People who support abortion, such as 'the Abortion Reform Group' support the following views:
- A woman should have the right to choose what happens to her body.
- If it becomes more difficult to get legalized abortion there would be an increase in the number of illegal abortions.
- It is wrong to bring unwanted children into the world.
- Unwanted children may suffer rejection and become problems in society.
- Abortion is not murder as it destroys only a collection of cells. Which cannot survive outside the womb before the 24th week of the pregnancy
Organizations such as 'Save The Unborn Child' (Life) support the following views:
- The Unborn child is alive from the moment of conception and has the right to live
- An abortion is infanticide.
- If abortion easily obtained it would be used as another form of contraception. Thus encouraging people to have casual attitude to sexual relations
- Many couples would welcome the chance to adopt an unwanted baby, but abortion has reduced the rate of unwanted babies.
Evangelical Christians believe that abortion is wrong because it is breaking the sixth commandment, "Thou shall not kill". They also believe that all human life is precious because God created mankind "in his own image" as written in Genesis 1 verse 26. Therefore human life should be preserved.
Part B
Many Christians believe that abortion is acceptable in some cases. The Anglican view on abortion is 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. The Catholic Church believes that human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of its existence a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person. Among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. Since the first century has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Modern science proves that the unborn child is a separate human being from conception. It is never just a part of his mothers body. The Catholic Church believes that abortion is a sin in all cases whereas the protestant church believes that abortion is acceptable in certain cases. Like if a women is raped and becomes pregnant then offering an abortion is a humane and practical way of helping her. This statement is likely to be used by a protestant. People with the most awful handicaps can lead happy, creative and fulfilled lives. This may be a response by a catholic.
Catholics may respond to the question of abortion by saying God gives life and that they are accountable to God. Also that God is the giver of life and therefore only God may end it. Other Christians may say that that they accept that life comes from God but there is nothing in the bible, which states that abortion is wrong. Christians have to decide for themselves. Catholics believe that since all human life begins at conception. All humans 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.
Within the Christian Church there is generally a keen desire to follow and apply the teachings of the Bible. However this in not easy and a number of alternative readings of Scripture have lead to a variety of viewpoints concerning the moral implications of abortion. Generally the Church is united in its condemnation of abortion. Most Christians believe abortion violates the sixth command which prohibits murderous acts. However there is a keen debate concerning the moment a human embryo/foetus becomes fully human (i.e. when, according to Christian teaching, it has both body and soul). The Catholic Church teaches that ensoulment takes place at the moment of conception and this has been a key reason for their refusal to condone abortion (although Thomas Aquinas taught that the soul of girls was implanted by God at 90 days and the soul of boys at 40 days). Another key factor is Natural Law which Catholics believe shows that the natural consequence of the woman becoming pregnant is to give birth. The Protestant Church is reluctance to take such a hard line as Catholics do in the abortion debate. It accepts that there are certain situations when abortion is an unavoidable consequence of deciding between the 'lesser of two evils' (E.g. Accepting that a women who becomes pregnant after being raped might want an abortion). Thus they generally advocate a form of Situation Ethics.
Also Jesus preached that you should love your neighbour. So killing a potential baby would go against Jesus' teachings. Jesus also taught not to judge others. So Christians should not judge the actions of others. If the person is sorry for their sins God would forgive them. Two sayings of our Lord make it clear how we must love our neighbor. One is the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The other is, "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do to Me." These words of Christ help us deal with one of the most burning issuesof our day: abortion. Our response to abortion is a response to a tiny, helpless child and his/her mother. Apply the Golden Rule. Put yourself in the child's place. (We were all in the womb at one point ourselves.) Would you want to be cared for and nourished and brought safely to birth, or aborted?
Part C
I believe that abortion can only be justified in some situations. I also believe that abortion is only justifiable if greater harm is being avoided. If there are any physical mental or emotionally risk to the mother of the child I believe that abortion could therefore be justifiable. Most women, I believe, would rather not have to live with the guilt and anguish that comes from knowing the consequences of their decision, but the decision must be there for them to make. It is not the place of men to dictate women's lives, any more than it is the place of a woman to tell a man whether or not he can have a vasectomy. Women need the option, the choice to abort a child. I personally think that the population on this planet is getting out of control.
We have limited resources, like fossil fuels and food. Also, too many people also mean too much pollution as well. I'm not saying that too many bad stuff and bad people is the reason to not bring a baby into this world. What is the point of bringing a baby into this world if you cannot or do not have the resources and food to take care of it? With pollution adding on to the problem, it could make things worse. Also, don't forget that most people we bring into the world, the more pollution there will be. The only thing that I disagree about abortion (and this goes to the women that choose to have a abortion)is; why do you guys have to waste thousands of dollars on it, when you should be wearing protection like condoms or birth control pills so you don't have to even worry about it in the first place? Do not get me wrong. I do enjoy life being born into this world and that I do support life very much. However, I am also not going to limit a person's freedom of choosing to bring life into the world or not. It would be stupid to bring a baby, a life, into this world if we ended up not being able to take care of it because of limited resources and pollution. Anyway, there is my opinion on why I disagree with Christian's views on abortion.
