What biblical and church teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion?

    If a child has diabetes is it wrong to give a daily injection of insulin? People would be happy for a doctor to use medicine in this case. Yet most Christians say don’t ‘play god’ because of abortion, as they feel it is right to use medicine knowledge.

    Doctors are often given difficult decisions….persevere with resuscitation? Amputate a limb? Prescribe ‘guinea pig trial’ drugs to a patient? Keep a premature baby alive that will need a huge effort to keep alive, and have disabilities throughout their life.

    When it comes to discussions on abortions, Christians use biblical teachings to back what they say. They feel that anything god says is correct, as well as anything worthy of being in the book of god.

    A classic argument/story is Luke ch1 v41 which says “john the Baptist leapt for joy at 6 months in the womb”. The story was that that Jesus’ mom met john’s mum, and john knew instantly that Jesus was coming to save them, which is why he jumped for joy inside his mothers womb.

    Christians believe anything god makes is alive, even sperm. In Exodus ch20 v13 is says “do not commit murder”, and so abortion is wrong. Others believe a baby is not alive until it leaves the womb, and some believe it is not alive until after 24 weeks.

    The first words spoken by a man in the bible are “the LORD gave and now He has taken away”. They were said by a man called Job, and would mean that it is god that provides life for all things, and it is him that will take life away from things. No one can act god in this sense, as god is working on it 24/7.

    The following quote was from a king in the Old Testament and was moaning generally about the state of the world and all the injustice that goes on. “Better off are those who have never been born, who have never seen the injustice that goes on in this world”. You could use this to support abortion, saying that you shouldn’t bring a baby into the world if your not going to love them.

Church

    The four churches I chose are The Roman Catholic Church, The Church of England, The Baptist Union of Great Britain and The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

    The Church of England feels there is an unacceptably high amount of abortions. The believe education on ‘sexuality and relationships’ is important, and that adoption should be promoted. They also feel support is needed with the medical profession in ensuring abortions are carried out a soon as possible.

    They accept abortion is the mothers life is in danger or if the mother has been raped, and they declare that abortion after 24 weeks is murder, unless a baby is seriously handicapped and will only live for a short time anyway.

    Catholics say an unborn child is a gift from god and worthy of complete respect as a human being with the right to life. They have constantly condemned abortion through the centuries.

    Their hate of contraception is due to their belief in natural love between two. They see the fertilized egg as a human, and so some contraception are not allowed.

    The Baptist Union of Great Britain reckons the best way to describe when a baby’s life begins is when the father and mother form a relationship with the unborn child. Their debate on abortion is often couched of terms of principles. The protagonist defends either the rights of the unborn child or the rights of the mother. Some would say the rights of the mother are above them of the baby as the mother has already started a life and formed relationships.

    Most Baptists favour the restriction of access to legal abortion permitted under British law.

    The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) believe a decision should be made rightly, not quickly. The Quaker Society doesn’t issue statements willy nilly like other religions. They feel if everyone feels the same there’s no point. For example, Quakers see no need to issue a statement condemning child abuse because it is clearly wrong, but as they have mixed views on abortions, it is here where a statement is needed, but for a testimony to be reached, Quakers need to see a need for abortion as a whole group, if there is any.