“ A person begins when God creates him or her; it does not happen at some point when the baby looks like a newborn or when the first breath of air has been taken.”
(Reverend Bill Foley)
This quotation can be interpreted as that it is at conception that life truly begins well before the actual birth. Even though the foetus does not resemble a baby it is a living being with its own rights as a potential person. One of the strongest quotes in the bible that suggests this is Psalm 139: 13 and 15,
“You created every part of me;
You put me in my mother’s womb…
When I was growing there in secret,
You knew that I was there
You saw me before I was born”
Also
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"
~ The Eternal Father
This shows that life begins even before the baby is born. It begins inside the mother, because God knows that the foetus is inside the mother’s womb. Some Christians would see this as murder because you are killing what God has created.
“Since human life begins at conception, i.e. fertilization, and since all human life should be equally protected by the law from conception to natural death, whether or not the human being concerned is wanted or handicapped, it follows that the destruction of unborn life is always wrong.”
(Save the Unborn Child, LIFE)
This group of anti- abortionists (LIFE) speak of the rights of the unborn child and their right to live; they see abortion as pre-natal infanticide and stress justice and the absolute need to stand for the rights of the unborn child who is helpless and unable to defend himself or herself.
“Jesus said:” Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one sparrow is forgotten by god. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.”
(Luke 12:6)
This argues that god remembers every single person and if the parents of the foetus decide to abort it God still knows and remembers every little detail about it.
“You shall not kill”
(This is present in Exodus 20:13 and is the sixth of the Ten Commandments)
This can only seen as killing if the fetus in question was alive. Many people see a fetus as not alive (“unborn child”). So therefore the question to ask in this position is when does life begin? , At conception or at birth?
"The Unborn child is not a potential life,
But a life with potential."
~ Jim Manfordonia, Host of 'Come to Me'
None of the Christian Churches believe that abortion should be encouraged and all agree that it should only be used in the most serious circumstances.
The law allows an abortion at any stage of the pregnancy, if the child were to be born it would suffer from “such physical or mental abnormalities” that it would be seriously handicapped. Many Christians who think that the “quality of life” is more important than life itself would use this argument in favour of abortion. We are able to find out if the foetus is deformed in any way, before it is born, by using today’s advanced technology. If any abnormalities are detected then the mother is given a choice of an abortion. Some parents believe that it is a greater sin to give birth to a baby with a serious deformity and allow it to cope with it than to have aborted it when it was a foetus. For they believe that the quality of life received is very low.
Another aspect of looking at this reason is that one could argue that every single individual matters and does make a difference in this world.
“Mentally handicapped people have much to give, they share our common humanity and, like us all, are children of God.”
(From The Local Church and Mentally Handicapped People, a report by the Church of England Board of Social Responsibility.)
I also think that if the parents were unable to provide for the child, or if it were born it would be born into a bad environment or they just simply give up the baby when it is born, it would be kinder to everyone if the foetus was allowed to be aborted before birth.
“Women must have control over their own lives. For this we must have control over our own bodies…Abortion must become freely available to all women who want it. We must be able to have children when we want them, and children have the right to be wanted.”
(Women’s Abortion and Contraception Campaign Manifesto)
This quotation also brings up the subject of quality of life. But it also brings up another strong point across. Many women would still get abortions if it were made illegal in “back street” or “do-it-yourself” abortion clinics and a large percentage of these women would die due to lack of a sterilized environment, proper care, poor consultations etc. The choice of abortion is a very important one, probably one of the most important decisions that the pregnant woman would make in her life. It is an act of responsibility.
Another argument the quotation raises is that every child brought into this world deserves to be a wanted child. Abortion saves thousands of children from being unwanted, and saves society from many problems.
Different Christian Denominations and their Views on Abortion
1) The Roman Catholic Point of View
The Catholic Church says that abortion is a sin in all cases.
The Catholic Church teaches that deliberate procured abortion is a serious sin in all circumstances. They believe that human life begins at the moment of conception and from that moment onwards it is sacred and every attempt should be made to protect it.
"A nation which kills it's own young has no future."
~ Pope John Paul II
“Human life is sacred, all men must recognise that fact”
~ Pope Paul VI
The quotes from Popes John Paul II and Paul VI show that the Roman Catholic Church is very much against abortion of any kind. The Catholics oppose all kinds of abortion apart from when it is the sure result of a necessary treatment given to the mother. This would then result in the abortion of the fetus from the mother’s body. However, because it is not procured abortion, the Roman Catholics find it acceptable. From the moment of conception, they believe, that the fetus’ rights are equal to the rights of the mother.
The Roman Catholic Church is the only major world religion to rule that abortion is absolutely unacceptable in all circumstances even if the mother’s life is in danger.
