Jesus throughout his life was forgiving of others, he always emphasised that if you were truly sorry for something that you had done, then God would forgive you, as no one is perfect.
“God loves the sinner, but hates the sin.”
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from
all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
This famous saying and quote from the Bible back up this theory that God will forgive if the sinner repents. Therefore if a woman felt that abortion was the best option for her and was sorry for the fact she had to take this action, then God would pardon the sin.
“Treat others as you would wish to be treated.”
The Golden Rule is also used, because no person would want to brought into this world if they knew that they were unwanted, or were the cause of someone?s pain, therefore the unwanted foetus would not want to be born if they were faced with the decision, so abortion would be allowed.
“Some members of the Church, however, would limit abortions only to life-threatening
situations while others would permit them for emotional or social economic reasons.”
It is apparent from this quote that there is a difference of opinion within the Church of England as well as between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic views. Many believe that abortions are permitted if it would cause the mother/ child, great emotional or social problems, whilst others in the same section of the church would say that the only circumstance for allowing abortion is when the mother?s life is in danger (very similar to the Roman Catholic opinion).
The Free Churches (Baptist, Methodist and Evangelical) believe that abortion should be left for the mother to decide whether it is the right thing to do. The Methodist Church especially has been publicly known for expressing their views that abortion is acceptable under the first section of the Abortion Act, if the birth would threaten either the mother?s or existing children?s mental or physical health. .
To conclude, The Roman Catholic Church is extremely Pro Life (anti abortion) whereas the Church of England could be described as being moderately Pro Choice (meaning abortion is a choice that should be available when faced with certain situations). The Free Churches take a greater Pro Choice approach to the controversial issue.
“Abortion is never justified” Do you agree?
Abortion is a very controversial issue, it is an issue that people feel strongly about, so much so that some of them devote a lot of their time to protesting for the side of the argument that they happen to agree with.
To say that Abortion is never justified is, in my mind, a completely absurd consumption to make. If it was the view of the law, then abortion would become illegal. I believe that every woman who finds herself carrying an unwanted child, should have every possible option open to her. She should have the right to decide herself and not be forced to take a course of action that is not what she wants, just because the law and attitude of society thinks otherwise.
The life of the mother is paramount, if this is in serious danger, then it should be preserved at the cost of the foetus. The mother would know every detail about the event, the baby would not know a thing, the proof of this is obvious really, no one can remember any pain they felt living in the womb, so what is to say that the foetus involved would.
Every pregnant woman?s life is her own and she should be able to put her body, career and future wellbeing first, if that would be jeopardised by the birth of the baby, then abortion would, in my mind, be justified. There can be no argument about her humanity and the right she has to live her life the way she desires, so why should she suffer because of a mistake that has resulted in the beginning of the forming of a human, therefore abortion is not the ?slaughter of a human life? as some would see it, but the ending of a developing one.
That is the main issue that people cannot decide over, when the life actually begins?
I believe that the foetus is a life from the moment of conception, because it is at that moment that a reaction is triggered that results in the formation of a human life. But this life is only a simple life, the same as the life of an amoeba (or similar) it is a collection of cells that, at the beginning of the pregnancy hold little resemblance to a living person, the point at which I think the life can be considered human, is when brain signals can be detected and the foetus acts like a new born child, being very active, this occurs around 18 weeks. Until this point I do not see abortion to be the taking of a human life, however after 18 weeks abortion, unless there is a great danger to the mother?s life, is not, in my mind, justified.
Believing all abortions are not justified means believing that bringing unwanted children into the world is acceptable, this could be described as the ultimate in child abuse, I would have not wanted to come into this world knowing that I was unwanted, if I had been then I would probably resent the society/law that had meant it happened. Think of the child?s confusion and horror if they discovered that they were either ?a mistake?, or that their birth had resulted in the death/illness of their mother.
If a woman has received and discussed information about all her options, but still believes abortion is the right course of action, then her wish should be respected, she should be seen as a responsible person who knows what is best for her, not told that she has no respect for life, as her reasons would be for the conservation of her own life and the probable life of the child if it was born.
How can abortion not be justified when both the mother and baby are likely to die if the pregnancy is not terminated? That is the taking of two lives, not one.
The rights of the mother exceed the rights of the unborn child, because she has spent (however many years) getting to wherever she has got, therefore why should her life be taken away because of one mistake she has made, by something that does not know who she is or what her situation may be. By saying that the rights of the unborn child are greater, is saying that the creator of the life is inferior to the life itself and that makes no sense whatsoever.
Roman Catholic?s would disagree with most of my beliefs, they believe that abortion is always murder and wrong, unless the mother is likely to die. They believe that abortion is not justified because it is the destruction of one of God?s creations, the murder of a human which God had given life to. They believe abortion is as bad as infanticide (the killing of a child), because of their belief that life begins at conception and every foetus is a human life with a soul and purpose and should have equal rights to that of an adult. They believe in the sanctity of life, that life is a gift from God and only he has the right to decide when each life is over, because it was he who created it, also that abortion is society?s easy way out and rather than deal with a problem they are choosing to eliminate it, at the cost of a life. Roman Catholic?s say that every child born is wanted, if not by the mother, then by people who would love to have the opportunity of having a child, by adoption.
People of the Free Churches do, however, believe that, although abortion is wrong, that sometimes under certain conditions, it is the best solution to an overall bad situation, they say that if there is a valid reason for the abortion, (mothers life endangered, serious deformity in child etc.) that God would be willing to forgive the person, if that person was truly sorry that it was the only action that they felt they could take. They believe this because of the life of Jesus, how he saw suffering and tried to heal the pain, God would therefore not want the person to suffer unduly, abortion would relieve this pain.
I do not think that people will ever see eye to eye on this controversial issue, there will always be those who believe in choice and those who believe in life, the only way people can decide, is to listen to each side of the argument and make up their own minds.
Sources used in the gathering of information.
? Bible
? Contemporary Moral Issues New Edition – Jenkins
? Introducing Moral Issues
? Religion & Ethics
? Various Websites: www.bbc.co.uk / www.abortionfacts.com / www.re-xs.uscm.ac.uk
? Pro Life campaign material
? Church of England Reports
? Christianity in Today?s World – Lynch
? Christianity and Social Issues – Keane
? Ethics and Religion – Jenkins
? One World, Many Issues – Williams
? Daily Express 11/10/99
? BBC ?Matters of Belief – Abortion?, ? Abortion – Whose Choice??, ?Education and Choice? and ?Doctor?s Dilemma? TV programmes.