Explain what Christian teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion.Christians could use teachings from the bible in an argument about abortion. Most Christians believe that
Abortion
Abortion is a massive issue. It is probably one of the most widely debated topics today. Lots of people from all over the world have different and very strong views on the subject of abortion.
A)
i) What is meant by the word "ABORTION"?
The word Abortion means the termination of a pregnancy before the foetus is able to survive outside the mother, or is considered legally viable.
An abortion takes place after a baby has been conceived through sexual intercourse. Certain precautions can be taken before a baby is conceived; therefore an abortion would not be used. These precautions could include condoms, the coil, the morning after pill, or the contraceptive pill.
There are two main types of abortion; spontaneous and therapeutic.
Spontaneous abortions are natural and cannot be helped. They are usually called miss-carriages. Miss-carriages often take place due to maternal factors such as reproductive disorders, or if the mother has not been treating her self correctly and has been smoking, drinking alcohol, etc, when advised not to. It may even be a possibility that the mother has experienced an accident such as being involved in a car crash or a fight. This type of abortion can happen at any period of the pregnancy.
The other type of abortion is the abortion that is debated about, and that I will be discussing in this essay. Therapeutic abortion is the termination of pregnancy by choice. In many countries, the legalization of abortion has been fairly recent. Fifty-four countries allow abortion, which is about sixty-one percent of the world's population. In some countries, it is restricted to cases where the continued pregnancy would endanger the life of the mother, and in others (such as the Republic of Ireland and Iran), it is still illegal. Here in Britain, abortion has been legal for thirty-five years but can only legally take place in the period of time before 24 weeks of pregnancy. An abortion must be certified by two doctors, however, in this country, you do not have to have a valid reason for wanting an abortion. It is a woman's right, whatever age they are, to go and have an abortion for whatever reason.
ii) Explain what Christian teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion.
Christians could use teachings from the bible in an argument about abortion. Most Christians believe that it is wrong for people to have an abortion, whilst some believe that it is ok to have an abortion in certain circumstances. The bible teaches that life is a sacred and precious gift from God, 'For it is you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb', psalms 139:13, Which basically says that God has given us a heart that beats and causes us to live and from our mother's wombs, we were created and born. The bible also states in the Ten Commandments that "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:13) and if a Christian believed that having an abortion is killing, therefore that person would be breaking the Ten Commandments. The following teachings could be used in a discussion about abortion:
Anti- Abortion Christians may use teachings from the bible such as "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee." (Jeremiah 1:5). This may show that the "soul" starts at conception. And again, suggesting that life begins before birth is the bible quote "...he hath blessed thy children within thee." (Psalms 147:13). This is suggesting, and probably means that the foetus is the same as a child. Would you kill a child like you would abort a foetus? The answer is probably "No". Anti- abortionist Christians use questions such as this to persuade people that it is ...
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Anti- Abortion Christians may use teachings from the bible such as "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee." (Jeremiah 1:5). This may show that the "soul" starts at conception. And again, suggesting that life begins before birth is the bible quote "...he hath blessed thy children within thee." (Psalms 147:13). This is suggesting, and probably means that the foetus is the same as a child. Would you kill a child like you would abort a foetus? The answer is probably "No". Anti- abortionist Christians use questions such as this to persuade people that it is wrong to abort. Another typical question like this, which would be likely to be used in a discussion about abortion, would be "Does human life begin at CONTRACEPTION or BIRTH?"
"And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost." (Luke 1:41). This signifies that even in the womb, a baby is a living, feeling person.
Another teaching from the bible that would probably be mentioned would be Exodus 21:22, 23. "If men strive and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follows, then thou shalt give life for life."
In this case, if a man struggled, and as a result, really hurt a pregnant woman, and her child(ren) died, but no fatal accident occurred, he should have damages imposed upon him without fail according to what the husband of the woman may lay upon him; and he must give it through the justices. But if a fatal accident should occur, then he must give soul for soul. In my opinion, this implies that the life of a foetus is equally as important as the life of a full grown man. Therefore supporting the fact that abortion should be disallowed, as killing a foetus is like killing a man (a living human being).
But opposing the Christian anti- abortionist views in the discussion would be the Christian teachings used by the people who were for the idea of abortion. And although they may be thought of as wrong, cruel, and unfair, the views and teachings would still support their beliefs just as strongly as the teachings that supported the views of the anti-abortionist Christians.
Somebody who agreed with the idea of abortion could argue that the idea that human life begins at conception is not supported in the Bible, and sacredness of human life is contradicted all over. So people who consider abortion to be murder might be shocked to learn that they are thereby in disagreement with the Bible!
In many places throughout the bible, life is defined as breathing and nothing else. Examples of these definitions can be found in Ezekiel 37:10, I Kings 17:17-21, and James 2:26. So according to the theory that life is "breathing", and a foetus doesn't breathe, it isn't a life, and therefore it would be ok to kill it.
Also, God once punished David by killing his newborn son (II Samuel 12:14-19); so in this case, the right-to-life of the infant was not important! Killing a newborn baby is similar to killing a foetus.
Additional evidence that a foetus is considered to be less than a human life, and that it would be ok to abort one, is that the sanctity of life, born or "unborn", is denied in many places. For example; "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling...." (I Samuel 15:3), and also, "they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up." (Hosea 13:16).
It is also to be taken note that Jesus talked of being born again. He never seems to talk of being conceived again.
Therefore, in a discussion about abortion, Christian teachings could be used to support you if you were either for or against abortion.
B) Explain how Christians may respond to the question of abortion.
Christians may respond to the issue of abortion in either one of two categories. These two categories are Pro-Life which is against abortion and Pro-Choice which is for abortion. It is possible to have mixed views, but in most cases, you either agree, or disagree with abortion.
