Abstract
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.10. Layout of the Main Chapters
2.1.3. Christianity and Abortion
• when there is voluntary movement of the foetus. This usually happens during the 12th week of gestation but many women don't notice the movement until much later than - sometimes as late as 20 weeks.
Abdullah narrated that the Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, "(as regards your creation), ‘every one of you is collected in the womb of his mother for the first forty days, and then he becomes a clot for another forty days, and then a piece of flesh for another forty days’. Then Allah sends an angel to write four words: He writes his deeds, time of his death, means of his livelihood, and whether he will be wretched or blessed (in religion). Then the soul is breathed into his body..."12
However, it's important to note that many scholars believe that life begins at conception, and that all scholars like Hinduism believe that an embryo deserves respect and protection at all stages of the pregnancy.
are all laid down in the genetic code that comes into existence then. Each new life that begins at this point is not a potential human being but a human being with potential.
If the history of abortion is been looked, it is found that since the sixteenth century, causing or having an abortion led to automatic excommunication. This is stated in the Code of Canon Law (1983): "A person who actually procures an abortion incurs automatic excommunication".
The Church condemned abortion as early as the 2nd century CE: a document called the Didache, written in the 2nd century (some time after 100 CE), states: "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish".13
Regarding the pro-life strong position taken, by the Roman Catholic Church has supported by the pro-life groups which have been formed to challenge the legalization of abortion. The Church itself has played a major role in the politics of the abortion debate throughout the world.
So far as the current position of Catholic Church is concerned, Pope John Paul II takes a very strong position on it and describes abortion to be something equal with murder. During a trip to Poland in August 2002, Pope John Paul II has expressed his opposition regarding abortion.
He says, “Frequently man lives as if God did not exist, and even puts himself in God's
13 Christianity: Abortion. (2009, 08 03). Retrieved 01 12, 2011, from BBC- Religion:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/abortion_1.shtml
place... He claims for himself the Creator's right to interfere in the mystery of human life.
Rejecting divine law and moral principles, he openly attacks the family.”14
Again in 1995, he stated the fundamental position of the Church and says, “I confirm that the direct and voluntary killing of an innocent human being is always gravely immoral.”15
In that particular lecture, Pope has specially referred16 about abortion, euthanasia and the destruction of human embryos in medical research. On abortion specifically the Pope wrote,
“I declare that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being.”17
In October 1996 the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales published a document called The Common Good in which they said that all human rights flow from one fundamental right of the right to life. This followed a 1980 document in which the seven Catholic Archbishops of Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) issued a document called 'Abortion and the Right to Live'. This emphasized that the Church's opposition to abortion stemmed from
14 Pope John Paul (2001, 12 8). NO PEACE WITHOUT JUSTICE. Retrieved 1 2010, 23, from Vatican:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_20011211_xxxv- world-day-for-peace_en.html
15 Pope John Paul II (1995). EVANGELIUM VITAE. Retrieved 01 11, 2010, from http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium- vitae_en.html
16 ‘Evaluate professionally a colleague's work or (sport) be a referee or umpire in a sports competition’
17 Pope John Paul II (1995). EVANGELIUM VITAE. Retrieved 01 11, 2010, from http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-
recognition of the basic rights of all individuals, including the unborn, because the unborn has its own intrinsic values.
But there are few Catholics, who disagree with the Vatican line on abortion. According to them total ban on abortion is not correct. They have put forward some arguments against it.
• Although the Church teaching has for a long time stated that a foetus becomes a person when the egg is fertilized, distinguished theologians such as Augustine and Aquinas said this didn't happen until between 40 and 80 days after conception. Other Catholics might argue that the Church has a fixed position on the right to life of the foetus nonetheless
• The Church has affirmed the right and the responsibility of each Catholic to follow his or her own conscience on moral matters, even when it conflicts with Church teaching. Others may take the view that certain absolutes cannot be subjugated to one's own will
• The Church has not declared that its teaching on sexual and reproductive issues is infallible. But it could be argued that the Catechism of the Catholic Church states
"Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life ... from the moment of conception until death."18
Even pro-choice Catholics don't regard abortion as morally good, but they argue that based on the situations sometimes one might take the help of abortion.
18 Christianity: Abortion. (2009, 08 03). Retrieved 01 12, 2011, from BBC- Religion:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/christianethics/abortion_1.shtml
So far as the different views of Catholics are concerned, research and publications from the Alan Guttmacher Institute in America illustrate some contradictions in the Catholic stance against abortion. It states that catholic women in the United States are as likely as women in the general population to have an abortion, and 29% more likely than Protestant women.
So far as the Protestant view is concerned, it is not as rigid as the Catholic view and it varies from situation to situation. In the twentieth century, the debate over the morality of abortion became one of several issues which divided and continue to divide Protestantism. So it is difficult to give a single protestant view on abortion. Whereas "mainline" Protestants lean towards a pro-choice stance, African-American Protestants are much more strongly pro-life than white Protestants.
Even among Protestants who believe that abortion should be a legal option, there are those who believe that it should nonetheless be morally unacceptable in most instances. This stance was expressed by former President William J. Clinton when he asserted that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare." Other Protestants, most notably the Evangelicals, have sought to sharply restrict the conditions under which abortion is legally available. At the other extreme, some Protestants support freedom of choice and assert that abortion should not only be legal but even morally acceptable in certain circumstances.19
19 McGrath, Alister E.; Marks, Darren C. (2004). The Blackwell companion to Protestantism. John Wiley &
But above all there is an important characteristic of Christianity that is ‘forgiveness’. So, in Christianity though abortion is considered to be a sin, it can also be forgiven by God.