Abortion Case Study

Abortion is defined as “the termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or of a foetus that is incapable of survival” (BibleHeadQuarters, 2009). Nevertheless, if only the debate over the abortion issue was as simple as the definition provided above. Like every issue withheld in human life, a statement made on such controversial issues is neither right nor wrong, but simply left open for interpretation. As we can understand there are many people against abortion, better known as ‘pro-life advocates’. They advocate the basic right to life of the baby over the women’s right to choose. My project focuses on abortion and the title of it is ‘Should the Roman Catholic Church take control of the unwanted foetus in a catholic country’. This

The themes shown in my sources include religion, law, pressure groups and legalisation.

In 1861 Parliament passed the Offences against the Person Act. Section 58 of the Act made abortion a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment from three years to life even when performed for medical reasons. No further legal changes occurred in England until 1929. Two successive laws, the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929 and Abortion Act 1967 provide the exceptions to this 1861 Act. Abortion is legal in the UK up to 24 weeks under the Abortion Act 1967. However, if there is a substantial risk to the woman 's life or foetal abnormalities, there is no time limit (Marie Stopes UK, 2013). At the time, this legislation was considered one of the most liberal laws regarding abortion in Europe. In 1997 David Smith stated the four principles which broadly summarised the Christians absolute rejection of Abortion specifying “God is Lord of Life and death, humans do have no right to take life, human life begins at conception and so abortion at any stage is murder of an innocent” (David Smith,

Religious traditions have taken a stance on abortion, and these stances span a broad spectrum. Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism normally have a main interception on the negativity that abortion causes. Countries where these religions have a strong presences, laws that are enforced become ten times harder for a pro-choice advocates (Wikipedia, 2010). Speaking to an influential gathering in New York City on Thursday, Hillary Clinton declared that “religious beliefs” that condemn "reproductive rights," “have to be changed” (The Independence, 2015). Hillary Clinton believes that “far too many women are still denied critical access to reproductive health”. This foresees her opinion alike many other pro-choice advocates for the right of a women’s choose. The UK was founded on the principle of separation of church and state. In the 1st Century AD, Britain had its own set of religious icons: Pagan gods of the earth and Roman gods of the sky. Into this superstitious and violent world came a modern, fashionable cult from the east: Christianity. We tend to associate the arrival of Christianity in Britain with the mission of Augustine in 597 AD (Religious Reasons, 2011). In actual fact, Christianity arrived long before then, and in the 1st Century AD, there wasn 't an organised attempt to convert the British. The only way to assure religious