned abortion from the earliest time. The Church maintains that life begins as early as when the woman’s egg is fertilized by the male sperm. They believe this because the features that make us human like the colour of our eyes, the shape of our face etc are laid down in the genetic code in the sperm, so as soon as conception we start developing, thus life begins at conception. The Roman Catholics believe that God considers us to be human before we are born and has a plan for each individual:
“Listen to me, O islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called my from the womb, from the body of my mother he named me”
(Isaiah 49:5)
In 1980 the Catholic Archbishops of the UK put forward a document named ‘Abortion and the Right to Live’. In which the Catholic churches opposition to abortion is emphasized, every human has basic rights; each fetus has its own intrinsic value as a human being. Catholics believe that just as human rights apply to humans they also in the same way apply to unborn fetuses, as they are also human from conception. - ‘Donum Vitae’ (The Gift of Life) a document from the Vatican’s congregation says:
"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by the society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the persons by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life ... from the moment of conception until death."
So in other words a fetus has the right to live because it is a human being from the moment of conception, no one can take this right away as it is a right given by God. Life must be respected because it is ‘a life set aside’ because it is created specially and individually by God. So the Sanctity of Life principle suggests that humans have a duty to preserve the life of a fetus as it is in fact no different to that of humans.
"And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him; and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life." (Exodus 21:22-23)
The Old Testament clearly demonstrates above that causing an unnatural miscarriage is wrong. This act is also in opposition to the Sanctity of Life principle and to the commandment “You Shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13)
Almost 11 years ago, Pope John Paul 11 said in the Doctrine of Double Effect "I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral” The pope emphasizes how abortion is always wrong, whilst at the same time he acknowledges the position a women may be in, whether she may be suffering health wise, or even if the future of the child is in doubt. However grave the situation maybe, it can never justify the killing of another human being. Abortion is always wrong, as the fetus has the same rights as any other and the sanctity of life must be protected. Abortion goes against the word of God; there are no exceptions in the Roman Catholic Church. So as the fetus has full human status from conception, thus the sanctity of life principle is an obligation. Though in some cases like in cases of an Ectopic Pregnancy (ovum becomes attached to the fallopian tube) where theirs a chance of both mother and child dying, in these circumstances, the mother’s life is usually put above that of the fetuses. This is referred to as the ‘double-effect rule’ in which the doctors intend on saving the mother, not killing the fetus, so making it morally permissible. This is usually aloud by the Roman Catholic Church
The Church of England takes a much more liberal, teleological (‘telos’ Greek for ‘end’) and relativist approach to the problem of abortion to that of the Roman Catholic Church. They are concerned with the end or consequences of the action. Even so, the Church of England strongly condemns abortion, withholding the sanctity of life principal that life is sacred, they accept the view that life is created specially and uniquely by God, and that human life is intrinsically (in itself) worthwhile, thus abortion is seen by them as a ‘grave moral evil’ since it goes against the sanctity of life and the will of God.
As the 1980 statement of the board for Social Responsibility (BSR) put it:
“In the light of our conviction that the fetus has the right to live and develop as a member of the human family, we see abortion, the termination of that life by the act of man, as a great moral evil. We do no believe that the right to life, as a right pertaining to persons, admit of no exceptions whatever; but the right of the innocent to life admits surely of few exceptions indeed”
The Church of England shares this general opposition to abortion with the Roman Catholic Church. However as the statement above shows the Church of England does accept times when abortion may be permitted under ‘few exceptions indeed’ since it is seen at times to be ‘the lesser of two evils’. For instance they take the circumstances in which the women became pregnant into account (rape?); the age of the women is also taken in to account (too old or to young) and most significantly the health of the mother. These are some of the circumstances taken into account by the Church of England, under which abortion may be permissible. They use the statement the ‘lesser of two evils’ to justify abortion in some circumstances. The Synod (also known as a council for the Church of England) have since expressed there support for the medical profession.
