Catholic Teachings on Abortion

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Catholic Teachings on Abortion

There is not much teaching about abortion in the bible because during

the time it was written abortion was not the common occurrence as it

is today, abortion back then was not a safe procedure. Even though the

bible does not use the word 'abortion' or deal with its issues

directly, Christians can use certain bible passages to support their

views. However the bible does stress the sanctity of human life;

abortion is intensically evil, life is a gift from god and we are all

made under god's image. Genesis 1:26 supports this: Then god said "Let

us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the

fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all

the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Also another quoting from the bible is Exodus 20:13, which simply

says: "You shall not murder". This commandment means it is wrong to

take human life unless in the case of war or capital punishment. God

plans and knows every person before they are born, this is proven in

Jeremiah 1:5: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you

were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the

nations.

The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at conception and they

believe that abortion is always wrong to kill an unborn child. They

believe that it is sacred human life and has the same respect as any

other human being. If a woman is raped and pregnancy is a result the

Catholic Church would still not support an abortion, they say the

child should not have to pay the price for someone else's crime. If

the worst comes from the birth then the church encourages the woman to

put the child up for adoption than to abort it. However there are few

exceptions to an abortion such as an ectopic pregnancy or if the

mother develops cancer. These cases kill the mother if not treated but

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