Abortion: Ethical Issues In The Catholic Church

Throughout this report I will be discussing an ethical issue in the catholic church. The meaning of ethical is “pertaining to or dealing with morals or the principles of morality; pertaining to right and wrong in conduct” And an ethical issue is when someone has to choose between something and make sure their choice is morally acceptable, if their choice is right this is ethical but if wrong this is unethical. My chosen ethical issue is abortion. Abortion is when a pregnancy is ended and the foetus dies before the women has been through the whole 3 trimesters in her pregnancy. In New Zealand abortion is legal, there are two types, these being medical and surgical and to have an abortion you have to be certified by two healthcare professionals

Pro life argues that the foetus is a noticeable human right from the minute of conception and that it is immoral to terminate the pregnancy. Nobody should feel the need to kill their unborn child unless the women’s life is in danger. The other view point, pro choice argues that women have the choice and right as to whether or not they want to go through with their pregnancy or not, this side argues that the foetus is not a human until it is born and that if a woman is that committed to having a baby then they should follow through with it as this would be morally wrong. The Catholic churches view on abortion is they disagree with any termination of a foetus. “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of its existence, a human being must be recognised as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” (Catechism of the Catholic church, Abortion 2270). Right from conception and up until natural death, Catholics believe all part of life is important, and ending anyone’s lives including unborn children’s lives is morally wrong. The creator of life, God, is the only one who gives life and is the only one that chooses when someone’s life ends. The catholic church preach that abortion is immoral, sinful and is always wrong even if the pregnancy was formed from rape, incest or if the mother is in danger. If the women is an innocent victim of rape, if they are quick enough they can prevent the implantation of the embryo. As this can take several hours to a day, so the church accepts for the female to use a form of contraceptive only if conception has still not taken place. It does not matter what led to the conception because once conceived, the foetus has a soul therefore the right to be born and live their life just as much as anyone else. The catholic church do value the