AO2 Explain how Catholics may respond to the question of abortion.
A Catholic responds to abortion in a way that would reflect the teaching of the bible. From this they believe that abortion is wrong. The Pro Life Campaign tells the views of Roman Catholics, "God is the Lord of life and death - a person’s ultimate value stems from God and no individuals can take it upon themselves in total mastery over the life of another". This means that God brought humans into this world and only he has the right to take their lives away. No one should have the right to say when another person should die.
"Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception” CCC. This means that as soon as the egg is fertilized it is seen as a new life. Therefore, it would be true to say that Catholics are against abortion since “Thou shall not kill” is one of the commandments. By having an abortion a life is destroyed. This is known as murder.
The only time Catholics accept, but not necessarily agree with abortion, is when the mother is in great danger, and is likely to die if the pregnancy continues. However, this does not cover the issue of when a woman has been raped. Catholics believe that is it wrong to kill a child for the wrong doings of the father and for that reason should not be aborted.
Overall, the killing of a child is wrong, no matter whether it is in a womb or not. As a Catholic, we would see that having an abortion is a form of murder and therefore a moral sin.
AO3 Abortion is never justified. Discuss.
Abortion is an issue which many people have strong feelings about. But should the foetus have equal rights to the mother?
Some people may feel that if a mother was carrying an unwanted child, they should not be forced to keep the child just because of religious beliefs. She is the one that would have to carry the child for 9 months, so should have every option open to her.
The life of the mother is more important than the foetus if she is in real danger. The baby would not know a thing since no one can remember pain they felt in the womb.
A woman has a life of her own, with her career and future planned out. If a baby was to be born this may jeopardise this. She may have made the mistake of getting pregnant at the wrong time, so why should she ruin the rest of her life by giving birth to a child that she doesn’t want?
Believing all abortions are not justified means believing that children that are unwanted into the world are acceptable. Surely this is unfair on the child.
On the other hand, Roman Catholics would believe that abortion is always murder and wrong. They believe it is not necessary since it is destroying a new life which God has created. Since they believe all life begins at contraception, the foetus should have equal rights whose those of a grown adult. Life is a gift from God and only he has the right to decide when life is over. Having an abortion is just an easy way out of a problem, with the cost of a life.
In conclusion, I feel that abortion should be considered greatly before any pregnant woman decides to have one. It should not just be the easy way out of a situation. Without a doubt, I think that if the woman didn’t want a child, she shouldn’t of a conceived it. On the grounds of rape, I think the woman should have a choice to keep the baby or not.
