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Abortion And Religious Ethics
Religion and euthanasia debate
Abortion And Religious Ethics
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Recommended: Abortion And Religious Ethics
Teaching About Abortion and the Sanctity of Life in the Bible
Definition of abortion:
' A premature expulsion of the foetus from the womb.
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An operation to cause this.'
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Christianity
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Joe Jenkins
1995
Definition of euthanasia:
' A gentle and easy death; the bringing about of this especially in
cases of incurable and painful disease.'
In the Bible we are given many teachings about abortion and the
sanctity of life.
The main teaching, that all the others are related to, is found in the
Ten Commandments (Exodus 20):
'Thou shalt not kill'
If it is believed that life begins at conception, then abortion is
murder, and is forbidden by the law of G-d. If, however, it is felt
that life begins at another point in time, after conception (for
example when the unborn baby first moves); then the foetus is not
given the same rights as a human being and abortion is not considered
as morally incorrect.
Another teaching found in the Bible (Ecclesiation 8:8), is similar to
the one above.
' No one has power over the day of his death'
This shows us how sacred life is and how only G-d can decide when it
is time for somebody to die. This may be related to abortion, as, by
carrying out this act, a person's life will be taken with no help from
G-d. It may be said that if G-d feels that an unborn child should not
be born then the woman will have a miscarriage, (an involuntary form
of abortion).
From the beginning of time man and woman have been instructed, by G-d,
to create new life.
...
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...by saying that, as G-d is always with us, on heaven
and on earth, aborting the unborn baby would be kinder to the child
then bringing it into a family where it would no be loved; it would
then be happy with G-d in heaven. As Christians believe in heaven and
hell they may feel that they would be sent to hell for carrying out
abortion.
On denomination, the Roman Catholic Church, follows all the laws
concerning abortion, as it is never allowed. The Church of England
treats each cases differently but still feels that abortion is wrong.
It may be felt that the Roman Catholic Church is too strict and the
Church of England's views suit today's society better. However, if the
Church does not obeyed by the laws of G-d then Christians will start
to approve abortions; something that G-d himself does not want us to
accept.
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.
Caplan, A., & Arp, R. (2014). The deliberately induced abortion of a human pregnancy is not justifiable. Contemporary debates in bioethics (pp. 122). Oxford, West Sussex: Wiley.
Christian's Beliefs in the Sanctity of Life Christians believe in the sanctity of life. This means that God
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.
When I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there, you saw
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...
“Thou shalt not kill” – one of the more seemingly obvious commandments found in the Bible. As humans, our moral intuitions tell us without much difficulty that killing is wrong. When the act of taking a life is framed in such a way, it is difficult to imagine anyone who would disagree – but this presentation is deceptively simple. “Thou shalt not kill”, as helpfully prescriptive as it may be, misses a crucial parameter. Thou shalt not kill – what? Or whom? It is evident that navigating one’s way through the moral implications of killing becomes incredibly difficult when examining more specific cases of taking a life. Abortion, which refers to the act of terminating a pregnancy through artificial means, is particularly guilty of muddying the
2. Believes the baby is a living human being and deserves the rights of a human
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;
In such positions, the resolution to terminate a pregnancy may be argued as the most ethical choice. The mother is also considered to have a reasonable level of ethical responsibility to the fetus, because she did not take enough precautions to ensure avoid conception (Cline, 2014). The mother’s ethical responsibility to the fetus may not be enough to deprive her of choice of abortion; it may be enough to ascertain when an abortion can be ethically selected (Cline, 2014). When a woman does not wish to carry an abortion to term, it will be unethical for law or any other person to force them to do so.... ...
In examining religious opinions on abortion, one must find common ground on which to form a foundation of comparison. With most of the religions to date, that common ground lies on the argument of whether or not a fetus is an actual person. Some religions protest by saying a fetus isn't a conscious being -- therefore there is no loss in doing away with it. But for those religions that do believe there is a life -- or any spiritual being -- in a fetus, it is clearly a crime to have an abortion.
Abortion “is an issue that raises questions about life and death, about what a person is and when one becomes a person, about the meaning of life, about the rights of women, and about the duties of men”(Velasquez 485). Abortion is an unresolved ethical issue that has been in doubt for many years because one can argue that you are killing an innocent person/fetus but many argue that is not person because they don’t have a conscious or the characteristics that defines a “person”. John Stuart Mill in a way justifies abortion, Mill is known to be openly speak about women’s rights and about human rights. Although, it might be immortal to end someone’s life one might argued that the individual has the right to choose and have the option. But in
Abortion is an extremely controversial issue and one that is continually on the forefront of debates. Those who oppose the idea (Pro-lifers), thinks it is an act of woman playing “God” who live from who dies. Yet, whether an unborn baby constitutes a normal person is questionable; a pregnant woman, on the other hand, has the undeniable right to choose whether she wants to have a child or not. Therefore, the decision to have an abortion is the personal choice and responsibility of the woman, because prohibiting abortion impedes freedom of choice and endangers the physical and mental health of women.
... a partner. Majority of women do not use proper contraceptive when being sexually active and then when they get pregnant they use abortion as a leeway for their own poor decision making. Women cannot just get an abortion because of their poor actions it is time for them to step up and take responsibility for their actions.