What is meant by the word abortion?
(a) (i) What is meant by the word abortion?
(ii) What biblical and church teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion?
There are several types of abortion. Doctors might refer to miscarriages or still births as spontaneous abortions. Spontaneous abortions normally come as a result of natural causes, such as illness. But it is much more common for people to have induced abortions. These are a direct result of a medical procedure intended to terminate a pregnancy. Another word is an elective abortion.
Before 1803 the English law permitted abortion as long as it was carried out before the point where it reached 20-24 weeks. After this point it was believed that the soul entered the body. Anyone who had an abortion after this point was breaking the law although there were no punishments. After 1803 the law radically changed and any abortion was seen as a criminal offence. In 1861 the punishment for having an abortion was imprisonment from 3 years to life even when performed for medical reasons. In 1929 the infant preservation act made it illegal to kill a child capable of being born alive (i.e. 28 weeks) unless a doctor decided it was legal in certain cases. In 1967 the abortion act came into effect and it permitted the termination of a pregnancy under certain conditions:
-The abortion must be performed by a registered medical practitioner and would be approved for the following reasons:
- If there was a risk to the mothers life
- If the pregnancy would cause injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant mother
- If the pregnancy would cause injury to the physical or mental health of the family of the pregnant woman
- If the child would suffer from physical or mental abnormalities (e.g.: handicapped)
Abortions can be carried out in several ways depending on how old the foetus is. Firstly is the vacuum Aspiration or sharp curettage (D & C). This method will be done from 6 - 16 weeks. It involves inserting a powerful suction tube thorough the cervix and into the uterus. The body of the unborn child are sucked into jar. Often the unborn child is torn apart by the force of the suction. Another method of abortion is prostaglandin. This can be done from 16 - 38 weeks. It involves giving the pregnant woman an injection which induces premature labour. The births are often of live children. Thirdly D & X also known as 'partial birth abortion' is done from 20 - 32 weeks. This dangerous method of late abortion involves pulling the live baby out feet first into the birth canal while the head remains in the uterus. The abortionist then makes a hole in the back of the skull to remove the brains with a suction catheter. The head then collapses allowing the child to be removed in one piece. All of these methods are still used to this day. This is a diagram of how a D & X abortion is done.
This Is How A Baby Develops
Week 1: Growing bundle of cells enter uterus
Week 3: Eyes, ears & blood vessels begin to form
Week 4: Heart starts beating
Week 6: All major organs present in rudimentary form
Week 7: Embryo is the size of a grape
Week 9: Fingernails begin to form, eyelids close over eyes
Week 10: Baby about 2.5cm long
Week 11: Baby can move its thumb to its finger, the two halves of the palette fuse, vocal chords in place
Week 12: Form of the genitals is established
Week 13: Skeleton begins to turn into bone
Week 14: Circulation is effective with the heat pumping 28 litres
Week 15: Baby thought to be aware of loud external noises. Head hair, eyelashes and eyebrows are visible.
Week 16: Mother begins to feel the baby's movement. Thumb sucking begins
Week 19: Baby is half the length it will be at birth
Week 20: Baby develops a pattern of activity and sleep, arms and legs reach relative birth proportions.
Week 22: Small chance the baby will survive if born now, lungs immature
Week 24: Half of babies born at this stage survive given care
Week 25: 80% of babies born now survive
Week 26: Lungs sufficiently developed to survive
Week 28: Baby responds to mother's voice
Week 29: Baby settles in to head - down position
Week 30 - 34: Pupils reflex response to light
Week 35: Baby orientates spontaneously towards light, begins to practise breathing movements and can get hiccups
Week 37: Growth slows or stops; baby is about 16 - 18 inches long
Week 38: Birth although only 5% make ...
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Week 24: Half of babies born at this stage survive given care
Week 25: 80% of babies born now survive
Week 26: Lungs sufficiently developed to survive
Week 28: Baby responds to mother's voice
Week 29: Baby settles in to head - down position
Week 30 - 34: Pupils reflex response to light
Week 35: Baby orientates spontaneously towards light, begins to practise breathing movements and can get hiccups
Week 37: Growth slows or stops; baby is about 16 - 18 inches long
Week 38: Birth although only 5% make their 'due date' and 8 - 12% wait another 3 weeks.
When we are looking at the development of a foetus we can see that by the twenty forth week (the deadline for an abortion) the baby is nearly fully developed and half of babies born at this stage survive given care. This tells us that if a baby was born and could survive, it would be murder to kill it.
In the year 2000 there were 175,542 abortions performed on women residents in England and Wales. The number and rate of abortions has changed rapidly. From 1968 to 1973, the annual numbers of legal abortions for women living in England and Wales increased and then levelled of at about 100,000 a year. Abortions between 1998 and 2000 have remained stable.