2) The Church of England Point of View
The Church of England describes the foetus as "potential human life" and it is to be “protected and respected” but also says that there are times when the interest of the mother and her family take priority over the rights of the foetus. Among the conditions said to justify an abortion are that if it endangers the life of the mother and affects the family of the mother or if there is the "risk of a defective or deformed child"
The Church of England will allow abortions to take place both for social and for eugenic reasons even though it thinks abortion is wrong.
3) The Free Churches: Methodists and the Baptists
The Methodist church regards abortion as basically wrong but there are certain circumstances where an abortion should be considered these are:
(1) Where the life or health of the mother are threatened
(ii) If the baby is to be severely abnormal
(iii) The environment where the baby is to be raised is very poor - to take in consideration the effect of the baby on the financial and social conditions of the mother and any other existing children.
"There is not a moment from pregnancy onwards when the foetus lacks human significance"
"It would be best to restrict all abortions to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy except where there is a direct threat to the life of the mother. Or where new information about serious abnormality in the foetus becomes known after the 20th week. There is indeed also a strong argument on physical, psychological
And practical grounds to carry out abortions in the first 3 months where possible".
(The Methodist Church)
The Methodists think that “life is a gift from God” but they also realise that there may be times when the situation arises that the “quality of life” will take priority over life itself. The Methodists think that abortion is wrong but they think abortion must be used only when the pregnant woman has no other choice. The social and personal factors are also taken into consideration.
Humanists and Atheists are people who believe that human destiny is for only humans to decide. They believe in the philosophy of life that human beings have the capacity, intellectual capabilities and moral, to work toward improving conditions of life on our planet. They usually reject supernaturalism and stress an individual's dignity, worth and capacity for self-realization through reason.
“How much better it would be to serve mankind, which can be benefited, than to "serve" a God who cannot be benefited in any way.”
(John Parker, Northeast Atheist Association)
“Humanists regard abortion as better than bringing unwanted babies into the world. It is a mistake to say that Humanists are in favour of abortion; no one can be in favour of abortion, which, except in unforeseen circumstances, is the result of failed contraception. We think there will probably always be a certain number of unplanned pregnancies and that the mothers concerned should have the complete choice of either early abortion, or keeping the baby.”
(Humanist Dipper)
The Humanist point of view completely contradicts the Christian point of view so this makes it is easier to see where each point of view is coming from.
R.E. Coursework: Section 2
(2) “ God gives life and only God can take it away”
Do you agree or disagree?
I neither agree nor disagree with this statement, for I believe that it has relevance in only certain circumstances.
I can understand why many Christians would think this statement as true as many biblical passages show this:
“So god created man in his own image, in the image of god he created him; male and female he created them. And God said to them, “”have dominion over every living thing that moves upon the earth.””
(Genesis 1: 27, 28)
And-
“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,)
All Christians believe that life is sacred and every attempt should be made to try and protect it. However some Christian denominations (except The Roman Catholic Church) agree that within certain circumstances it is all right to abort (or terminate) the foetus.
I agree with abortion being carried out, but only within certain, very serious circumstances. I think that the worst possible way in which abortion can be used is when it is used as a form of contraception. If this is done repeatedly it can destroy the possibility of ever having children in the future and moreover you would be risking your life. I also disagree with this, because even though I am not Christian I regard life as a very important, possibly the most important gift that God can give to human beings.
I believe that abortions should mostly be carried out only before the first 25 weeks. Beyond this time the foetus is said to feel pain and certain other emotions. An abortion beyond this time, I believe is immoral and should be avoided. The argument against this would be “when does life begin?” as we define life as “the period between birth and death”. Some people see birth as beginning at the actual birth, but other people (especially the Roman Catholic Church) see birth (birth of life), as beginning from the very moment of conception.
I agree with the law that states that an abortion can be offered to the pregnant woman at any stage if the pregnant woman’s life is at risk because I believe that the child would be deprived of a mother’s love and affection and the mother would not be able to care for her baby.
If for whatever reason the parents of the foetus refuse to have an abortion and do not want their child, then another option left would be adoption. Adoption gives other people who cannot have children a chance to be parents. This way no one is hurt and the baby still get a chance at life and to make a contribution to the human race.
Another reason where I think abortion is acceptable is when it is known beforehand that the foetus is seriously deformed and will be born severely handicapped. I think that in this case the “quality of life” has priority over life itself. I think that it would be a lesser sin to abort the foetus than to let it live with terrible disability.
Abortion could be used to relieve a woman who had become pregnant because she had been raped. If she were raped when she was in her early teens then I think that abortion is probably the best option for her as going ahead with the pregnancy would affect her physical and mental health.
I think that abortion is a very thought provoking and controversial issue where there is no right or wrong, and where both sides raise significant arguments. I also think that the person who should have the greatest say in such a situation is the pregnant woman. She is the person that would be affected the most either way and should have the choice of an abortion should she want one. She should also not be forced to have an abortion against her will. I think that abortion should not be misused or used for the wrong reasons as this shows complete disregard for human life and could be interpreted as equivalent to murder.
