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Abortion and Euthanasia
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Abortion and Euthanasia Question One Explain the beliefs Christians hold about their responsibilities for those at the beginning and end of their lives Christians believe in the sanctity of life, which means that they think life is sacred and special and to be looked after. They believe that life is a precious gift from god, which should be treasured and respected; from it’s beginning, throughout and at its end. They feel that once a life had been given, no human has any right to try and destroy it. They think that god created man in his own image therefore to damage life would be like damaging God himself and sinning. They believe that only God has the right to end any life. This is reflected in Genesis 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; Male and Female he created them. When Christians talk about being made in the image of god some people would interpret this literally whereas, but many Christians feel that it means that people share something of God’s nature or that he put a bit of himself into man. In Luke 12:7 it says: Even the hairs on your head have been counted, everything has been put in your body for a reason, god knows and cares for every living creature we should therefore do the same. This means that god knows everybody and he made everybody special and unique and that the life he gave them is precious and we should care for it, and for other people. Christians feel that they have a responsibility to care for other peoples lives also, especially those at the beginning and end of their lives. Christians think that life begins at conception and that god begins his relationship with the individual then. Psalm 139 says: You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother’s womb. When I was growing there in secret, you knew I was there. You saw me before I was born. The days allotted to me had already been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began. Christians think that god has taken the care to plan out each life from the moment of conception and carefully put together each person. Because of this Christians feel a duty to babies whose lives have just begun and therefore cannot take care of themselves. They think it is important for babies to be nurtured and to be brought up as Christians. They also feel a responsibility to those at the end of their lives, to help them with the dying process and to make their last days comfortable, as this is what Jesus did. They think that life is important up until the very end and it must be respected until death. Question Two Faced with the issues you have chosen, explain the different ways Christians might respond. The word ‘abortion’ comes from the Latin word ‘aboriri’ meaning, ‘to fail to be born’. In medical terms and abortion is a procedure that destroys the life of an unborn child. It has only been legal in Britain since 1967 and some would say that abortion being legal is an acceptable thing to do. Others however, would view it as murder as it is ultimately taking a life. Some people think that it is circumstantial i.e. it would be acceptable in certain cases, such as when the woman is the victim of a rape, but not in others like when the woman has chosen to enter a sexual relationship and is in a position to care for the child. Aborting a child is a deeply traumatic event and can cause psychological scarring to the mother, which will last much longer than any physical scars. But there are many reasons why a woman would choose to put herself in such a dreadful position. For example, when continuing the pregnancy, or giving birth to the child, poses severe risk to the health of both mother and baby, a doctor may advise abortion and a woman may wish to have one. Or the baby may be severely physically or mentally disabled. The woman may have been raped, in which case the baby would serve as a constant reminder of the rape and the mother may reject the child and feel unable to love it. Another reason could be that the mother/parents may be unable to support the child financially or they may not feel emotionally capable of caring for a child, especially if they are particularly young. Where abortion is concerned the Christian church does not take an official stance, there is not one view that all Christians share. The opinion differs depending on the denomination, and there is much debate between individuals in the same denomination. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches forbid abortion and anybody who commits the sin of abortion immediately excommunicates themselves from the church. The Roman Catholic Church says: Human life must he respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his 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.
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