‘that not even a sparrow is forgotten by God’. Christians could use this to support the sanctity of life belief, that all live is precious and God given. He knows every single tiny being, even unborn babies, and has a plan for them. Who are we to undo what God has planned?
In the Old Testament, the Sanctity of Life argument is often mentioned. It’s first talked of in Genesis, the very first chapter of the bible. Genesis says that God created male and female in his likeness. In Psalm 139 it says
‘God created life and put us together in our mothers womb’.
Supporting the evidence that many people believe that life begins at the moment of conception, from this point the foetus is an individual and to destroy it is a sin. Jeremiah further stresses that
‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart’
Again proving that many Christians believe that all human life is sacred and to destroy the child is going against what God wants. Christians often develop the opinion that these messages emphasise the commandment that it is wrong to kill another.
Christians would also look to the denominations of the Church to enable them to form a balanced opinion.
The Roman Catholic Church believes that abortion is murder:
‘Abortion has been considered to be murder since the first centuries of the church and nothing permits it to be considered otherwise’ (Pope Paul VI 1970)
As we can see, the Catholic Church has an extremely strict view on abortion. They would justify their decision with the 4th Century apostolic constitution that states:
‘Thou shalt not slay thy child by causing abortion, nor kill that which is already born, for everything that has been shaped by and has received a soul from god, if it is slain, shall be avenged’.
Theologists also support this argument, like the protestant theologian John Calvin (1509-64) said
‘Abortion is worse than killing a man in his own home’. Even Mother Teresa has a strong opinion against abortion. She put forward the view that if it was acceptable for a mother to kill her child how can we claim that murderers sin if they are doing exactly the same thing, killing another human being.
However, other Churches have more liberal views:
The Church of England view on abortion is
‘That life of the foetus has to be protected. If the foetus endangers the life of the mother, action can be taken’.
This is supported on several counts, like in this report issued in 1984,
‘The Anglican view on abortion is 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’.
Church of England believe that although the foetus is very important, the life of the human being who is already in this world and may have other commitments, is in many cases, more important. For instance, the Church of England would find it acceptable for a woman who already has a child to have an abortion, if to continue the pregnancy would endanger her life and her first child’s.
The Church of Scotland is against abortion on demand, that is abortion that isn’t carried out for a good medical reason. However they will allow abortion if the mother was in danger, if there was substantial proof that the mother was raped or if the child was to be born seriously handicapped and the mother truly felt she couldn’t provide the extensive support the baby would need to survive.
Protestants take many of the same views as the Church of Scotland, although they don’t approve of abortion simply because it isn’t convenient for the woman to fall pregnant, they will allow abortion in some cases. Another instance that protestants will allow abortions, other than those discussed above, is when the mothers other children are going to suffer because of another sibling.
Of all the denominations, the Roman Catholic Church is the only one to completely oppose abortion. This is quite a traditional view, as many of the other churches realise we live in modern times, where we are open to choice. Sometimes it is far more sensible to have an abortion that to live with a child that isn’t really wanted and can’t have the full love and support of its mother. Roman Catholics still take a very definite view that, as God is present at the very moment of conception, he begins life, and only he can take it away.
- Explain how Christians may respond to the question of abortion.
Christians, just like non-Christians, take different views on the issue of abortion.
As I have mentioned, abortion is never written about in the bible, but from the beginnings of Christianity, the church has been consistently opposed to it. Many Christians took this stance, but ideas were reconsidered during the 1960’s, as society was changing. Some church leaders could see that the traditional teachings on abortion simply weren’t practical in the modern world. Most importantly they were forcing women to have ‘Back Street Abortions’, carried out by unqualified people in unhealthy conditions. These people were Christians and although they didn’t abandon the idea of the sanctity of life, they could see that weighed against the other principles in the bible, in some circumstances an abortion was a far more sensible option.
In the modern world, Christians will respond to the question of abortion in one of two ways. Either pro-choice or anti-abortion.
Those people who take a pro-choice stance argue that the Bible commands that we should love one another and show compassion for the weak. In cases such as that of a single mother, who has no means to support another child, it is far kinder allow her to have an abortion, rather then make her suffer further.
They say that Jesus said that we should all lead a full Christian life; they think that those who are severely mentally disabled really couldn’t ever have a full quality of life. It would be unfair to make them have a poor quality of life, which will affect both the child and the family. In this case, it is often easier to have an abortion. God gave us all free will, pro-choice supporters will tell us, and we should leave it to individuals to make the choice for themselves.
