In this essay I will only focus on the religion of Christianity and its views on abortion.

Authors Avatar

Abortion

In this essay I will only focus on the religion of Christianity and its views on abortion. I will also try to answer why they have such conflicting opinions and whether or not a person can ever justify having an abortion.

(a)

(i) What is meant by the word ‘abortion’?

The word 'abortion' means "intentional destruction of a foetus or the inducing of a premature expulsion from the womb to cause death."  (the termination and removal of a foetus while it is in the mother's womb). This can happen medically through a ‘therapeutic’ abortion when the pregnancy is deliberately aborted or naturally through a ‘miscarriage’ due to complications with the pregnancy. About 75% of all human conceptions abort in this way. The medical name for this is ‘spontaneous abortion’.  

A pill can be prescribed within 72 hours of ‘unprotected’ intercourse or when contraception fails and a further two tablets 12 hours later. This pill is more commonly known as ‘The Morning after’ pill.

If the foetus is about up to 13 weeks old, a drug called prostin is usually given to make the uterus contract then the ‘vacuum process’ will be used to expel the foetus. Special care is taken to ensure every piece of tissue is removed or this can cause serious harm. The medical name is ‘vacuum aspiration’ (suction abortion). This is the most common method of abortion about 85% of abortions in England and Wales are done this way.

Instead of using a suction tube, a scraping instrument (or curette) can be used and the foetus is scraped from the womb. In some places this method ahs almost been replaced by the suction method. The medical name for this is ‘Dilation and Curettage’

Instead of using a curette small forceps can be used to crush the foetus and pull it out of the womb. This method is usually used later on in pregnancy. The medical name for this is ‘Dilation and Evacuation’.

In very late abortions after 18 weeks, more common to America, the foetus' life is ended with an injection of hormones called prostaglandins this induces the labour. The dead foetus is given birth to as if it were being born. Many late abortions are now performed by bringing on labour in this way.

Abortion has been one of the most fiercely debated issues of the past millennium. As more people discuss it, new dimensions are added to the argument and this may be why laws vary from country to country and have changed so many times.

Abortion has been legal in this country since 1967 when the abortion act was passed. The abortion act was passed because of an MP called David Steel. David Steel thought it was unnecessary for thousands of women to die each year through having back street abortions. Untrained people with un-sterilised equipment carried out these back street abortions. The abortion act stated, "A mother can have an abortion if it is carried out before the 28th week of pregnancy". The act imposed this week limit because when the act was first passed the anti-natal equipment (ultrasounds etc...) was very new and doctors didn't fully realise the amount the baby would have grown and developed. Also during the 1960's peoples attitudes towards women were changing, they now had more rights and could control contraception with 'the pill'.

The weeks limited was changed to 24 weeks under the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology act where it was stated, "An abortion should be carried out before the 24th week of pregnancy".  It was altered because anti-natal technology and understanding had progressed rapidly and people realised there was a good chance a baby could survive if it was born at 28 weeks whereas at 24 weeks it couldn't. The law currently requires permission from two doctors to carry out an abortion.

The current government would like to lower the week limit to 20 weeks, this is because anti-natal care has improved a lot even since 1990 and so a baby can survive at 24 weeks, but even now if a baby was born at 20 weeks there is no chance of it surviving. Nowadays abortions are carried out in hospitals or healthcare centres by trained doctors and nurses using sterilised equipment under these two acts. The government's plans may appease Pro-life campaigners who feel that human life is sacred.

Some 17, 000 abortions are now carried out annually in England and Wales. Of the women involved, over two thirds are single and most have no previous (born) children.

Southern Ireland agrees with the Pro-life point of view and so has made abortion illegal. This means that any Irish woman who gets pregnant has to travel over to Northern Ireland, which is governed by England to have an abortion. There are also many groups who are pro-abortion and feel that it is a woman's right to choose what happens to her body.

(ii) What biblical and Church teachings might be used in discussion about abortion?

The Bible never mentions abortion directly because it is a medical term but it does have things to say about the sanctity of human life (sanctity is “the quality of something considered so holy or important it must be respected totally”). When they say this, Christians mean that they believe there is something special and holy about human life.  They also believe that God makes each person individually and deliberately, so everyone has value.

For example some of these teachings from the bible may be used as a Christians view. In Genesis 1:27 it proclaims, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them". So the bible teaches that people are in some way reflections of God, and that in human life, something that can be seen of God himself. Also in 2:7 it describes how God made Adam, and then “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”. So Christians believe that only God can kill you because he alone created you.

The traditional Christian teachings place the highest value on human life, which leads to them condemning the idea of abortion. One of the earliest teachings of Christianity not in the New Testament, The Didache, says: "You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder the infant already born" 

The Bible also says in Exodus 20:13 "Thou shalt not kill". Both pro-abortion and Pro-life campaigners can use this statement. Firstly pro-abortion campaigners can say that human life doesn't start until the baby is born but Pro-life campaigners can say that the Bible proclaims killing of anyone including a foetus is wrong. Christians believe that anyone shouldn’t kill any living thing including a living foetus.

Join now!

Isaiah 49:5 says, "And now, Saith the lord that formed me in the womb to be his servant" This quote can be used by Pro-life campaigners who can say that God created us to serve and follow his commands. So Christians believe this quote means that God made you so only God can decide when you die.

Acts 17:26 declares, "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation" This quote can be used by Pro-life ...

This is a preview of the whole essay