Christians on abortion

Christian teachings on abortion (12 marks)

Generally speaking, most Christians have a negative attitude towards abortion, as they believe in the concept of sanctity of life. Human life is sacred, because we were made in God's image, so abortion would be an act of murder and taking away life. Some Christians would say that whether abortion can be justified, depends on the situation, because the quality of life of the foetus should also be taken into account. Other Christians would argue that it should be up to the mother whether to have abortion or not, because it is her body and we should respect her rights for patient autonomy- to have her wishes fulfilled.

There is a diversity of Christian views on this topic, depending on the Christian denominations. For example, Roman Catholics believe that abortion is a serious sin under most of the circumstances and should not be permissable, because life begins at conception, so having an abortion would be equivalent to murder. Pope Paul VI has previously said: "You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb. Human life is sacred. All men must recognise that fact" (Humanae Vitae), which supports the Church belief. Catechism 2270 particularly forbids it: "Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception". In addition, Catechism 2272 says: "Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave moral offence", meaning that any people who is involved in abortion should be automatically ex-communicated. However, the doctrine of the double effect says that there is only one circumstance under which an abortion would be permissable- when…