Examine Christian Beliefs About Abortion with Reference to Political Views Today

Examine Christian beliefs about abortion.

Comment on these beliefs with reference to political views today.

In Britain 1 in 3 women will have at least one abortion at some point in their life and in Washington DC, America's capital, abortions now outnumber live births. (Gary Bergel Abortion: A Biblical issue that must be resolved. 1983. P1) This shows that abortion is a major issue in today's society.

Religion has always been apparent in the world of mankind and plays a big part in the views of society towards ethical matters such as abortion. When many people in a society practice a particular religion, it starts to create a culture, which then influences even those who don't accept the religion. According to The Abortion Debate, the 2001 census showed that just over three quarters of the UK population reported following a religion. (Donnnellan 2006 - p1)

It can be seen that Christian beliefs have provided a good foundation to the political views and laws we have about abortion today. One may argue that the Christian beliefs of the Church of England are very relevant but some believe the view held by the Catholic Church is out of date for the society we live in. There are many different current attitudes, and laws surrounding abortion. This essay will analyse the extent to which Christianity affects the legalities and political attitudes towards abortion.

Firstly, I will study the view that Roman Catholics have on abortion. From the earliest times the Catholic Church has condemned abortion. They base this on one of the initial Catholic statements is in a document called the Didache, written in the 2nd century (some time after 100 A.D.): "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish". They believe that the life of a person begins at the moment of conception. This view is supported by the following quotes from the Bible, which is the holy book that Catholics use to guide them in their life.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

Psalm 139:13

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.

Jeremiah 1:5

These Bible quotes show how God has created that person and given them life, meaning and a soul. Therefore, terminating their life would be against God's wishes and show ingratitude towards what he has created. There is no one stage in the pregnancy process when you can say for sure that the embryo or foetus has changed from something to someone, but the Bible indicates that God gives us life from the moment of conception. This is a reason why Roman Catholics, along with all Christians, believe strongly in the sanctity of life. They believe that all life is holy and belongs to God, therefore only God has the right to end a pregnancy.

So god created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27

This quote from the Bible illustrates the belief that the unborn child is created in the image of God and is one for whom Jesus, the Son of God died.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception." Catholics turn to the Bible to guide them, and one of the Ten Commandments from God states that 'Thou shall not murder' (Exodus 20:13). This therefore suggests that abortion is murder; because if life begins at conception then it is taking away the life of an unborn baby. The social agenda states "Therefore, by the authority which Christ conferred on Peter and to his Successors, and in communion with the Bishops of the Catholic Church, I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral." (Rom 2:14 15). The law of the Church establishes that someone who has an abortion, fully aware of what they are doing, incurs the penalty of excommunication, in which they are banned from the church until they show remorse and repent their sins.

This attitude towards abortion is reflected in the abortion law before 1967. Abortion was made illegal by the British criminal law in 1803 (Davis, p140), making it against the law to procure an abortion before as well as after the time the mother is first able to feel movement in the womb. However, this lead to tens of thousands of illegal abortions in Britain alone, carried out by unqualified people in unhygenic conditions. (A Right to Life and Death - Boyd, 1999, p17) These unsafe abortions are known as backstreet abortions.

In the nineteenth century, the United States used the British law as a model for similar legislation in their country. According to Evangelical Ethics - John Jefferson Davis, scientific discoveries then established that a new human being was in existence from the time of conception and this caused the American Medical Association to strongly campaign that abortion should be outlawed except in cases where the mother's life would be endangered by a continuation of the pregnancy. (Davis, p140) This lasted from 1859 until the end of the century.

This abortion law could have been influenced by the Roman Catholic religion, which at the time was a popular religion in England, Ireland and America. According to wikepedia, in the 19th century there were a huge number of Roman Catholics in the United States due to immigration from countries such as Ireland. According to official government statistics based on the 2006 census, the religious affiliation of the population of Ireland is 86.8 percent Catholic and only 2.9 percent Church of Ireland. (http://www.thearda.com/internationalData/Compare/Compare_73_112_2.asp)

This may be the reason why abortion is still illegal there at present. It is banned unless risks are exceptionally serious or in some cases if pregnancy is the result of rape. Catholics promote adoption and provide support groups and councilling services to women considering abortion, to try and limit the amount of ilegal abortions taking place and provide help and comfort for these people. (http://www.priestsforlife.org/crisis.html).

The Church of England takes a slightly different stance to the abortion issue. Although they do agree with Catholics and the General Synod (which is the national assembly of the Church of England) in 1983 states that all human life, including life developing in the womb, is created by 'God in his own image and is, therefore,