In 1990, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act reduced the number of weeks from 28 weeks to 24 weeks. This means that the abortion can be carried out up until 24 weeks. The reason for this is the new technology. Nowadays, the skill at keeping premature babies alive has increased.
Stages of a baby’s development
Day One – Fertilisation begins as soon as the sperm and the egg combine with each other
Week 4 – Test for pregnancy is around this time
Week 6 – The skeleton has developed
Week 8 – All the major organs are present, this includes, the stomach, heart kidneys etc.
Week 18 – The baby starts to move its arms and legs. The baby sucks its thumb
Week 20 – Hair starts to appear on the head.
Week 24 – This is the ‘limit for most abortions in the UK’
(b) The bible like many other Holy books is very important. The bible is for the Christians. This holy book ‘contains words and teachings of Jesus’, and the instructions from God. The Christians for guidance use the bible. They want to know what God wants from his creation (mainly people). In the bible, there is no direct topic, which talks about abortion. The reason for this is that the following were uncommon in the days of Jesus:
- Women never used to have sexual intercourse outside of marriage. Therefore, no women had children before marriage.
- The women would not try to kill the baby during pregnancy.
Even though there is no discussion on abortion in the bible, it still talks about issues like birth, marriage and death. Many passages in the bible explain these:
Genesis 1:27
26 “Then God said, “And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small.”
27 “So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female.”
These two verses are important in explaining that God created human beings and he is the creator of life. In the passage, there are words in bold print in the places where God clearly explains that he created people. Human beings are the servants of God. He creates children through reproduction. God knows when the right time is for the child to born. It does not say anywhere in the bible that human beings can take control of their children. The foetus is a human being. It does not say anywhere in the bible that it is acceptable to kill the baby inside the womb of the mother. Each creation is unique by God. Every life has a purpose. God wants the people to take control of their own lives but it does not say in the bible that you can take control of another creation. The baby also has a right. So does that mean that parents are free to take control of the child and kill it because of unwanted pregnancy?
I think that this passage from the bible would be against abortion because it says a few times the words “God created” or “He created” and people are God’s servants and they have to obey him.
Exodus 20:13
13 “Thou shall not murder”
This is the sixth commandment from the Ten Commandments. It clearly explains that murder is not permissible. It is a great sin to kill one of God’s creations. God is the creator and destroyer. If abortion is to terminate pregnancy surely that means killing the living foetus, so is this the murder of a foetus?
This verse would definitely be against abortion as the verse explains, that one should not murder as God gives and takes life when he decides.
Psalm 139: 13
13 “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb”
God has the power to choose how he wants his creation to be shaped and constructed. He knows what the purpose of each life is.
John 8:7
7 “As they stood there asking him questions, he straightened up and said to them ‘whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her”.
This has nothing to do with the birth of a baby or any creation but it is explaining that everyone makes mistakes. Everyone is guilty of sinning. There is no-one perfect. If the woman has made a mistake by having an abortion then the people should not be against her and hate her. As true Christians, they should try to understand the mistake and then comfort her so that she feels relieved and happy. Instead of being accused of murder, she should try to learn from her mistakes. Surely, God will forgive, as he is all-forgiving.
The verse does not say that abortion is right or wrong but it explains that if abortion is done then forgiveness is the thing needed. Everyone makes mistakes and the women should learn from the mistakes.
In bible, there is no discussion on abortion and nowhere in the bible does it say that abortion is right or wrong. There are verses, which interpret this, but there are no clear references. Christians believe that man is a creature of God.
2)
Christianity has changed since the days of Jesus. Christianity used to be one main religion but over the years, it has changed. There are many different groups of the same religion. There are different points of views from different groups when it comes to the topic of abortions.
Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholics say that abortion is a serious sin in all circumstances. They recognise the foetus as a human and a gift of God. They say that it has a right to live. They say to ‘kill an unborn child at whatever stage is wrong.’ The Catholics say that life must be protected. The Second Vatican Council says,
“Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.”
The Church of England
‘Although it does not agree with abortion the Church of England will accept it if children will be born to parents who will not be able to cope or into situations where the child’s quality of life may be deficient.’ They admit that abortion is a controversial issue. The General Synod said: -
- Since the abortion act (1967), the number of abortions has been ‘unacceptably high for a procedure which should not be undertaken lightly’.
- There is an urgent need to seek to reduce significantly the demand for abortion
- We need to support the BMA and try to make sure that abortions are carried out as early in the pregnancy as possible
- ‘Serious foetal handicap’ should be understood that if the child did survive until birth then it would not last long outside the womb
- We need to provide spiritual, moral, practical support to aid parenthood.
Methodist Church
A statement on abortion stated that abortion is always ‘evil, and to be avoided if possible by offering care to single mothers during pregnancy, and encourage the mother to keep the baby. The statement also said that ‘in an imperfect world’ the termination of a pregnancy is acceptable.
