Some Christians Believe That Human Life Is Sacred. Explain how this belief influences their attitude to Abortion and Euthanasia.
Some Christians believe that human life is sacred. Explain how this belief influences their attitude to Abortion and Euthanasia.
Life is sacred according to Christians as God creates all life; all humans are made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27) this makes humans the most special life form.
Humanae Vitae 1968 "Human life is sacred. All men must recognise this fact"
Roman Catholic Christians and other conservative Christians believe that life begins at the moment of conception and this influences their attitude on Abortion.
Jeremiah 1:5. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you". This clearly states that life is planned by God and no one has the right to take it away.
C.C.C "catechism of the Catholic Church"
"A child may not be considered a piece of property"
"Married couples share in love of God the creator and are, in a certain sense its interpreters"
"Since the first century the church has affirmed the moral evil of procured abortion"
"The church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life"
"Life must be protected with the utmost acre from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes" 2nd Vatican Council.
The Vatican Council is strongly opposed to abortion or euthanasia and states that it would be a crime to practise or act out abortion or euthanasia.
Doctrine of double effect.
Abortion can never be allowed by Catholics. The only possible exception is ectopic pregnancy or if the mother develops cancer. Either of these will kill the mother if untreated, but will kill the baby if treated.
To deal with this problem Catholics use the doctrine of the double effect to say that the aim of removing the fallopian tube in an ectopic pregnancy is to save the mothers life, not kill the foetus.
Therefor, as the death of the foetus is a second (double) effect which is not intend, the operation ...
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Doctrine of double effect.
Abortion can never be allowed by Catholics. The only possible exception is ectopic pregnancy or if the mother develops cancer. Either of these will kill the mother if untreated, but will kill the baby if treated.
To deal with this problem Catholics use the doctrine of the double effect to say that the aim of removing the fallopian tube in an ectopic pregnancy is to save the mothers life, not kill the foetus.
Therefor, as the death of the foetus is a second (double) effect which is not intend, the operation is permissible. Similarly chemotherapy is given to kill the cancer not to kill the foetus, so the death of the foetus is a secondary, unintended effect. No abortion has been procured.
Other Christian attitude to abortion.
Non-catholic Christians have two different attitudes to abortion:
) Some conservative or fundamentalist Protestants have exactly the same view as Catholics. They also believe that abortion is wrong because life begins at the moment of conception and is totally sacred to God and all foetuses have a right to life.
2) Other Christians believe that must be permitted in certain circumstances as the lesser of two evils, and so abortion is discouraged but not banned.
"The unborn child is created in the image of God and is one for whom the Son of God died. This child is Gods child. This child is part of Gods world. So the life of this child is not ours to take. Therefor it is sin to take this child's life for reasons whether of birth control, gender selection, convenience, or avoidance of embarrassment" from the Durham declaration to the United Methodist Church of the USA published in "The Church and Abortion"
"The Anglican view on abortion is that 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 if its mother" Church of England report, 1984.
The Church of England is saying that the life of the mother is more important then the life of the foetus, so in a way they support abortion a little.
"The decision to terminate a pregnancy is so important that it can only be made by the person most involved-the woman. Women must always have a choice and never have the decision forced upon them. Free abortion facilities should be available on the NHS for every woman who needs them. We believe that the right of women to control their own fertility is a fundamental human right. Women will only be able to take a full and equal part in society when we can all decide for ourselves whether and when to have children." National Abortion Campaign
The National Abortion Campaign supports Abortion 100% and thinks that it should be free on the NHS and they also believe that we as human can decide the right thing to do and are able to take these responsibilities and do the right thing.
Euthanasia, also know as mercy killing it is a practise in ending someone's life who is in a lot of pain. Euthanasia is only used if someone has a disease, which is incurable, or if someone is handicapped and is in a lot of pain. Euthanasia is against the law in this country and is also against the catholic teaching. Euthanasia breaks the 5th commandment "Thou shall not kill".
There are two forms of Euthanasia, these are:
Passive Euthanasia: This is when no action is taken to prolong life, but there is no deliberate action to end the life. For example, if a person dying of cancer has a heart attack there would be no attempt to resuscitate him or her.
Active Euthanasia is when a deliberate action is taken to end a life, such as an administration of a lethal injection of an overdose of a drug, or the active withdrawal of a life-supporting drug or machine.
The Catholic Church is opposed to any form of Euthanasia in any circumstances. Whatever the motives behind Euthanasia it could never be right, according to the church. The Catholic Church thinks that Euthanasia is murder, and is the contrary to the dignity of human beings.
There are organisations such as EXIT that are voluntary Euthanasia society. They believe that people should die with dignity, and are able to make living will and can clearly state what happens at the end of their life.
The Catholic Church sees Euthanasia as murder and it's not up to people to kill someone as it is Gods job.
People who are suffering at the end of their life should be treated with dignity, love and respect and it is a Christian duty to help one another just as Jesus said.
Most non-Catholic Christians have exactly the same views about euthanasia as Catholics.
"To many, the end of life is clouded by pain and impaired judgement, and whilst we believe that it is right to use to all and any medical treatment to control pain, experience denies the rightness of legalising the termination of life by a doctor, authorised by a statement signed by the patient whilst in health. Such Euthanasia threatens to debate the function of doctors and impairs the confidence of their patients." Salvation Army.
From looking at the evidence you can see that most Christians have the same point of view, they all disagree with Abortion and Euthanasia. Some Christians would only agree to Abortion and Euthanasia in extreme circumstances.
