Christians who are against abortion think that a child is a gift from God and God created this child, the foetus has the right to live, babies who are born with a handicap often grow up to lead a fulfilled life, a foetus is a living person, many women feel guilty after their abortion and this might affect them for the rest of their life. The Bible teaches us that life is started from the moment of conception “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches forbid abortion totally. “Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception; abortion and infanticide are the most abominable of crimes.” (Statement from the Roman Catholic Church). The Church of England and most of the Protestant churches agree with the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox churches in principle. While abortion is generally not accepted, it may be permitted in these certain cases: there is a serious risk to the mother’s life, if conception takes place as a result of rape and if there is a grave risk that the baby will be born handicapped.
Another form of the premature termination of life is euthanasia. Euthanasia means ‘easy death,’ euthanasia is the act of helping someone to die to ease their suffering, these circumstances only occur if a person is suffering from a painful, debilitating and incurable illness. There are four forms of euthanasia: passive, which is when a person is terminally ill and has their treatment withdrawn to allow nature to take its course. Active, this is when a specific action is undertaken to kill the patient for example helping the patient take an overdose on painkillers. Voluntary, this is when the patient decides for themselves to make the decision on whether or not they want euthanasia; they might refuse medical treatment to be kept alive. Involuntary, this is when the patient is unable to make the decision for themselves, so the family and doctor make the decision for them.
In the U.K there is no law directly dealing with euthanasia, but to actively end another person’s life for example with a lethal injection or overdose of pills is illegal. Some forms of euthanasia are allowed like a form of passive euthanasia.
Christians have different views on euthanasia, people who are for euthanasia might say that people should be allowed to decide when they want to die, Christians accept that all life came from God but the Bible says nothing about keeping a person alive at any cost, euthanasia allows people to die with dignity, animals are allowed to be ‘put down,’ why not humans. “We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives.” (Ccc 2283)
Christians that are against euthanasia might say that God gives life and he chooses when to end it, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.” (Job 1:21) Euthanasia goes against the sixth commandment, “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) The doctor takes an oath to preserve life; all life is sacred and should be preserved.
Christian churches have their own views on euthanasia; the Roman Catholic Church is against euthanasia because it is seen as murder, “That to cause death in this way was 'a grave violation of the law of God'.” (Pope) but the church allows a large dose of painkillers to ease the patient. The Church of England is very similar but states that people should not be kept alive at any cost. The Anglican Church is against making euthanasia legal because they think the old and the sick will be vulnerable and must be protected. Although the churches are against euthanasia, they encourage people to go to hospices where they can die with dignity.
I think abortion and euthanasia should be decided by the patient and their families, not by their belief.
