1.
A. ii. What biblical teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion?
For Christians, the Bible is an important text for teaching about their faith.Christians may turn to the Bible if they have a problem, to see what Jesus might do. So if Christians were contemplating having an abortion they would turn to the Bible to see if it was the right thing to do in the eyes of god. The Bible is does not refer to abortion but it does contain passages which refer to the sanctity of life.
“You shall not murder” – Exodus 20:13
This is a very straight forward commandment. It means that you should not kill any other human being. So, some Christians would say this also means an unborn child. But then we come back to the first question, to where life begins.
“Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” – Genesis 2:7
This now says that life begins when God “breathed” the breath of life into Adams nostrils. This then means that according to the Bible, life begins at birth, not at conception. This quote is pro abortion because the foetus is not alive until it breaths it’s first breath.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” – Psalm 139:13
This says that God made us in the womb, before we are born. It says that the womb is where God creates life, which is not intended to be destroyed by man. For these reasons, this quote is against abortion.
“If men strive, and hurt a woman with a child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no mischief follows: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lie upon him; and he shall pay as the judges. And if mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life…” Exodus 21:22-23
I feel this is a very important quote. It means if someone causes the death of an unborn baby, then you are to take the life of the person who has caused the death. This also is the same penalty for a man was to be murdered. This means that an unborn baby has the same right to life as a man in Gods sight and also that the killing of an infant is murder. This quote is against abortion. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:5
This quote means that before the chills was formed in the womb God knew the child. Before they came out of the womb they were already ordained to serve God’s purpose on the earth. God knew every child that would be conceived by every woman on the earth. The scripture proved that God knew of the child before it was given birth to. This quote is therefore against abortion.
Although the bible does not refer to abortion there is an early church teaching called the Didache. Here is an extract from the Didache related to abortion:
“You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder the infant already born”
Roman Catholic would agree with this extract. They also believe abortion is very closely linked to contraception and the morning after pill. They think because there is no real answer to “where life begins” and no real way of telling when it is right or wrong to kill an unborn child, people must steer clear of all things abortion related, including contraception.
As I have said it is very difficult to answer the question “where life begins”. Some might say it begins as soon as the sperm and egg meet, but then others might say it is when the child had been given birth to.
B. Explain how Christians put their beliefs about abortion into action.
Christians feel their faith it is a way of life and a religion and so influences them in many ways. Having said this, Christians are also influenced by the society they live in. There has been an increasing feminist influence in American and Western European Christianity since the 1960’s and many Christians have differing views.
Churches will respond to abortion and try to help the problem as follows:
Church of England and Methodist followers might hand out free contraceptives in church, so others would easily be able to get hold of contraception meaning they wouldn’t have to be in the position of making a decision to have an abortion or not. This is a good idea but it would only be available for Christians with the same view of the Church of England.
Roman Catholics on the other hand could teach catholic teenagers about pregnancy and contraception. This means they probably wouldn’t have to be in a situation where they have to think about an abortion; it would also help to educate the teenagers about parenthood and responsibility.
Christian churches may engage in a counselling program for young women who are pregnant, to help them cope with having a pregnancy, this might convince them not to have an abortion, depending on their circumstances.
The Church of England believes that abortion is wrong because all human life is sacred and should be protected. On the other hand it also recognizes the rights of the mother and would not condemn the mother if she terminates her baby in order to preserve her own life or mental and physical health.
The Methodist Church believes in the sanctity of all human life – born and unborn and so only under extreme circumstances allowed abortion to be seen as an option. Like The Church of England, they also belive that the mother’s life and rights should also be considered when thinking about abortion But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother, for whom devastating damage may result from an unacceptable pregnancy. In continuity with past Christian teaching, we recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, and in such cases we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures. We cannot affirm abortion as an acceptable means of birth control, and we unconditionally reject it as a means of gender selection.
The Church of England has a slightly different view to the Roman Catholic Church. They know that everyone has a slightly different view on abortion and would advise everyone to think through the issues of abortion carefully. They believe abortion should be allowed but only on strictly limited conditions. For instance, if the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother, then an abortion would be allowed.
Although this is said the Church of England is concerned about the growing numbers of abortions each year, last year 170,000 took place in the UK. The Church of England also believes the abortion should take place as early as possible and in extremely rare cases an abortion would only be allowed beyond 24 weeks when the child has a severe disability and survival would only be for a short period of time.
The Methodist Churches view is somewhat similar to the Church of England’s view. They believe that life is sacred and a gift from God, but in certain rare circumstances permission for an abortion would be given, such as the mothers mental/physical well-being is at risk from her pregnancy. The mother would also be encourages to perform the abortion as early as possible. Methodists also believe that an abortion requires a lot of prayerful and careful thought and women who have made this decision should be offered counseling to help them.
Quakers have difficulty deciding which life is more important, the mothers or the child’s? They believe abortion has no simple straight answer. They believe that the person making this decision should be given lots of love and support. They also believe that much advice should be given to help them in this difficult time.
Some Christians may feel they need to join an organisation to help the issue of abortion, for instance LIFE. LIFE is the leading prolife charity in the UK. LIFE cares for women’s health and fertility, the believe in helping both mother and child. LIFE was founded in 1970, the feel the need to relieve poverty, sickness and distress of pregnant women and unsupported mothers with one or more children by providing support and accommodation, they feel they need to preserve life and protect good health and to help all the general public in all matters related to pregnancy.
C.
“Is abortion ever justified?”
I believe abortion can be justified in certain cases. Especially when it can be seen as the most loving and ethical thing to do. For instance, If a single mother who already has six other children under the age of ten finds herself pregnant with a sevearly disabled child, I think an abortion would be the most loving option here. If she was to have the baby it would affect her financially and mentally and it would not be fair to her other children not to mention the child she has just given birth to. The unborn baby is not necessarily unwantedbut the mother would be thinking for herself and all her children. In this rare case I am prochoice.
On the other hand, if there is a middle aged woman, already married with one child. She finds herself pregnant with an unwanted but healthy baby. If she was to have an abortion, she would be being very selfish. If she is financially able to support the baby and her other child without it making their lives difficult then I think abortion is not justified in this case. A better option would be adoption. The baby would be given to another loving family desperate for a child. In this and many other cases I am prolife.
For me, abortion is only ever justified when it is seen as the most selfless thing to do. This is situation ethics. This is a theory developed by Hoseph Fletcher in the 1960’s. He said that Christians should decide on what is morally right by looking at which situation is the most loving.
Bibilography
The UK's abortion law
Abortion is legal in the UK up to the 24th week of pregnancy. However, if there is a substantial risk to the woman's life or if there are foetal abnormalities there is no time limit.
To comply with the 1967 Abortion Act, two doctors must give their consent, stating that to continue with the pregnancy would present a risk to the physical or mental health of the woman or her existing children.
“Today’s issues and Christian beliefs” By Simon and Christopher Dames