Pro-Life will teach to the world that abortion is always wrong and will never be right in any circumstances. The Roman Catholic Church believes that human life begins at contraception, therefore abortion kills human life. Almost all Catholics believe that abortion is wrong, don't support abortion and that it should be made illegal. Ways in which the Roman Catholic Church may react to a woman having an abortion would be in a negative way because they believe that it is unfair and against God's wishes to have an abortion, they may stage protests to the government saying that abortions should be made illegal.
It is not just Roman Catholics that are against abortion, however. Anybody can be against it, and they may respond to the question of abortion by doing something such as joining an anti-abortion group such as SPUC, which stands for Society for the Protection of the Unprotected Child. It was founded in 1967 (the year of the abortion act) and opposes abortion and embryo experiments. It is not a Christian charity, but is supported by many Christians, especially Catholics. They believe in giving someone the chance to live and all the other typical pro-life beliefs. They are absolutist. And a Christian that might disagree with the question of abortion may join one of these groups, or go on a protest march with other people. They do this to convey their strong feelings of being against abortion, and to try and persuade others to be against it, and to join their group. The picture below shows the Pro-lifers and pro- choicers in an abortion protest.
Other Christians, who agree with abortion, may respond to the question of abortion in a completely different way. People who are for abortion are likely to become part of a pro-choice group.
Pro-Choice will teach that every woman has the right to choose what she does with her own body and should she have an unwanted pregnancy then she should be allowed to get rid off the baby. They will also teach that is not always right but maybe the better solution if the baby is going to be born into a fractured household. Unlike the Pro- life groups, pro choice, protest and do marches to persuade people to agree with abortion.
So in conclusion to "how may Christians respond to the question of abortion", the answer is, "it depends". It depends on what, and how strong your beliefs are, and also how you are influenced.
C) "Abortion is never justified". Do you agree?
What are Christians influenced by? Conscience, Bible Teaching (not everyone interprets it in the same way), or Church teaching (which may be based on the bible or in the light of human experience)? Making a decision on whether or not you think abortion is justified, depends on what you are influenced by.
For me, this is conscience, as I think will be the case with most people.
Up until a woman is six months pregnant, it is legal for her to have an abortion. At the six month stage, a baby (still known as a foetus), is capable of living outside the womb- it has a 50% chance of surviving under intensive medical care. It can inhale, exhale, and even cry! Its eyes have completely formed and it has developed taste buds on its tongue. As you can see from the picture below, the foetus resembles a new baby, a new life. Can you imagine killing it?
Hopefully the answer is no, as this, in my eyes, is comparable to murder. Even between one and two months of pregnancy, the foetus resembles a baby, and has a heartbeat. By aborting it, you are killing life. But does life begin at birth or contraception?
This must be one of the most commonly asked questions in the world, and therefore, there is a lot of media in relation to it; just the other day, was a controversial Channel 4 documentary on the subject of abortion. It showed a foetus that had been aborted after four months. Many people complained, and said that it "pushed the boundaries" and was "distressing, offensive and voyeuristic", whilst others agreed that the programme "treated a difficult subject responsibly and with appropriate sensitivity". This proves that there are very mixed views on abortion. Another incident where abortion was greatly fussed about in the media was on the popular soap, Coronation Street. It was a case where a young girl had an abortion due to the fact that the father of her baby had supposedly killed her father. Some may argue that in this situation, abortion can be justified, whilst others will disagree and say that it isn't the babies fault, and its life should not be taken away from it.
So in what cases is it acceptable to have an abortion?
* If the baby has been conceived from rape?
Rape is horrible. But why should the child in the womb pay for the sins of another? The baby is innocent of the offense and his life need not be taken because of the act of another. To do this is unjust, in my opinion. However, if you were the victim of rape, and carrying the baby of a rapist, then your views could be completely different. It could be possible that when the child that was born, you could not grow to love it, due to the fact that every time you looked at it, you saw the man who assaulted you- this would also be unfair on the child.
* Abortion is legal, therefore, it is ok?
Slavery was legal 150 years ago, but it still doesn't mean that it was acceptable. Just because something is legal, it doesn't mean that it is justified. Some people are very minded, and are easily influenced- meaning that if somebody else said that something was ok, then so would they.
* Nobody knows exactly when the foetus becomes human in the womb, so therefore, it does not have feelings, and it is ok to abort it.
If you do not know when it becomes human, then why risk killing it? Since it may well be human- you don't know. If there were 100 sweets in a bag, and just one of them could kill you, would you randomly take one and eat it? No? After all, you don't know which one is life threatening, so you can take the chance and not worry about it, right? Likewise, if there is a chance that the life is human, should you take the risk of killing it? This is not a justified reason for abortion.
* You can't afford a baby, You are too young, Having a child will disrupt education or your career, There are relationship problems or you or/and your partner simply do not want pregnancy.
These are the most unjustified reasons I can think of for abortion. I think that if you are responsible enough to have sexual intercourse, then you are responsible enough to have a child. A baby should not be aborted because of any of the above reasons, as it is plainly not their fault.
* There is a risk to maternal or fetal health.
I think that in this case, abortion can be considered to be justified. Putting someone's life or health at risk is a justified reason to have an abortion.
I don't think that the bible displays very clear views on abortion, however, the small amounts of evidence that it does contain, depend on how you interpret them. It does not significantly say "Abortion is Justified" or "Abortion is Unjustified". Therefore, I think that to decide whether or not abortion is justified depends on what you are influenced by; Conscience, Bible Teaching (not everyone interprets it in the same way), or Church teaching (which may be based on the bible or in the light of human experience).
I am against abortion.
Hannah-Beth Robertson
GCSE Coursework
Part 2, Abortion
Mr. Grant
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