Whereas, physicians believe that life begins when the fertilized ovum implants itself in the wall of the uterus. But these are only two opinions. Others may argue that a child’s life begins when they can sustain themselves
outside of the mother’s whom and therefore when they the fetus is terminated, a human being has not been murdered.
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ii) None of the Christian churches encourage abortions but all agree that it could only be used in serious circumstances. Roman Catholics and Orthodox churches forbid abortions completely. This following quote is from the documents of the Roman Catholic Churches, stating the reason to stop abortions being carried out in their faith:
But other Christians believe that there are only three cases were an abortion is permitted:
- if the mother’s life could be at risk
- if the pregnancy was due to a rape
- if there is a probability that the baby will be born handicapped
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For many Christians, the Bible is used as a guide, a list of “do and don’t” and stories with morals behind each one. This builds a sense a moral awareness within a person. The Bible is important text that teaches the Christian faith. It contains many teachings, but none of which are about abortion, as abortion was not heard of in the days the Bible was written. So the Bible doesn’t directly use the word “abortion”, but there are still many quotes from the Bible that are relevant to the issue or abortion.
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Genesis 1: 26 - 27
This shows that we were all made in God’s image, and so we should not terminate someone who can have likeness to God. But one could argue that the fetus does not yet have likeness to God and is not yet an image of God, and so the dilemma of abortion can not be solved by this verse alone.
In 1974, the Roman Catholics church published the “Document on Procured Abortion” part of it states:
This shows that, we were formed in the womb, God had a special plan for each of us, so why should humans interfere with this plan by terminating the child before it has had a chance to fulfill God’s plan. However, some may argue that if God is still forming us in the womb, then we are not yet human beings in the womb and so a termination would not be a sin.
This verse in Jeremiah, is in close correspondence to Psalm 139: 13
a difference between this verse and the one in Jeremiah, is that this verse implies that God is still making us and making our plan in our mothers womb and so one could argue that life doesn’t necessarily begin at the point of conception but later in the pregnancy. However this verse also shows us that God has a special plan for our lives, even when we are in our mother’s womb and so a termination would change God’s plan.
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1 Corinthians 3:16 – 17
This quote shows that life is sacred, and that there is a punishment for anyone who destroys that temple of God.
This quote, backs the Roman Catholic view that it is always wrong to kill an unborn child.
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The Didache is an early Christian document which directly condemns abortion:
But this command was not concocted from thin air; the quotes that I have already mentioned, along with many other quotes from the Bible, helped bring together this direct command.
b) So now that we know what Christian beliefs are, the next step is to see Christian beliefs in action. There are many ways which Christians can put their beliefs in to practice. In discussion with others, Christians may show that they disagree with abortion and will use references from the Bible to explain there opinion. One of these is by joining “pro-life” organizations such as SPUC. The society for the protection of unborn children is an organization that campaigns against abortion. They stand up for the rights of the unborn child and the humanity of the unborn child.
Christian beliefs might also influence their vote in political elections. For example Christians who disagree with abortion may choose to vote for the party who has agreed to make abortions harder to get. Some Christians might choose a more active approach. Rather than waiting for the election to come round again, some Christians might write to their local MP’s or take part in demonstrations and protests to get their opinion across. A direct approach could also be used; picketing clinics that offer abortions and persuading people waiting to change their minds. Some Christians could go straight to the heart of the problem in the fist place; organizing talks for children in schools and churches and educating them well about sex so that there are less unwanted pregnancies. However, not all Christians are pro – life; some Christians join organizations that help protect the mother’s welfare and give her the choice to have a safe abortion. Some Christians give support to organizations that offer advice and counseling to people who have had abortions. In an argument, a pro choice Christian might discourage the other
people from cruising women who have had abortions. But Whether a Christians is pro life or pro choice, they always the option of prayer; asking God for help in the situation, and for comfort to the people making the hard decisions.
c) As you have seen, abortion is a complicated issue which when discussed, hardly ever leads to a final conclusion. However section C looks at the different points of view that people (mainly Christians) share about the issue of abortion.
“Abortion is never justified.”
Many pro – life Christians may argue with the above statement as they may feel that a life, even one of a developing fetus is sacred. This belief comes from different quotations such as that in Psalms;
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
This show that God has a Plan for each of us and that to terminate the life of something created by God is wrong. Also in Genesis is states that;
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
This shows that all humans are sacred as they share the image of God and so to terminate the child’s life would be killing a replica of God.
Christians may also use the quotation from the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20;
13”You shall not murder”
But what is the definition of murder? As stated above in section A, murder is the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. But is the fetus a human being yet? This sparks the question of when life really begins. Some pro-life Christians would argue that life begins at the point of conception. Pro life Christians use this verse from Jeremiah to show that Gods Special plan was determined before we were born and so we are ruining God’s plan by terminating any child at any time;
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
So an abortion at anytime in the pregnancy would be murder and therefore abortion would never be justified. However, pro choice Christians can use the above verse from Jeremiah to show that the fetus is still developing in the womb and so is not a fully developed human until it is born.
Some people argue that life begins when the distinguishing features such as the heart and other major organs develop. This is at approximately 6 weeks after conception. So an abortion before 6 weeks would not be murder.
Others may say that the life begins when the child is born into the world and so abortion would never be considered murder.
So whether abortion is thought of as murder depends on when you think life begins.
Pro choice Christians will normally say that life begins when the child is born, but this varies from person to person. Pro choice campaigners believe that the mother should have the right to choose her future and so if the abortion was necessary, it could be carried out. But only when necessary; abortion as a means of contraception is not thought necessary as the pregnancy could have been stopped by more convention means of contraception rather than the controversial method of abortion.
Pro choice campaigners believe that abortion can be justified if the pregnancy was a result of a rape because the mother would have a constant reminder of her abuse if she had the child bout pro-life campaigners would respond to this and say that the child should have a chance of life and if the mother really had a problems keeping the child, other options such as adoption, could be explored; but at least the child was given a chance to live and not punished for something it didn’t do.
One scenario that both pro life and pro choice Christians agree on is that if the mother was at risk because of the pregnancy, an abortion would be justified. However, when faced with this scenario, some strong pro life Christians would not agree as they would say that to save the mothers life is acting s God. This group of people agrees with the statement above.
So again, no black and white conclusion can be made for the argument, however a vague conclusion can be made; in every case, there are different people and roles involved and there are endless scenarios that can never be mapped out in black and white and so this is where situation ethics comes in. this is where a decision is made based on the situation and scenario. This does how ever leave the argument open ended.
Statement of Intent
In this coursework I am looking to define abortion and then examine various Christian responses to the subject. Then I am going to look at the different ways in which these responses are put into action by Christians and then look to see if there is ever justification for carrying out an abortion.
Contents
- Statement of Intent and contents Page 1
- Definition of abortion and legal history Page 2
- Biblical teaching that might be used in a discussion about abortion Page 3
- How Christians but there beliefs about abortion into
action Page 9
- Is abortion ever justified? Page 11
- Bibliography Page 15
Bibliography
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Contemporary Moral Issues by Joe Jenkins
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Christian prospective by Libby Ahluwalia
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Thinking about God and morality by Lesley parry
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Discovery by John Mayled and Libby Ahluwalia
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Ethics and religion by Rankin, Brown, Gateshill
- www.bbc.co.uk/gcsebitesize
- www.reonline.org.uk
- www.spuc.org.uk