Exodus 20:13).
2. The Roman Catholic documents Humanae Vitae that abortion is wrong because it is killing human lives. This is based on the idea that from the moment of conception the embryo is human.
3. The Roman Catholic Church also says that once conception has taken place the embryo should be “treated as a person”. This means that any abortion is wrong because it is murder.
However other churches say that abortion is generally wrong but can be a good thing sometimes because:
1. The teachings of Jesus stress love. Some Christians consider an abortion to be the most loving thing to do in some circumstances, such as the mother life is at risk if she continues her pregnancy.
2. An abortion may be the lesser of two evils. For example the 1994 Church of England document “Life in
Christ” says that in certain cases direct abortion may be the lesser evil in cases of severe disability.
Fertility treatment
IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) is where doctors fertilise a woman’s egg with a man’s sperm in a test tube. The fertilised embryo is then placed in the mother’s womb. However IVF is not always very reliable and so a number of eggs may need to be fertilised before the woman becomes pregnant. This means that more eggs have to be taken out of the women than may be needed for IVF and once fertilised these eggs are frozen for future use.
According to a British law passed in 1991 embryos cannot be stored for more than five years. This means that clinics must contact the owners of the embryos before the five years passes to decide whether to use or destroy the embryos. However once an IVF procedure has been successful couples loss contact with the clinics. By the 2nd
August 1996 there were 3000 embryos due to be destroyed.
The Roman Catholic Church led a campaign against destroying embryos after five years. They claimed that each embryo is a sacred creation (special) and a potential human being. This means that they all have the right to life. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England at that time was Basil Hume. He wrote a letter to the Independent newspaper that said destroying the embryos shows how immoral (bad) people have become. However the Roman Catholic campaign failed and on the 2nd August 1996 33 clinics began to destroy the surplus embryos.
Surrogacy and womb leasing
Surrogacy is where “a woman bears a child on behalf of a childless couple, either by artificial insemination implantation of the embryo”. The possibility of one woman carrying a child for another has led to the rise of womb leasing. This is where a woman is paid to carry another couples child. The first example of this in Britain was Kim Cotton in 1985. She was paid £5000 to carry another couples child. It has since been made illegal for companies to be set to arrange this type of action for money.
Some people consider womb leasing to be wrong because:
1. The Church of England says that womb leasing is wrong because it is “undermining the dignity of women in the bearing of children they have no intention of mothering”.
2. Other people might see it as wrong because of the stresses it places on the person carrying the child, as it might be difficult for her to give up a child to which she has given birth.
3. Some people might also see it as wrong because of the stresses it places on the people who want the child, as it might be difficult for them to afford to pay someone to carry a child for them.
However other people may see womb leasing as being okay because:
1. Womb leasing gives a childless couple the chance to have a family.
Euthanasia
There are many different types of euthanasia including:
Voluntary euthanasia. This involves killing a person who is not able to express their wishes (such as a person in a coma).
Involuntary or compulsory euthanasia. This is when an individual makes the decision that they want to die but they are unable to do it on their own and need help (such as a person who is paralysed).
Non-Voluntary euthanasia. This does not involve any actions. It simply refers to the removing all treatment that allows the patient to die.
Direct euthanasia. This involves the ill person’s death occurring as a side effect of treatment, such as the use of too high a quantity of morphine to kill the patient’s pain.
Indirect euthanasia. This involves the use of something to cause death. To cause the persons death is the direct intention of the treatment.
Passive euthanasia. This is when another person makes the decision that someone who is very ill should die.
However the most common type of euthanasia to be discussed is voluntary euthanasia, which is something that is requested by the patient. This may involve withdrawing or withholding of medical treatment (passive euthanasia) or the application of something to end the person’s life (active or direct euthanasia). For some Christians voluntary euthanasia and suicide are very similar things because they both involve a person deciding that they want their own life to end.
Some Christians oppose Euthanasia because:
1. A person’s life is not their own because it belongs to God. If a person wants to take his or her own life it is a rejection of God’s gift. This idea is based on the following bible passage:
“The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart”. Jeremiah 1:4-5
2. Sometimes there is a purpose to peoples suffering. A Christian called John Macquarrie said, “It is hard to imagine how there could be… sympathy and love in a person who had never known suffering”.
3. By deciding to destroy their own life a person is stopping their family from having the opportunity of care for their needs and show their love for them.
4. By killing a human life you are destroying something that has been made in the image of God. This idea is based on the following bible passage:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our own image, according to our likeness”. Genesis 1:26
5. The Roman Catholic Church believes that all life is sacred because all human beings are made in the image of God. This means both euthanasia and suicide are wrong as a person is destroying something is like God.
6. Human life is a special gift from God. This means that it is the duty of Christians to preserve life and to improve life.
However some Christians support euthanasia because:
1. Some of those who are incurably ill should be allowed to (or helped to) die if they are only being kept alive by lots of medical treatment.
2. A person who has an incurable or upsetting illness should be allowed to die in order to end their suffering. It is only fair, since no other creature would be made to live if they were suffering. For example people will allow their pets to be put to sleep if they are suffering.
Animals being used in medical research
Many Christians support animals being used in research to improve medical care because:
1. Traditionally Christians have believed that humans are God’s most important creation and other creatures were made for us to rule. This means that they may be used as scientists wish if they are trying to improve medicine.
2. Many diseases cause a lot of pain and suffering. If animal experimentation can reduce peoples suffering then it is okay.
However many modern Christians say animals can only be used in research to improve medical care if:
1. All animals being used in experiments are shown respect and care.
2. The animals do not suffer unnecessarily. The Roman Catholic Church says that animals should not “suffer or die needlessly”.
3. The animals are not being used unnecessary experiments. The Methodist Church says that “unjustifiable experiments and trials – as on the effects of cosmetics – should not take place”.
Some people always oppose research on animals to improve medical care because:
1. Animals have as much right to life as human beings. It is arrogant to say that because people are cleverer than other animals that they should have the right to do what they want to them.
by
peaches24 (student)
