Many Protestant denominations such as Anglicans, Methodists and Quakers have been reluctant to take such a hard line as Catholics do in the abortion debate. Often they accept that there are certain situations when abortion is an unavoidable consequence of deciding between the 'lesser of two evils' (E.g. Accepting that a women who becomes pregnant after being raped might want an abortion). Thus they generally advocate a form of Situation Ethics.
The Church of England
'In the light of our conviction that the foetus has the right to live and develop as a member of the human family, we abortion, the termination of that life by the act of man, as a great moral evil... the right of the innocent to life admits surely of few exceptions indeed.
Although the Church of England believes that abortion is a 'great moral evil' it does accept that there are times when abortions may be permitted ('few exceptions'). This is because the church believes compassion needs to be shown to the mother who faces a difficult situation ('Her feelings and wishes are to be fully recognised'). In situations where the life of the mother is in danger abortion is accepted however it is always regarded as the 'lesser of two evils'.
'The Church believes the demand for abortions is unacceptably high. It stresses that abortion should happen as early in the pregnancy as possible and only after serious moral reflection. Its view on late terminations (after 24 weeks) of handicapped foetuses is that they should only be given if the baby is likely to die from its deformities soon after birth.'
Although the church allows abortion in certain cases it believes there are too many abortions performed and quote a figure of 170,000 per year. If abortion is to be carried out it must also be done as early as possible before 24 weeks.
The Methodist Church
'Our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve abortion. But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother, for who devastating damage may result from an unacceptable pregnancy.'
Methodists believe life is sacred because it is God-given. They also believe that the ability to decide when and whether individuals will be born is 'an awesome power'. Thus the gift of life is a precious thing and should be treated with reverence and respect. However, it can be seen from the quote above that Methodists do believe that there are times when abortions may be necessary ('we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother'). This may the case if the mother's emotional and/or physical well-being is at risk from her pregnancy. However, if an abortion is considered necessary then the church believes this should be done at the earliest possible stage.
For Methodists abortion should not be taken lightly and only be considered after much careful and prayerful thought. Furthermore, women who have faced such a difficult decision should be offered counselling to help them through the inevitable emotional and physical difficulties that often follow.
Quakers
The Quakers (Friends) do not have any official statement on the matter of divorce. Although they are pacifists (promoting non-violence), they believe that in the matter of abortion there can be no easy and simple answer. The biggest problem is this: whose life is more valuable?
'A question to consider here is whether it is right to value the life of the unborn child over and above the life of the mother.
Abortion is an emotional issue and cannot be seen to be an easy decision. Quakers believe that those who face such decisions need loving and careful support. They also believe that advice about such decisions should be sought from other members in order that the right decision for each person will be made.
Biblical arguments against abortion
There are some Christians who believe the Bible says nothing about abortions. In one sense this is true. There is no direct teaching that says 'You shall/shall not allow a woman to have an abortion' despite the fact that abortions did happen in biblical times (there was a high infant mortality rate). Thus the case for/and against abortion is generally a cumulative one.
'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 The Holy Bible New International Version - NIV)
Christians who seek to argue against abortion on the basis of Scripture (the Bible) use a number of verses that seem to teach that God knows and plans the life of a person before they are born. In the Psalms David wrote:
'For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you that I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be'
The Prophet Jeremiah spoke similar words: 'The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you' (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV). Even Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that God had a plan for the baby (Jesus) she was going to have ('He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High' (Luke 1:32 NIV)) and John 'leapt in the womb' when Mary came to visit Elizabeth (his mother - Luke 1:41). From this it is argued 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. Human life begins at conception so abortion is wrong.
The strongest biblical evidence used against abortion is the prohibition to commit murder (Exodus 20:13). Christians against abortion believe the embryo/foetus is human and should be give full human rights. Anyone taking away its life is committing a grievous act of disobedience against God (they are committing murder) and are putting themselves on a level with God who alone gives life and takes it away.
Biblical arguments for the right to choice
Christians who argue a pro-choice position do so by first showing that the Bible does not specifically teach anything about abortion. They also claim that the verses those advocating a pro-life position use to argue against abortion are merely specific references to individual people and situations. They are specific exhortations rather than general teachings concerning the birth process for all people. Furthermore, pro-lifers are accused of taking biblical poem or songs too literally. This is a problem particularly associated with taking verses out-of-context with the aim of proving a theological point
The problem with seeking proof-texts to argue against abortion is particularly acute when the command 'Do not murder' is used to support an anti-abortion stance. Difficulties arise when we see that in certain instances God actually commanded the Israelites to kill their enemies and take possession of their land Thus 'Do not murder' seems to be a relative command
There is one passage in the Bible that seems to touch specifically on the issue of abortion. In Exodus 21:22-25 we read:
'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 interesting point here is that it is 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 maxim 'Do not murder' given a few moments earlier
One criticism labelled against the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion is that it encourages an irresponsible attitude towards having children and does not take in to account the ability of women and men to fully care for them. Quality of life is important for both the future child as well as the parents. It should also be noted that Christians who argue in favour of the woman's right to terminate her pregnancy do so with a heavy heart. They, along with the women involved, do not take abortion lightly.
'... most women who have an abortion have just made the most difficult decision of their life. No one thinks abortion is a wonderful thing. No one tries to get pregnant just so they can terminate it.' (Taken from 'Why Abortion is Moral' - see below)
