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

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Religious Studies Coursework

  1. What is meant by the word

i)’abortion’

The premature expulsion of the foetus from the womb.

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

 

Many people believe different thing about abortion and the issue of abortion has caused much conflict for many years. All Christians believe that life is a sacred gift from God but disagreements exist between the churches over weather abortion is morally acceptable.

The Church of England believes 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 of its mother’. So basically the Anglican view on abortion is that it is wrong but in special circumstances, for example the birth of the baby harming the mother or the baby being a result of rape or incest, abortion may be necessary and is therefore justifiable.

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The Roman Catholics believe that abortion is morally wrong and a sin in all cases. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that life begins at the moment of conception and from that moment it is sacred and everybody should try to protect it. Therefore to abort a foetus is to break the commandment ‘thou shalt not kill’.

There are groups that work to make Abortion illegal; these are pro-life groups such as LIFE and SPUC, they believe that abortion is morally wrong no matter what and it should be considered murderous to terminate a pregnancy. There are also pro-choice groups such ...

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