The Catholic Church strongly condemns abortion and clearly states that God is the giver of life and only he has the power to take it away.
There are various reasons to why a female would want an abortion. Some of these reasons would be that the mother was raped, and therefore wouldn’t want to give birth to a child under the circumstances, the mother may be unhealthy or physically hurt, the mother may be to young and has exams and a social life to maintain, the child itself may have poor health and so the mother feels its best to dispose of the child, instead of letting it live a hard life due to a disability, she may be encountering financial difficulties, the child may be unwanted or have no father for support, or that the child was conceived during an affair relationship. An unexpected or unwanted pregnancy can be different for every woman. They are all their own person and feel many mixed emotions. None the less many women, as soon as they find out they are pregnant put the immediate focus on ‘What will happen if I have this baby?’ The word ‘pregnant’ does not mean that you are going to have baby if you decide to keep it! Pregnant means that you all ready have your baby!
Some Christians who were faced with the reason of abortion being that the mother of the child was raped, and so it is unwanted, a Christians may speak to the mother abort what Jesus taught us, and that is, “Thou shalt not kill.” A practising Christian mother may take this into consideration and not proceed with the abortion, as she considers her faith an important factor in her life, and also because she will have the chance to bring new life into the world.
When approached with the reason that, a mother wants an abortion due to her health, or the health of her child or the child is simply not wanted, a Christian may oppose the issue of abortion by explaining to her that the child has dignity and that respect must be shown to the baby and so childbirth must take place, so the child can have the sacrament of baptism.
Mothers that want an abortion due to their very young age, or that there is no father for support, may be given the advise from a Christian that an organisation named ‘Cura’ could aid her in giving her all the support she needs to get though to child birth, and support when the child is born, and provide her with financial aid. This organisation would also provide a home for a young pregnant mother if needed. Action needs to be taken to cut down the number of unwanted pregnancies. From school age children hear about sex and are not informed of the bad side, many feel it is a ‘must’ if you want to be cool, I disagree. Is it cool to have no social life and be seen pushing a pram at 14 years of age?? Why wait until you are pregnant to decide you don’t want a child, children should be made aware of the disadvantages and if faced with the problem, how to deal with it. Classes should be given to children to raise awareness.
There would also be Christians who would support abortion as they would see the mother’s choice weather or not to keep the child, more important than beliefs and not believe that it is murder as the child is not fully developed yet, and unable to experience pain. Through technology we can see that an unborn child is a member of the family aswell. They reflect our image and are made in Gods.
“God is the only giver, sustainer and taker away of life and he is not served by human hands. As if he needed anything because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.” Acts 17:25
Here again Roman Catholic teaching disagrees with the law. Roman Catholic teaching is that abortion is totally wrong. If an unborn baby is killed indirectly, in an operation to save the life of its mother, then that is acceptable. Otherwise, Catholics insist, in no circumstances must you kill an unborn child.
As Christians we have the responsibility to follow the teaching of Christ. In doing so, we must then abide by the Ten Commandments. One of these commandments are, “Thou shalt not kill.”
Is an abortionist, who is a Christian, not failing as a Christian as I have already stated that although the child is unborn, and in the womb, it is still seen as a child and so in carrying out the abortion, murder is taking place, thus breaking a commandment and not fulfilling their duties as Christians. People such as nurses, doctor’s surgeons etc. hold the belief that human life should be cared for, and be saved if in any way possible as they dedicate their lives to healing the sick, and attending to the disabled. These people have dignity, in the fact that they know God has created everyone of us, and to waste or put an end to a life would be an insult to God and Christian beliefs, and so their life’s work is to preserve life, and heal the sick.
Human life is a gift from God. It is sacred and has dignity
Furthermore, we see by the church’s teaching, that abortion is seen as murder and so shouldn’t take place under any circumstances, and also see how important the sacrament of baptism is, as it gives you the strength, to live your life avoiding sin, in the way that God wanted us to.
The Roman Catholic teaching is that abortion is totally wrong, but if an unborn child is killed indirectly, in an attempt to save the life of its mother, it is acceptable but in no other circumstances must you kill a n unborn child in any way.
Anglicans take a different line, arguing that if a mother is likely to die in childbirth, it is absurd to look upon the unborn child’s life as more valuable than the mother’s. The mother has responsibilities as a wife. She may already have children to care for. To regard her life as less valuable than the child’s does not consider the mother’s right to live in terms of her wider roles as wife or mother of other children as well as in terms of her own person.
To conclude, the Christian teaching about abortion states that they are morally wrong and shouldn’t take place as life should have dignity and be respected and in no way or under and circumstances be wasted.
