The Teachings About Abortion and the Sanctity of Life that are Found in the Bible
An abortion is the premature expulsion of a foetus from the womb,
which may be induced or natural, in which case it is usually called a
miscarriage. Abortion was legalised in 1967 and before then around
200,000 "backstreet" illegal abortions took place each year.
For Christians, the topic of abortion is a problem as it raises many
difficult issues. As it is an issue that concerns life and death, it
stirs up strong emotions. Peoples' views on abortion often rest on
their answer to question "When does life begin?" A lot of Pro-life
supporters say that life begins at the moment of conception, while
some Pro-choice supporters would say life begins at birth, or after
the point of viability (when the baby can survive outside the womb).
There is also difficulty deciding who has the right to say whether the
baby lives or dies and whether a mother's life is more important than
her child's.
As there are no quotes in the Bible directly referring to abortion,
Christians have taken verses referring to pregnancy, babies, life and
death and interpreted them to apply to abortion.
In Genesis 1.v 26-27, the quote "God created man in his own image" has
been explained to mean that to give and take life is God's right
alone, and so carrying out abortions goes against God's will, which is
obviously against abortion when interpreted in this way. Two more
quotes from Genesis view God as a Creator and so are against abortion.
They are Genesis 2.v 7 "The Lord God…breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life and the man became a human being" and Genesis 5.v 1-2
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... of two evils." This statement is telling Christians that to
withhold compassion is evil. The statement could apply to abortion if
a woman who had been raped wanted an abortion, then the Church would
show her compassion by granting her one.
While these two Christian denominations both refer to the Bible to
guide their views on abortion, it is clear from comparing these
Catholic and Church of England views that the Catholic Church is
wholly against abortion under any circumstances and takes the
teachings in the Bible very literally. However, the Church of England
is prepared to take the mother's circumstances into account when
deciding whether or not to grant an abortion. This is because Jesus
taught was forgiveness and compassion are important and so the Church
of England believes that to withhold compassion is evil.
The Bible is Pro-Choice. Without question, the Bible is overwhelmingly pro-choice. Although the Hebrews were influenced by many of the laws of their Assyrian, Sumerian, and Babylonian neighbors, all of which forbade abortion, the Hebrew scriptures had no laws forbidding abortion, not a single one. This was chiefly because the Hebrews placed a higher value on women than did their neighbors. There are, however, some references to the termination of pregnancy.
Christian's Beliefs in the Sanctity of Life Christians believe in the sanctity of life. This means that God
Abortion has been a political, social, and personal topic for many years now. The woman’s right to choose has become a law that is still debated, argued and fought over, even though it has been passed. This paper will examine a specific example where abortion is encouraged, identify the Christian world views beliefs and resolution as well as the consequences of such, and compare them with another option.
When I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there, you saw
All human life is sacred and all human life is good, to us this means
Many arguments in the abortion debate assume that the morality of abortion depends upon the moral status of the foetus. While I regard the moral status of the foetus as important, it is not the central issue that determines the moral justifiability of abortion. The foetus may be awarded a level of moral status, nevertheless, such status does not result in the prescription of a set moral judgement. As with many morally significant issues, there are competing interests and a variety of possible outcomes that need to be considered when making a moral judgement on abortion. While we need to determine the moral status of the foetus in order to establish the type of entity we are dealing with, it does not, however, exist in a moral vacuum. There are other key issues requiring attention, such as the moral status and interests of the pregnant woman who may desire an abortion, and importantly, the likely consequences of aborting or not aborting a particular foetus. Furthermore, I assert that moral status should be awarded as a matter of degree, based upon the capacities of sentience and self-consciousness an entity possesses. In a bid to reach a coherent conclusion on the issue, the moral status of both foetus and woman, along with the likely results of aborting a particular foetus, must be considered together. Given the multiple facets requiring consideration, I assert that utilitarianism (Mill 1863) offers a coherent framework for weighing and comparing the inputs across a variety of situations, which can determine whether it is ever morally justifiable to have an abortion.
The relentless support of abortion is always contradicting the moral and good teachings of the Church. Through passed laws, pro-choice supporters have made it possible for many women to have abortions. In some countries, including the United States, there does not have to be a reason for a woman to have an abortion early in the pregnancy. The Supreme Court in the United States ruled that the fetus’s ability to live was between about twenty four weeks to twenty-six weeks (Glendon 22). These laws show that supporters of abortion do not believe that life begins at conception. This is contrary to the teachings of the Church. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). God knew us before we were conceived. He made us accord...