Some foetuses will be born handicapped and if they are born alive then all they are going to do is suffer and most likely die at an early age. If there is a rape and the woman is pregnant then abortion ‘may be necessary for the recovery of the victim’. In the statement, they also said that abortion might be right depending on the social circumstances of the family, and if the continuation of pregnancy would affect the mother mentally or physically.
‘The Methodists would strongly prefer that through advances in medical science, all abortions should be unnecessary.
They believe that counselling be given to both the mother and father before abortion is given. Finally, if abortion is the case then it is as soon as possible. If abortion were a criminal offence again, the result of this would be one law for the rich and another for the poor. There would be an increase of deaths as a result if ‘back-street’ abortions.
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
They all share the same principle: that of respect for the Light within each person. They respect the sacredness of the foetus’s life. They believe that life is the greatest gift there is. Different Quakers may interpret the principle differently. Much depends on the circumstances and the people concerned. They admit that they may get it wrong. In the end, they accept that they are each responsible, for their own lives, to God.
They only rely on the experience of other Quakers. There are many different opinions within the society. The key question that a Quaker has to think of is, “When does a person become a person”.
The Baptist Union of Great Britain
They do not exactly when life begins. Some say that it begins at the moments of conception, others when the foetus is capable to stay alive outside of the womb while others believe that it begins at birth. The Baptist union of Great Britain says that abortion is not wrong if there are certain circumstances which leads to this, an example of this is, if the life or the health of the mother would be threatened by a full term delivery.
The Salvation Army
‘The Salvation Army believes in the sanctity of all human life from the moment of fertilisation’. Each life is a unique gift from God and it has to be ‘nurtured and preserved’. It accepts the termination of abortion under certain circumstances:
- There is a serious threat to the life of the mother
- The baby could result in the mother to have a physical injury.
- The result of pregnancy has been because of rape or incest.
These are the different views from the churches. Most of them agree that abortion is acceptable under some circumstances. There are different views on abortion from Christian people.
Mother Teresa (Roman Catholic Nun) says,
“If you do make a mistake don’t destroy the life…because also to that child God says, “I have called you by your name, I have carved you in the palm of my hand: you are mine”
Reverend Joanna Jepson
She was born with a cleft palate. She is challenging a police decision not to prosecute doctors who carried out a late abortion on a foetus with a cleft palate.
Miss Jepson says,
“A cleft palate is far from being serious and claims the surgery, carried out in Hertfordshire two years ago, was illegal”
Miss Jepson as a teenager had an operation, which corrected her deformity. She said she wanted to see abortions after 24 weeks no longer allowed on foetuses with easily treatable disabilities.
She says that even with a disability like this (cleft palate) the children can have “positive and fulfilling lives”.
3)
Is abortion ever justified?
For this question, I think that there are no right or wrong answers as it is more of a personal opinion. There are many points to take into consideration when responding to the question. I would agree with abortion but at the same time, I would disagree with it. I would disagree with it because I think it is never fair to kill a human being (living foetus). I think that the baby has a right to live. I might agree with abortion in some cases for example, if a woman was raped then abortion should be done to help her recover. In this section of my assignment, I am going to talk about the pros and cons of abortion.
Under some circumstances, abortion might be the right thing to do. When having an abortion it is never easy, but there is no one who should decide besides the woman. She should be the only one concerned to make that decision. This view is not directly from the bible but is has been supported by religious bodies. The Church of England and Roman Catholic Church both agree that woman should not have to risk her life for a baby. The Protestant church says,
“Abortion in certain cases is acceptable”
The churches might not agree that it is allowed for the woman to have an abortion if she is only doing it for personal feelings. For example if she wanted to pursue her career and she thinks that having a child would prevent this, then I think it would not be allowed purely because it is selfish.
Another reason that a person might agree with abortion is that it would be more difficult to give up the child for adoption than having an abortion because the woman would feel guilty all her life that she gave her child away even after the suffering.
There is one point where most churches would agree that abortion is the right thing to do. That is if the woman has been raped then to help her recover an abortion is necessary. Another point that most churches will agree upon is that if the woman were going to suffer because of the continuation of pregnancy then abortion would be the right thing to do. The Church of England board of Social Responsibility Report 1984 says,
“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 the mother”
There are many cases where the people would disagree with abortion. The unborn child has a right to live and does not have the right to be killed, so why kill the child? This is a gift from God. Every life has a purpose and each creation is unique from God.
Even people with disabilities and awful handicaps can lead happy, creative and fulfilled lives. Reverend Joanna Jepson who is a woman who suffered a disability says that children can have “positive and fulfilling lives”.
Abortion is the murder of a human being as the foetus is alive. Does the foetus have the right to live? ‘The UN Declaration of the Rights of the child states that,
“Children need protection before, as well as after, birth”
Abortions can go terribly wrong and they can leave terrible mental and physical ‘scars’ on a woman.
