What biblical and church teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion?

Religious Studies Coursework a) What is meant by the word i)'abortion' The premature expulsion of the foetus from the womb. ii) What biblical and church teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion? Many people believe different thing about abortion and the issue of abortion has caused much conflict for many years. All Christians believe that life is a sacred gift from God but disagreements exist between the churches over weather abortion is morally acceptable. The Church of England believes that 'although the foetus is to be specially respected and protected, nonetheless the life of the foetus is not absolutely sacrosanct if it endangers the life of its mother'. So basically the Anglican view on abortion is that it is wrong but in special circumstances, for example the birth of the baby harming the mother or the baby being a result of rape or incest, abortion may be necessary and is therefore justifiable. The Roman Catholics believe that abortion is morally wrong and a sin in all cases. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that life begins at the moment of conception and from that moment it is sacred and everybody should try to protect it. Therefore to abort a foetus is to break the commandment 'thou shalt not kill'. There are groups that work to make Abortion illegal; these are pro-life groups such as LIFE and SPUC, they believe that abortion is morally wrong

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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What biblical and church teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion?

A ii) What biblical and church teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion? There is nothing in the Bible that speaks directly about abortion. This is because during the time when the Bible was written, abortion wasn't an issue. However, although the Bible does not address abortion directly, It does talk about how life is special and that murder is wrong. There are many verses in the Bible that talk about how life is special. For example in Jeremiah 1:5, the Bible says 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations'. This shows that God has plans for each person, and they are special, even before the moment of conception. Also, Christians might argue that killing a baby before it is born, is preventing it from fulfilling God's plans. Another verse that talks about life been special is Psalm 139:13,15, this verse says 'You created every part of me, you put me together in my mothers womb... when I was growing there in secret, you knew I was there, you saw me before I was born'. This verse also shows that God knew everyone before they were born and everyone is unique and individual, even mentally or physically disabled people. In Corinthians 3:16-17 the Bible talks about the body being a temple of God and that God will destroy anybody who should destroy the temple of God. This

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Transplant Surgery

Transplant Surgery Aiii Transplant surgery is the division of medicine that surgically replaces an organ that is no longer functioning, with an organ from a donor that does function. Organs such as bone marrow and single kidney are donated by a living person and other organs like heart, pancreas, lungs, eyes and liver can be donated by deceased donors in order to save the life of a recipient. However, theses organs should be compatible with the patient with the correct blood type. This new technology has been classed as very effective and successful and is a medium of life and hope to those who otherwise are hopeless. However, some people in need have to wait until the donor dies and they can be 'harvested'. There are varying religious views on these transplant surgeries but mostly religious people agree with it. For example Christians and Jews believe that it is a way of "loving your neighbour". Only some Muslims allow transplant surgery using organs from a living donor provided that the donor is a close relative. Some religious people have problems with transplant of organs from a dead person. They have this belief because of some moral grounds about deciding when a person is dead. For example hearts are removed from a person when they are still beating. Christian believes that transplants would usurp the role of God which is a great sin, when the organs are removed.

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Christian views on medical research and embryos.

Medical research and embryos . The British Law on the use of embryos for medical research is that all of the research has to be licensed and regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. The authority grants such permission as to allow permission for very specific reasons such as improving knowledge about a serious disease(s). . The reasons for which Christians object the use of embryos in medical technology is because they believe that life begins as a new human being from the day of conception. Therefore they believe it has the right to live. Christians believe that terminating the embryo is murder as it is a Commandment, ‘Thou shall not kill.’ They also oppose the exploitation and misuse of human embryos. . On the other hand, other Christians such as Liberal Protestant Christians believe that at this early stage the embryo is just a potential human life, therefore using them for research will allow other human beings to receive benefits. Therefore they support the use of human embryos for therapeutic purposes, however they oppose other uses including any possible reproductive cloning. . In such cases many would agree that it would be illogical and obstructive to prevent scientists using human embryos for medical research but many others may disagree. On one hand of the argument I do agree that stunting the medical research on embryos would be

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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The Abortion Debate.

THE ABORTION DEBATE A1. What is meant by the word abortion? A2. What Biblical and Church teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion? This piece of coursework is about the controversial and complex issue of abortion, and the different views taken by the Roman Catholics, Christians and various other organisations. What is abortion? Abortion is the unnatural termination of an unborn child/foetus before it has had the chance to live. The law states that at 24weeks the foetus is developed and you are now viable for murder. However in certain cases allowances are made e.g. if the baby will die at birth and also cause the death of the mother. Abortion can be performed in a number of ways such as salt poisoning or suction. The Roman Catholic Church takes a traditional and absolute morality view on abortion. They believe that abortion is unacceptable in under any circumstances what so ever. "All people must realise only God can end life", which is a quote taken from Act 17:26 that basically means, only God has the right to decide when you die because he is the one who created you. They also believe that all human life is sacred, including the baby in a womb. Christians take a more liberal view on abortion. There are some Christians who believe the bible says nothing about abortions. In one sense this true. There is no direct teaching that says 'thou shall not

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Fertility treatment should be allowed for couples who are unable to have children naturally