The Divine command theory states that morally right actions are those commanded by God, and any action going against it is morally wrong. People that accept this theory can only consider an act to be right or wrong if God commanded it to be so. Therefore, supporters of this theory have a moral obligation to do and obey whatever God considered to be right without questioning his judgment. Those in favor of this theory should fulfill his will without any hesitation, regardless of its consequences to society. So if God had claimed abortion to be morally right, everyone supporting this theory were to happily accept it. Moreover, this theory suggests that those who act on a moral sense God desires will be rewarded at the end, perhaps in the afterlife;
Thou shalt not kill; one-tenth of what may arguably be the most famous guidelines of morality in the western culture, and also the main driving force for pro-life advocates. The argument supporting their beliefs typically starts with the premises that a fetus is a person, and to destroy or to kill a person is unethical. Therefore abortion, the premeditated destruction of a human being, is murder, and consequently unethical. I deny the fact that the fetus, what I will refer to as an embryo up to 22 weeks old, has the right to live. The opposing argument is invalid because a fetus, although perhaps a part of human species, is not formally a person. This leaves it simply to be a part of the woman?s body, whose fate lies solely in the hands of the pregnant woman alone, no different from a tumor she might have. By proving this, the abortion debate then becomes an issue of women?s rights, something that is most controversial indeed. Furthermore, it is fair to question the credibility of many people against abortion because of obvious contradictions in the logic of their belief systems. The fact that this debate is relevant in modern society is ludicrous since there is a simple and plausible solution to this problem that could potentially end the debate for good, leaving both sides satisfied.
Christians' Views on Abortion and Euthanasia. Abortion is a major issue for Christians. Each denomination has its own. teachings on abortions and abortions. Abortion is to end a pregnancy deliberately.
Abortion is one of the most debated topics, some people believe it is immoral while others support this issue. Abortion is define as termination of pregnancy before birth. This article was published by Dennis Prager, who wrote a story that was titled, “Jews and Abortion”. I decided to review this article because most of the world religions are anti-abortion but some religions do allow it. For example, Judaism does not prohibit abortion, it’s one of the many religions that does not perceive abortion as murder, and rather they see it as a need if the mother's life becomes at risk due to the pregnancy. In Judaism an abortion can only be perform only if the child will directly cause the mother to die if it is not aborted.
Abortion is a voluminous topic today all around the world. Differing viewpoints on abortion are recognized in politics, religion, and throughout the general population. There is a small amount of people who are nonchalant on the subject. Women have abortions for many different reasons and according to certain groups these reasons are either justified or not. Everyone tends to have their own articulated opinion, and many vocalize tenaciously what they believe. Pro-life individuals along with religion are sanguine that abortion is ethically and morally erroneous. Whereas those who are pro-choice say that abortion is inconsequential and the mother’s choice is more important than the fetus. Reasons to not get an abortion include risks involved in receiving an abortion. In some cases death can occur. However, there are other alternatives to abortion. For example, raising the child and adoption.
All About Abortion “ Each year, nearly 1.2 million American women have an abortion to end a pregnancy.”(www.webmd.com) The personal and controversial topic that continue to be a debate in America. Abortion is one of the most controversial topics in today society. Many question should woman have the right to terminate her pregnancy, which is primarily known as abortion. Many argue that it is on humane to allow abortion, that abortion is almost like committing murder and not giving how the right to live.
For many years, the morality of abortion has been questioned by two perspectives: pro-choice and pro-life. While modern culture explains that abortion is a woman’s free choice if she does not want the unborn baby, the Catholic Church teaches the world that from the moment of conception there is a child with a soul within the womb, and to abort it would be to murder an innocent being.
Abortion is defined as a procedure that is done to remove an embryo or fetus from the uterus of its mother in order to prevent its birth (Roth, 2005). Abortion is categorized as a bioethical issue because it relates to the morals of biomedical advances, policies and research. Abortion is a difficult subject that can involve personal morals and beliefs, legality and religious values. The issue is often viewed from either the side of pro-life, which places emphasis on the fetus and its right to life or pro-choice, which emphasizes the rights of the mother to decide the appropriate action (Roth, 2005). This brings the ethical question of should the government have the right to outlaw abortion into debate. The two viewpoints of pro-life and pro-choice explore the two main moral issues concerning abortion (Roth, 2005).