A pro-choice Christian would say that the choice should be left to the individual. They believe that it is impossible to make rules and regulations that could apply to all situations; they think people should make their decision with their own rules and morals, according to their life.
However, to respond pro-choice doesn’t mean someone is pro-abortion. It doesn’t mean that a pro-choice Christian would agree that abortion on demand was acceptable, whatever the reason for legalising it. Pro-choice simply means that people see abortion as a last resort, after a lot of consideration. Abortion should not be favoured, but it should be tolerated. A pro-choice Christian would further argue that as Christianity has developed over 2000 years, there are many ideas that aren’t relevant to today and many that can be open to interpretation.
An anti-abortion or pro-life Christian would agree with the original views of the church, that ‘Abortion is a sin in all cases’. The support the preservation and Sanctity of life and believe that abortion is a direct violation of their belief. They strongly agree with the Roman Catholic stance, earlier highlighted
‘Thou shalt not slay thy child by causing abortion, nor kill that which is already born, for everything that has been shaped by and has received a soul from god, if it is slain, shall be avenged’.
Christians like Mother Teresa openly condemn abortion and support the Catholic view and stance against it. Victoria Gullick, a catholic writer in TV times in 1990 supports strongly the Roman Catholic pro-life stance.
‘Contraceptives will fail and humans make mistakes. There will always be unplanned pregnancies. But there are many women and young girls who have gone ahead and had babies and found it wasn’t the end of the world. There is help available; a baby is not the end of life, but the beginning’.
Some Catholics have responded like this, to help the mother. If she keeps the baby, she may indeed find it is something she will enjoy, even if originally she didn’t want to have a child.
In 1997, the Catholic Church of Scotland started a scheme to help mothers who choose to have their baby, above abortion. They are given funds as an incentive, so they have a little extra money to buy equipment and clothing for their child.
Some Christians however, don’t take any side at all; they would show compassion and consideration for the woman, whatever her decision. This in many cases means showing that they cared whether they did indeed agree with her actions.
- ‘Abortion is never justified’
Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view.
As we have seen, there are Christians who would fully support this statement and truly believe that abortion is not acceptable under any circumstance. Pro-life groups would insist that the foetus is an unborn child and to get rid of it is the same as murdering another human being, no matter whether you can actually see it in front of you or not. Such a Christian would see life beginning in the womb and that the termination of a pregnancy means ending a human life. This easily falls in line with the teaching of Psalm 139
‘Thou didst form my inward parts. Thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb’.
It can also be argued that if life does indeed begin in the womb, and the foetus is considered a human, it has the same basic human rights as you and I. Therefore abortion killing is never justified.
There are other Christians who would argue that abortion could be justified either fully, or in certain cases. They would say that life doesn’t actually begin at conception, but at the moment of birth when the baby takes its first breath. They can argue that as it never mentions abortion in the bible, there is no commandment 'You shalt not terminate a pregnancy’, so the bible should be left open to interpretation. Pro-choice Christians would believe that given such cases as rape, risk of the mother’s health or a damaged foetus then abortion is justifiable. In this modern world we are able to make sure we lead our lives to the fullest and pro-choice Christians could argue that using medical science to carry out abortions is allowing us all to lead full lives. You could argue that a woman is still protecting a life that already exists by having an abortion, rather than ruining two by continuing a pregnancy. Ultimately, they believe that God would be seen as a loving God, who would care for and values the life of an individual. He has also given every individual the gift of free will, in order to choose what is morally right or wrong within every person’s mind.
In consideration, these are only people’s opinions of what they think should happen. Often, an individual will act a lot differently in the situation. Christians will always be in a difficult situation as to what they depict as right or wrong, as much of the bible is interpreted differently be each person. They must live with their own conscience, a set of values produced by their faith.
I personally believe that abortion should be available to anyone who wishes to have one, whether they have a justifiable reason or not. The decision can only be made by the woman and they must be certain of it in their own mind, not have their judgement clouded by other organisation’s beliefs. Women have a right to control their own fertility and decide when they want a baby. This ensures the child is very much wanted and can receive both the emotional and financial support it needs. In many ways, if a mother chooses to have an abortion, they could be seen to have a pro-life stance, they are choosing life, their life and ultimately they are the person on the planet now. Why should they spoil their life for something that doesn’t even really exist? I believe that life begins right at the moment of birth, not before, so I don’t se abortion as cruel or as murder. It is necessary and a sensible choice in the modern world. If we have the technology and facilities to allow what, in many cases, is a life saving procedure then surely we should encourage it, instead of having a world with many un-wanted and un-loved children.