Abortions are not automatically available through the NHS. On average throughout England and Wales the NHS pays for approximately 3/4 (74.9%) of abortions. Almost 90% of abortions are in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
While most people think that teenagers are responsible for the highest number of abortions, it is actually among women aged 20 - 24. 97% of women who have abortions have it for social reasons. This means that it comes down to being 'inconvenient'
In 2000 almost 10,000 women who lived abroad travelled to England to have an abortion. 1,528 of these women came from Northern Ireland, 6,391 women came from the Irish Republic. Those from elsewhere in the world came because:
- Abortion is available in their countries only up to a certain amount of weeks
- It is not available at all
- Or to ensure complete confidentiality.
(ii) In Christianity, Christians follow and apply the teachings of the Bible. But since the Bible's teachings lead to a variety of view points it is very hard to know if abortion is right or wrong. Most Christians believe that abortion violates the sixth commandment 'Thou shall not kill'. But when does a foetus become a human (i.e. when has it got both body and soul). The Catholic Church teaches that ensoulment takes place at the moment of conception and this is why they refuse to condone abortion.
Some Christians arguments against abortion might be 'Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness"...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them, (Genesis 1:26- 27). This argument states that God made us, so anyone else who thinks that they can take life away when they didn't give it, is committing a grievous act of disobedience against God (Murder).
Some Christian arguments for the right to choice are ' if men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury. You are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, burn for burn wound for wound, bruise for bruise'. The argument here is that only if the woman dies from her injuries that murder is deemed to have taken place. The premature birth (abortion) of the baby is not condemned by the commandment 'Do not kill'. One criticism labelled against the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion is that it encourages you to have children even if you are not fully able to take care of them. This reduces the importance of the teaching that life is sacred.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that:
- Life begins at conception therefore the foetus is a human being with human rights.
- All of the teachings in the Bible on human rights apply to the foetus ie: 'Thou shall not kill'
- Life is sacred because it is given by God 'created in the image of God...' Because of this Roman Catholic's are absolutists and disagree with abortion totally.
Anglicans & Methodists teach:
- Life does not begin until the baby has a chance to survive independently from the mother.
- Abortion is wrong but justifiable if there was a chance of greater harm to the mother, or if she had been raped. So Anglicans & Methodists are not absolutists and agree with abortion under certain circumstances.
Christians for free choice (organisation) believe:
- The choice should be left to the woman's conscience, which will be guided by God
- The decision to continue a pregnancy should not be forced on the woman. Luke ch: 6 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Pro- choice Christians are exactly the opposite of Catholics. They are not absolutists in any way and support what ever the pregnant woman wants.
(b) Explain how Christians might put their beliefs about abortion into action. How would it affect them?
Christians are taught about their religion through teachings from the Bible. They also follow what the pope and other religious teachers tell them. These teachings help guide Christians through their life. When talking g about the subject of abortion it can be very difficult to make a decision on whether it is right or wrong. Although there is a straight forward commandment from God 'Thou shall not kill' (Exodus 20:13) some Christians believe that abortion is acceptable under certain circumstances. The Church of England said 'The life of a foetus is not absolutely sacred if it endangers the life of the mother' this means that if the mother's life is at risk by having the baby then abortion is acceptable. Christians believe in the sanctity of life (meaning life should not be treated badly or discarded thoughtlessly) a quote from the Bible is 'Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air; over the livestock, over the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the ground". So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them' (Genesis 1:26-27).
This teaching means that life is very special and God made it so we should not be able to take it away. It indicates that abortion is wrong and should never be done. Many modern Christians, however, seem to agree with abortion in some cases and think that it is important to show compassion for women, whatever she decides. Others have maintained their beliefs that abortion is wrong no matter what the circumstances are.
Modern Christians who believe in pro choice abortion could help people who are faced with the difficulty of choosing the 'right' choice by:
- Organising a support group for Christians
- Sharing their experiences
- Organising a charity
- Offering advice
- Counselling
Anti abortionists could try to stop people from having abortions by:
- holding protests
- sharing their experiences
- giving religious advice
Here is an account of a Christian who is pro- choice she decided to help woman faced with the difficulties of choosing whether abortion is right of wrong by being a counsellor:
"I was an abortion counsellor for a year at 'Planned Parenthood'. First of all, 'Planned Parenthood' is a fantastic organisation whose main goal is to help young women, like us, with problems that we may face. During my time as an abortion counsellor, I met all kinds of girls and women who were having abortions for all kinds of reasons. The one thing I learned from that job is to never make assumptions. Don't assume that you know what any particular person is going through and don't pass judgement on what any person is doing. I have always been pro- choice, but this job really solidified my stance. A couple of people that I met helped me with this. I often got young girls (12-17) who would need parental consent (in Indiana) to have the abortion unless they got a judicial by pass - where an underage girl feels that she can cannot get parental consent, for whatever reason, and will go before a judge in her country and the judge will determine whether she is competent enough to make her own decision about having an abortion. Anyway, one girl I saw was 12 years old and had her dad with her to sign for consent. I was doing her counselling and she was very reserved, almost silent. Through a great deal of talking, she told me that she was pregnant by her father. I kept her in my office and had the front desk call the police. The girl told me that the molestation had been going on for several years. If that girl hadn't had access to an abortion, she would've been forced to have her father's baby. I also counselled a married woman from the Middle East. She was pregnant by another man. Her husband had been away for many months, so it was impossible that it could have been his child. She said that she would have been sent back to her country of origin, divorced (which in her culture was disastrous) and possibly physically harmed, even killed. The abortion that she had may have saved her life. In the end, it is a woman's choice what to do with her body."
