Abortion essay – Year Ten
(a)
- What is meant by the word abortion? (2 marks)
- What Christian teachings might be used in a discussion about abortion? (6 marks)
- Why do Christians disagree about abortion? (7 marks)
- Abortion is always wrong
Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view. You must refer to Christianity in your answer (5 marks)
(A1) Abortion is the termination of the life of a foetus, and there are two types of this – natural and artificial abortion. Natural abortion, is a miscarriage i.e. when nature decides and artificial abortion is procured – a conscious decision to terminate the foetus.
(2b) The Christian teachings that might be used in a discussion about abortion would be those with views on life, death and murder. Genesis 1:26-31 states that God wishes for us to have many children to rule over the animals. Therefore it is implied here that he would frown upon abortion. In the Ten Commandments (found in Exodus 20:13) commandment number 6 states that “thou shalt not murder” therefore once again abortion must be wrong because it involves the murder of a foetus. However the commandments were written at a time when abortion was not an option, and it could be argued that when one is a foetus, one is not truly alive – therefore cannot be murdered which implies that abortion is not an act of wrong-doing.