In 1869 Pope Pius IX declared that the foetus became "ensouled" at conception and, therefore, all abortions were murder.
In 1917 the new Code of Canon Law declared that for Roman Catholics abortion was a sin at any stage in the pregnancy and anyone taking part in abortion the mother or doctors should be forced out of the Catholic Church.
In 1930 the Catholic Church decided that abortion was not a sin if it was carried out on a woman suffering from cancer of the womb or an ectopic pregnancy. This was because in both cases, both the foetus and the mother would die if the abortion was not carried out.
In 1968 in the Humanae vitae Pope Paul VI said all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children.
In 1995 Pope John Paul II said in the Evangelium Vitae “that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being. No circumstance, no purpose, no law whatsoever can ever make licit an act which is intrinsically illicit, since it is contrary to the law of God which is written in every human heart, knowable by reason itself, and proclaimed by the Church"
The Church has many reasons for their teachings on abortion. Life begins at conception. At conception the embryo is genetically distinct from the mother. The Bible tells us that God knows each human and has a plan for each of us that is shaped and formed in the mind of God even before we are born "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you." Jeremiah 1:5 Scientists have much evidence to support the Church’s view that life begins at conception. A developing embryo is genetically different from the sperm and egg that created it. A trained geneticist can distinguish between the DNA of an embryo and that of a sperm and egg. But that same geneticist could not distinguish between the DNA of a developing embryo and a full-grown human being.
Roman Catholics believe life begins from the moment of conception so an abortion at any time during the pregnancy is murder. Catholics view murder as a mortal sin because it is breaking one of the ten commandments given by God. “Thou shalt not kill” Exodus 20:13 The Catholic Church believes and supports human rights and it teaches that abortion denies the most fundamental of all human rights – the right to life. The law allows abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy but the Church has serious problems with this because during this time the baby can think and it feels the pain of the abortion and it’s unique characteristics are developing all the time. By the time most women realise they are pregnant the foetus already has a beating heart and its body and it’s features are in proportion.
The Church also says that people do not have the right to choose whether to have an abortion or not because Catholic’s believe that God gives them life as a precious gift and it is only God who can take it away. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there: the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.” Job 1:21
The law allows women to have an abortion if there is a risk that the child may be born with physical or mental disabilities. The Church argues that this should not be allowed because all life is precious and society should not be able to pick and choose which children are allowed to enter it. The Church points out that many disabled people lead happy and fulfilled lives and every child whether disabled or not has a right to life.
The only time the Catholic Church agrees that an abortion is allowed is when it is carried out as a secondary effect of saving the mother’s life. For example if a pregnant woman has cancer of the womb and no action was taken both mother and baby would die. If the womb is removed but in the process an abortion is carried out the mother would survive and the baby would die. The Church allows this because the intent of the operation was to save the mother’s life the death of the foetus was a unavoidable secondary effect.
An extremely controversial part of the Church’s teachings on abortion is that the Catholic Church does not allow abortion even if a woman has become pregnant as a result of rape or incest. Although pregnancy after rape is extremely rare about 13,000 women have abortions each year following rape or incest. The Catholic Church says abortion and rape are both evil and one evil should not be matched with another evil. Also the child is not to blame for the evil of the man therefore should not have to be punished for it. However many critics of the Church say that it is inhuman to make young woman carry the child of their rapist when it may cause them serious mental harm.
One organisation that is against abortion is the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children. SPUC aims to affirm, defend and promote the existence and value of human life from the moment of conception, and to defend and protect human life generally. It wants to reassert the principle laid down in the UN 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child that the child "needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth." It also wants to defend, assist and promote the life and welfare of mothers during pregnancy and of their children from the time of conception up to, during and after birth. And it wants to examine existing or proposed laws, legislation or regulations relating to abortion and to support or oppose such as appropriate.
As a group we agree with most of the Church’s teachings on abortion. We agree that life begins at conception and abortion is wrong because it is the killing of a human. We also think that all people whether they are disabled or not should have an equal chance at life. However we feel that women should have the choice about whether to have an abortion or not especially in cases of rape and incest.
