Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Abortion ethical dilemmas
Christian views on abortion pdf
Abortion ethical dilemmas
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Abortion ethical dilemmas
A Christian Response to Abortion Christians will all respond to the issue of abortion in different ways. Some Christians will follow the teaching of their church and strictly follow the rules that are laid out by that church. Others will look at the bible and see if they can adopt an attitude to abortion which best suits what is written. Other Christians may follow the life example and teachings of Jesus trying to re-live his way of life as Christians believe that Jesus is God, and they would believe that God knows exactly what are the right and wrong things to do. Some Christians may ask their friends and family how they feel about abortion even asking their priest what their opinion maybe. Some …show more content…
By saying "You shall not kill by abortion" suggests that abortion is murder and that to abort an unborn child is exactly the same as killing a normal human being. The Apostolic Constitution written in the 4th century stated "Though shalt not slay thy child by causing abortion, nor kill that which is already born, for everything that has been shaped by and has received a soul from God, if it slain shall be avenged." This quote is stating that all life has been made and loved by God if you kill life then God will kill you. By saying "Though shalt not slay thy child by causing abortion, nor kill that which is already born" seems to suggest that killing children by abortion is the same as killing children that are already born. Some Roman Catholics will say that giving birth to the child does not necessarily mean you have to look after it Victoria Gillik, a Roman …show more content…
This means that abortion is completely wrong unless somebody's life is in danger when having the child. The mother's life being in risk is a good example. If the only possible way she can have the child is if she dies or gets a serious illness or condition then abortion is not as bad. Therefore abortion in this case is the lesser of two evils. The Church of England argue "Our View on abortion is that although the foetus is to be especially respected and protected nonetheless it is not sacrosanct if it endangers the life of the mother." This quote backs up what I have said before. Basically Abortion is seen as wrong and the foetus should be loved and respected but abortion should not be questioned if it endangers the life of the mother. Another Christian viewpoint is to take a more pro-choice stance on abortion. This means to respect the mothers decision even if you believe what she is doing is wrong. Paolo Hugo wrote; "The bible's command is to love one another and to have compassion for the weak. I suggest that the most loving thing in many cases may to be allow the unsupported single mother to have an abortion. Jesus
To some women, a fetus is a stranger and a personal connection is not evident, even if a biological connection is. Furthermore, pregnancy takes a huge toll on a woman’s body and not all women have the desire to withstand such a situation. Also, the intention of abortion is to not necessarily kill the baby, that’s merely an unfortunate result of the action. Abort means to ‘eject’ or ‘stop’, not kill.
The Christian view, that we are created in the image of God, formed by Him in the womb making us human upon conception, makes abortion wrong. It shows what abortion truly is, murder. Murder that is the sacrifice of a human life to the ‘god’ of convenience. While abortion may seem to solve immediate problems for some, this act is wrong and has consequences much worse than the consequences, joys, of having and raising a
The fetus, being a person, has a right to life, but as the mother is a person too, so has she a right to life. An argument for this case is by having an abortion, you are directly killing the fetus, whereas if the mother were to die by giving birth, she is not being directly killed, just simply letting her die. If the mother were to perform the abortion on herself in order to save her own life, it would not be considered a murder (Thomson p41-42). "Everyone has a right to life, so the unborn person has a right to life" (Thomson p43). In certain cases (rape) she indeed believes that it is permissible to abort the fetus, but not always.
Pope John Paul II’s Argument: This argument is very adamantly against abortion. It is also a religiously based argument. He uses exerts from the Bible and other religious documents and quotes many different clergymen and priests to help defend his position. He starts by explaining how you must follow the ten commandments to live a good life and have eternal life. “Jesus replied, ‘If you would enter life, keep the commandments’” (Mt 19:17). The first of these ten commandments is “You shall not kill”. On the contrary, you should ‘love respect and promote life’ (The Gospel of Life, Paul II). In order to do this, one must carry out God’s plan of procreation with love and intentions to multiply. By having an abortion, one is doing the exact opposite. Not only are they killing an innocent human being, but they are killing a child of God. Also, man is not the final judge in matters such as life and death, he is only a ‘minister of God’s plan’ (Humanae Vitae, Paul VI). Paul II goes on to explain how human life is ‘sacred and inviolable’. Life is sacred because it is a gift from God and man was created in the image of God. God overlooks our lives from birth to death, and no one else has the right to destroy an innocent human being, especially one as innocent as an unborn child. Man is suppose to be the defender of the innocent, not the destroyer. He explains how the man who kills the innocent is one who has been deceived by the Devil, because only Satan delights in the death of the living. “You shall not kill” represents the extreme limit which cannot be exceeded. It is meant to encourage man to see life with respect and lead to the promotion of life with love. Along with the teaching that one shall not kill another,...
Christian Responses to Abortion and Euthanasia Different Christians have different viewpoints on the issues of Abortion and Euthanasia. The Church of England states that life is god given and is to be; ‘Nurtured, supported and protected. ’ It views ending a human life at the beginning or end as; ‘A great moral evil.’ Also they have stated a case for ‘The rights of humans to be valued.’
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.
“Any American born after 1973 is a survivor of legalized abortion” (“Abortion”). This quote struck me because of its frankness. After it was legalized, many women had an option to abort their pregnancy against the Catholic Church’s wishes. Any child that was born after that year could have been aborted. This shows that many of the people that are living today could have been killed simply because the mother did not want them and they were considered to not be living in the womb. Being here today, many people survived the mass murder that is abortion and still continues today. The Church urges every mother to think about the morals and laws that God has sent to us. “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13). This includes the fetus in the womb that has been alive since conception. The views of the Church and the views of society fight against each other constantly. Abortion is the killing of a human being and is accepted by modern society despite it being against the teachings of the Church and moral good.
of existence. This is written in Psalm 139:13-16: 13For you created me in my inmost being; you knit me together in my
...ther’s sovereignty over her body outweigh the right of an unborn child to live. The answers to these questions are very diverse as a result of the diversity of the American society. With the issue of abortion, one’s attitude toward it is going to be based on many things such as religious background and personal morals. There is no black and white answer to the abortion issue. Luckily we live in a country where we are able to decide for ourselves whether something is morally right or wrong. Thus, ultimately, the choice is ours. As with the many other ethical issues which we are faced with in our society, it is hard to come to a concrete answer until we are personally faced with that issue. All we can do is make an effort to know all of the aspects which are involved so that we may be able to make a sound decision if we were faced with this problem in our own lives.
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 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.
Although the Bible ; the old testament used by Jewish believers; both the new and old testaments used by Christian believers, does not specifically deal with abortion it does place validity on life before birth. Exodus 21:22-23 says: If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise (Quest NIV pg.235). Though this does not directly say abortion is wrong it does say that the loss of the fetus, "giving birth prematurely", should be punished. Whether by a fine or by taking that man's life as well. This shows that God considers the fetus to be alive and the unnatural death to be murder. The words that emphasize the value of fetus life are "take life for life" meaning the fetus is alive. Other verses that show the validity of life before birth are Psalms 139:13-17: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them (Quest NIV pg.678)! These explain that God has a plan for each personÕs life before they are even formed. They say how He cares so much for each one of us that He watches over us while we are still in the womb.
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).