religious education

Arguments for abortion

• A woman has the right to choose whether or not she wants to have the baby. It is her body.
• In the case of ****, it would be lacking in compassion to deny a woman the right to an abortion.
• The woman might be too young, or have work or family commitments which make bringing up a child difficult or impossible for her.
• The pregnant woman's health and welfare are more important than that of the embryo or fetus.
• The pregnant woman's life is more important than that of the embryo or fetus.
• The embryo or fetus does not have the same rights as the mother.
• The quality of life of the unborn child or the woman's existing children could be adversely affected by the birth.
• Stopping legal abortions would mean a return to 'back street' abortions, causing a great deal of suffering to the health and wellbeing of the woman. Abortion could therefore be the lesser of two evils.

Arguments against abortion

• Roman Catholics believe that life begins at conception and therefore abortion is morally wrong. Most Protestant churches in Britain also view abortion as a moral wrong, but concede that there are some limited…