Here is an account of a Christian who had an abortion and regrets it to this day:
"I am hoping that the following testimony will help to awaken pregnant women to the realization that the being they are carrying in their 'nest', is a human being, first belonging to God because as soon as the seed takes its place in the mother's 'nest' immediately at the same moment, God gives it a soul. Oh, if only I had contemplated on the above sooner on the fact that God sanctified marriage, making it one of the seven sacraments and saying to the bride and the groom, 'increase and multiply', my husband , Robert would have been one of the most wonderful fathers. Our baby and our love would have been with us and we would have been blessed with a family, living in God's grace. It is now a nightmare that I aborted my and my husband's flesh and blood, proof of our great love. My husband was out of work and I panicked when I learned about my pregnancy. My brother's wife had accompanied me to the woman doctor who confirmed my pregnancy. Seeing that I was worried about money problems, my brother's wife told me not to worry and assured me that a pill would abort "whatever is in there now". So, in the summer of 1942, at the age of 29 and being two months pregnant, I had an abortion. The pain was so excruciating that I felt that I was dying. My body and my hair were drenched in perspiration. It seemed to be taking so long. The two women butchers were having a hard time because I heard one of them say to the other, "I'm sorry I took this case. The baby doesn't want to leave". I was heartbroken when I heard them say that it was a baby. When I told Robert, he remained silent but I could feel that he was heartbroken too. A miscarriage followed. I am now 87 years of age. My beloved Robert has passed on without ever having achieved the desire of having children, leaving me with much regret. From the day of the abortion until this day, I have been carrying the burden of guilt because I participated in the murder of my baby. Those words, "This baby doesn't want to leave" continue to haunt me. Every teenager, boy and girl, should know that abortion kills a human being. A baby is happy to be born to a father and a mother who are anxiously waiting for their heavenly treasure. It is the privilege of only a married man to plant the seed under the heart of his loving wife where this seed of life settles into her 'nest' and is given a soul. A soul which children should be told belongs to God. Mothers and fathers should be proud to bring children into this world and prepare them for heaven. I wish I had known this 58 years ago when I thought that abortion will take care of 'whatever is there now'. I didn't know that it was a baby until I heard those haunting words, 'this baby doesn't want to leave'. Even though my priest has given me absolution because of God's great mercy for the grave sin which I have committed, I will grieve until my last breath for my precious little one who didn't want to leave its nest. How can I forget?"
(c) "Abortion is never justified". Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer to show that you have thought about different points of view. You must refer to Christianity in your answer.
Some people think that abortion is never justified no matter what the circumstances are. Roman Catholics believe that rather than interfering with the process of life, Christians must trust that God knows what is best for us and it is not our choice to decide. They believe that life begins at conception therefore destroying a foetus is the same as taking a life of a fully grown adult. Roman Catholics believe that God gave life so only he can take it away.
Other people think that abortion can be justified under certain circumstances such as Anglicans. These people think that abortion is acceptable in certain circumstances E.g. When a woman is raped or her life is in danger but these types of circumstances only account for a small percent of women abortions which are carried out. Some people believe that it is the woman's right, her life, her body, her choice E.g. pro- choice Christians. They say that it is up to the woman's conscience to decide what is right or wrong. They believe that if abortion wasn't legalised then it would force many women to go underground and get 'Backstreet' abortions. They also believe that if a woman can't have an abortion then what happens to free will?
I think that abortion can only be justified if the mother's life is in danger, if the woman has been raped or if the child will be severely handicapped. I think that abortion should never be used as contraception like it is now. I don't believe in pro- choice and just because abortion is legal it doesn't mean it is right. Pro- choice people say 'it is the right of a woman to choose' but I don't think that anyone has the right to decide another person's death whether they are in a womb or not. If a person is stupid enough to get pregnant when they know they don't want a baby then they should either accept the consequences or adopt/foster the child. There are many women who are unable to have children and want to adopt or foster. I believe that God gave life and no one else has the right to take it away. Some people might say what happens to free will if abortion is never allowed, but I think free will is only accepted to a certain extent. A person can't murder out of free will, there has to be exceptions. So when it comes to abortion (the murder of a child) there should be no free will because it concerns another person's life. I also think that before any abortion is done the father should be notified because if the father wants to keep the baby himself then abortion numbers could be reduced. At the moment the deadline for an abortion is 24 weeks, this is too long and should be made smaller as the baby is too far developed and can feel pain.
(a) (i) What is meant by the word abortion?
(ii) What biblical and church teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion?
(b) Explain how Christians might put their beliefs about abortion into action. How would it affect them?
(c) "Abortion is never justified". Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer to show that you have thought about different points of view. You must refer to Christianity in your answer.
By Adileh Fard