Fertility treatment should be allowed for couples who are unable to have children naturally Some people argue that life is a gift from God, not a privilege or something to take advantage of and so fertility treatment should not be allowed. Others think that infertility is a medical problem, and that doctors can treat it so, we can have the treatment in which case fertility treatment is allowed. Personally, I think that fertility treatment should not be allowed for couples who are unable to have children naturally because of the most obvious reason that the couples could adopt children without homes and who need to be cared for. It is often the case when one of the parents is infertile and so need to have a donor sperm or egg in which case the baby will not be 100% theirs and that it will have another person's genes in it meaning that it will be another person's baby. If this is the case then couples should adopt because that would be the most logical answer as you are giving a baby which has already been born a home rather than giving birth to another baby which still won't be yours. People may argue that fertility treatment will bring happiness to couples, who otherwise would not be able to have children, but adoption is the same and so it would be even better to adopt as it will bring happiness into the couple's lives and the couple will know that you have helped a child

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Describe Christian teachings on abortion, specifically considering its status as legally permissible.

Describe Christian teachings on abortion, specifically considering it's status as legally permissible. Roman Catholic's do no condone abortion, accept under the principle of double affect. This is because "God gives life, and God takes life away." - Job 1:21, and it is an intrinsically valuable gift from God. Abortion as an indirect result of lifesaving surgery is acceptable. Catholics believe in ensoulment: from the moment of conception you have a soul, so it is therefore intrinsically evil to take it away. Catholics believe that abortion goes against the Decalogue "Thou shall not kill", and goes against natural law (Thomas Aquinas), whatever is good fulfils its natural end purpose. Pope Paul VI stated that "abortion interrupts the natural generative process" and it is a sinful act (Humanae Vitae). In the case of rape, Catholics say that one sin does not justify another, and so abortion on the grounds of rape is immoral. The Church of England is against abortion in principle, but believe each case is special. Abortion is justifiable under the 1967 abortion act. They believe that if there is a "serious risk to the physical or mental wellbeing of the mother or existing children", then an abortion should be accepted, or "if the baby is severely mentally or physically handicapped". However, the therapeutic & social clause can be exploited. In the case of rape, Church of England

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Explain the differing Christian responses to abortion

Question 2 Explain the differing Christian responses to abortion Different Christian churches and groups have different responses to abortion. This is because the bible does not say anything directly about abortion, so it is how they interpret what the bible is saying. The Roman Catholic Church believes that abortion is immoral in all cases. This is because they believe that human life begins at the moment of conception. Then 'Thou shalt not kill' from the Ten Commandments and Pope Paul VI said "All human life is sacred" which means that abortion is immoral because it is killing a human being. The Roman Catholic Church believes that doctoring of double effect is acceptable. This is when a woman has an entopic pregnancy. The egg occasionally gets trapped in the fallopian tube, the foetus will continue to develop and in time, it will rupture. This will lead to the mother's death. The doctor would want to save the mothers life by operating on her. As a consequence of the surgery the foetus will die. This is not the same as an abortion because an abortion is when you deliberately set out to exterminate the foetus. This situation is acceptable because the doctor is setting out to save the mothers life not to kill the foetus. The Methodist Church teaches that abortion is immoral but is all right in certain circumstances. These are if the mother's health or life is in direct

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Describe and explain Christian teachings which could be used in a discussion about Abortion

A) Describe and explain Christian teachings that could be used in a discussion about Abortion. Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth. Roman Catholics would say that abortion is always wrong and should not be done. They believe that the two functions of sex are to show love to your husband/wife and to have children and those two functions should not be separated. Also, they believe that sex should only happen between married couples who want to start a family, so there shouldn't be any abortions. The only case in which Roman Catholics would accept abortion is if the mother's life is at risk from having the baby. This is called the doctrine of double effect and is only seen as ok because the aim is to save the mother not to get rid of the baby. The Church of England still agrees that sex should only happen between married couples but they would say abortion is acceptable in some cases for example if the mother has been raped. Also, they would say that children shouldn't come into this world unwanted so if that is the case then abortion can be used and also that if the couple are not ready for children or cannot afford to start a family then abortion is acceptable. A Christian teaching that could be used in a discussion about abortion is "The lord gives and the lord takes away". This can be used as it could mean that only God can give or take life, but it could

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Abortion Persuasive Essay - against

Abortion Persuasive Essay - against Abortion is a very controversial issue. Ever since people started hearing about abortions people had their own opinions about it. I am pro-life. I think that if you put yourself into the position then you should have to deal with the repercussions. Why should an innocent child have to give their life for two other peoples mistakes? If you are not ready for the responsibility then don't take the risk. I believe that abortion is murder. I think that you are taking life from something that deserves a chance. The second that the sperm meets the egg there is a chance for life and it should be treated as a live child from that point on. On the website www.standupgirl.com someone asked a question: "what about the child with disease that will die a slow death or live his life as a burden to his family?" The webmaster responded with: "Do you believe the new "ethic" should be that we kill the suffering or burdensome? Some of these cases are tragic, some are also inspirational. We cannot assume the responsibility for killing an unborn child simply because the child has not yet been seen in public. The child's place of residence does not change what abortion does - kill a human being." That quote is the very same thing that I believe. It basically says that you do not know the potential of a child. Whether you find out if it has Down syndrome or it

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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