Religious teachings

Christianity:

• "Love the sinner, hate the crime" (show compassion and love to the criminal)
• "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" (humans don't have the right to judge criminals and decide their punishment because we have all done bad things)
• "Love your neighbour" (show compassion to your neighbour by forgiving and giving them the oppurtunity to reform)
• "Love your enemy and do good to them" (help the criminals to reform)
• Forgiveness (everyone should be given the opportunity to become a better person)

Buddhism:

• "I undertake to abstain from taking life" - first precept (do not allow the death penalty)
• Metta = compassion to all living things (don't punish, instead help them to reform)
• Anicca = everything changes, nothing stays the same (so everyone can reform)
• Anatta = we are all linked (so be careful what you do or others might copy)
• Ahisma = non-harm to all living things (so Buddhists are against the death penalty)
• "Prevention is better than a cure" (better to help criminals reform and give them better life)

Christanity:

• Sanctity of life - "made in the image of God" (active euthanasia is wrong)
• "I knew you even before you were formed in the womb" (God has a plan and it is up to him when our lives end)
• "Do not commit murder" (active euthanasia is murder and therefore going against the commandments)
• "A time to be born and a time to die" (God decides when we are going to be born and when we will die, we should therefore not use active euthansia if God did not yet want that person to die)

Buddhism:

• Ahisma = non-harm to all living things (euthansia is harm and therefore wrong)
• Metta = loving kindness to all things (helping someone in terrible pain therefore using euthanasia)
• First precept - "I will not harm any living thing" (euthansia is harming a living thing)
• 4 Noble Truths including suffering is part of life and not personal 

Christianity:

• "Love your neighbour" (there is a duty to help people with a drug addiction)
• "Your body is a temple where the spirit of God dwells" (drug abuse damages your body and therefore harmful drugs shouldn't be comsumped)
• "It is better not to do anything that will cause your brother to fall" (don't peer pressure other people into taking drugs)
• "Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler, whoever is led astray by them is not wise" (getting drunk is foolish and staying sober is wise)

Buddhism:

• 5th Precept prohibits the taking of any intoxicating substance that can harm the mind (drugs should therefore not be comsumped)
• Metta = loving kindness to all (show love to those with an addiction)
• Karuna = be compassionate (help those with an addiction)
• Anicca = nothing is permanent (we all have the chance to change and people can stop being addicted to drugs and have a healthier lifestyle)

Christianity:

• Roman Catholics are against IVF and AID because they believe embryos are people and to freeze the spare ones and experiment on them is unacceptable.
• Roman Catholics view artificial insemination the same as adultery and can cause relationship confusion. 
• "Hannah had no children, God had closed her womb" (God decides if someone should have children or not, and fertility treatment challenges that)
• Sanctity of life (freezing embryos is not giving them the chace of life) 

Buddhism:

• Metta = loving kindness (if the fertility treatment is given out of love it is acceptable because it is the intention which is important)
• Ahimsa = non-harm to all living things (if the treatment involves freezing the unused embroys, it is unacceptable because it is harming that life)
• Right Action from the 8 Fold Path (if the intention of the treatment is good it is acceptable e.g. surrogacy or giving a childless couple a child)

Christianity:

• "God breathed the breathe of life into Adam" (cloning challenges humans being made in the image of God, instead clones are made in the image of another human)
• "Made in the image of God" (clones are made in the image of another person)
• Sancitiy of life (clones are not individuals, they are copies)
• Jehovah's Witnesses feel life is carried in their blood so they cannot have anyone else
• "Love your neighbour" (transplants are acceptable because it shows love)

Buddhism:

• Life is sacred (cloning makes two copies and they are no longer individuals)
• Metta = loving kindness (organ transplants and blood transfusions show love)
• Karuna = compassion (giving organs or blood is compassionate)
• Right Action (the intention was to save or improve a life which is a good intention)