A Christian Response to Abortion or Euthanasia

A Christian Response to Abortion or Euthanasia

Abortion is the death of the foetus (life) from the mother's womb

whether deliberate (operation/termination) or accidental

(miscarriage). Christians are divided in their views on abortion.

The Roman Catholic Church does not allow abortion. They do not agree

on the precise moment in human development when a human person begins

to exist. However, Roman Catholics are very clear that human life (the

human person) begins at the very moment of conception. Therefore, it

is unjust to destroy the human embryo or foetus deliberately and

directly. From the time of the great theologian St. Thomas Aquinas in

12th century, it has been the Church's position that the soul of the

person enters at the moment of conception. Therefore a person becomes

a person when they are conceived. Roman Catholics also believe in

Natural Law, which is allowing nature to take its course and not

interfering with nature. The teaching was repeated in 1995 by the

Church in an encyclical that said, "By the authority which Christ

conferred upon Peter and his successors, and in communion with the

bishops of the Catholic Church, I confirm that the direct and

voluntary killing of an innocent being is always gravely immoral".

Although, Roman Catholics do accept abortion when the life of the

mother is in danger as a result of her being pregnant.

The Protestant tradition takes a less hard line as Catholics do in the

abortion debate. It accepts that there are certain situations when

abortion is an unavoidable consequence of deciding between 'lesser of

two evils'. For example, if a woman has become pregnant after being

raped, ...

... middle of paper ...

...euthanasia is only one answer to the problem of

suffering. Another answer is the hospice. The aim of the hospice is to

enable people to die with dignity and to be aware of what is happening

to them right to the end of their lives. People who are terminally ill

are given care and treatment that lessens the pain, but will not cure

them. This is known as palliative care. They and their families are

given support to come to terms with the death. The Hospice Movement

was set up by Dame Cicely Saunders and is now a real alternative to

euthanasia.

In Conclusion, it seems that the Roman Catholic Church are much more

strict towards the issues of abortion and euthanasia than the

Protestant Church and other churches. The Protestant Church and others

churches tend to be lenient towards most issues of abortion and

euthanasia.