The Church of England (COFE) holds that the matter of abortion needs the full understanding of the church and should be treated with compassion as ‘it is the mother who is pregnant, it is she who will have to agree to an abortion if that proves necessary, it is she who will give birth if the pregnancy goes ahead, and probably she will bear the major responsibility of the future child’s upbringing’ So the COFE that aswell as the intrinsic value of the fetus the mothers feelings and wishes are to be fully appreciated as well.
It is essentially important to remember that most Christian beliefs trace back to Judaism. Christianity emerged from Judaism through Jesus Christ who was originally a Jew himself, and because of this Christianity bought many of its scriptures from Judaism, including doctrines, the belief in a Messiah and other fundamental concepts such as sacred space, and priesthood. These similarities in beliefs are referred to as the ‘Judeo-Christian’ tradition, defined as a “body of concepts and values which are thought to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity”. So understandably Christianity and Judaism have many sacred texts and ethical standards in common, including on abortion.
Judaism beliefs stem from the Torah (first 5 books of the bible) and the Talmud, which includes teachings of over a thousand Rabbis. Like Christianity, abortion is generally not allowed in Jewish law- Judaism sanctifies life, thus has strong concern for the sanctity of life.
“When two men fight, and one of them pushes a pregnant women and miscarriage results, and no other misfortune, the one responsible shall be defined as the women’s husband may ask him, the payment based on the reckoning of the judges. But if any harm [to the mother] ensues, you shall give life for life” (Exodus 21:22-23)
From this quote, it is clear that the act of destroying a fetus is prohibited. However, it is also apparent that the punishment for killing the fetus is not as great as it is for murdering a human being (the mother), suggesting that the value of the fetus is less then that of the mother. This is supported by the fact that in the Torah the fetus is referred to as ‘yeladeha’ (her fetus) and not ‘nefesh’ (soul), which further suggests that the killing of a fetus is not essentially considered murder since the fetus is not considered to be a person until birth (no soul). So, in such circumstances (where the mother’s life is at risk if the pregnancy continues) Judaism insists that the life of the women should be saved over that of the fetus, since her life is more important (remember how a fetus is referred to in the Torah- ‘yeladeha’ (her fetus)).
“If a woman is undergoing a perilous pregnancy, the fetus must be dismembered limb by limb because her life takes precedence over its life. If the greater portion of the fetus has been delivered, it must not be touched because one life must not be sacrificed for another”- The Talmud (BT, Sanhedrin 72b)
This further illustrates the view of the fetus not having human status until it is born, Rashi (He is one of Judaism's classic meforshim (Bible and Talmud commentators) interpreted this statement as follows “until the child has emerged into the world, it is not considered a person and it is permissible to destroy it in order to save the mothers life, however once the head has emerged, as though it was born, and one may not harm it because it is forbidden to take one life for another” This indicates that a fetus only becomes fully human once born from the womb- only then is the mothers and fetuses status equal. Therefore many Rabbis decided that the fetus became a full person at the moment of birth, so that the problem of murder is removed from abortion.
So understandably Abortion is mostly permitted by the ‘Halacha’ (Jewish Law) under a variety of circumstances, mostly relating to the physical or emotional health of the mother, whose status is higher then that of the fetus, the danger to the women must be clear cut, and the ‘halacha’ states that if the mothers life is in danger the abortion can be performed at any stage until the head of the fetus emerges. However even though abortion is widely accepted within Judaism, the fetus should be treated with respect and not merely for handiness. When necessary abortion must take place within the first 40 days when the fetus is referred to as ‘mere water’. Within this Jewish community Orthodox Judaism totally disapproves of abortion and is only allowed to save the mothers life unlike Reformed Judaism when abortion may even be allowed if the mother is in physical or mental pain. So in outline Judaism tends to place more value on actual life then potential life, thus the Jewish tradition is also sensitive to the Sanctity of Life principle.
