Christians' Beliefs about Abortion and Euthanasia

Christians' Beliefs about Abortion and Euthanasia

In this piece of coursework I intend to explain the beliefs that

Christians hold about their responsibility for these beliefs at the

beginning and end of their lives.

In AO2 I will explain the different ways Christians might respond to

Abortion and Euthanasia.

In AO3 I will give my opinion on whether or not I agree, with more

than one point of view, to the following statement: "What Christians

believe about life is up to them. They should not try to make others

accept their position."

The Abortion Act was passed in 1967 and became effective the year

after. It applies to England, Wales and Scotland, but not Northern

Ireland. During the 30 years after the implementation of the act, the

total number of abortions performed annually rose by nearly 700% such

that some five million abortions were performed in Britain. During the

last 15 years of that period, the annual total of abortions exceeded

170,000.

Abortion is an operation carried out to remove the growing foetus from

its Mothers womb so that it can be destroyed.

All human life is sacred and all human life is good, to us this means

that life is precious and that no one has the right to take life away,

just God alone can decide when conception takes place as well as to

determine a person's death. The Christian church teaches that life is

a sacred 'gift' from god.

We are all created in the 'image of God' (Genesis 1:26-27), life is

therefore sacred and has dignity. Christians also believe that 'The

Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into

his nostrils the breath of life, and the m...

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... that there can be strictly

limited conditions under which it may be ethically preferable to any

available alternative.

The position of the Church of England is often compared to that of The

Roman Catholic Church. This according to the Catechism of the Catholic

Church is that:

'Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment

of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being

must be recognised as having the right of a person - among which is

the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.'

The Methodist's believe in the sanctity of unborn human life but this

makes them reluctant to approve abortion. But they are equally bound

to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother,

for whom devastating damage may result from an unacceptable pregnancy.