Sanctity of life, Abortion, Euthanasia (paper 1 - 2.3)

Question 1

what is abortion

Answer 1

• Abortion is the deliberate termination or ending of a pregnancy through a medical process
• In most cases, the termination must take place before the 24th week (the point of viability)
• Viability = when a foetus is able to survive independently outside its mothers body
• The debate is, broadly speaking between “pro-life” vs “pro-choice”

Question 2

Abortion and the Law

Answer 2

• Abortion became legal under The Abortion Act 1967.
• abortion can only be carried out in a hospital, or
  in a specialised licensed clinic. Pregnancies could be terminated up until 28 weeks.
• In 1990, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act introduced controls over new techniques which had been developed to help infertile couples and to monitor experiments on embryos. - Despite attempts to use this law to restrict abortion rights, the 1990 Act lowered the legal time limit from 28 to 24 weeks.
• In 2008 a motion failed to changed the law from 24 weeks to 22 or 20 weeks.

Question 3

Q - Explain what the British law says about abortion

Answer 3

• The current law on abortion states that an abortion can take place up to the 24th week of pregnancy, if two doctors agree that continuing the pregnancy would pose a risk to the physical or mental health of the woman.
• Or if the physical or mental health of the woman’s existing children would suffer if a new baby was born or if the child were born it would be seriously mentally or physically handicapped.
• An abortion after 24 weeks is only allowed in exceptional circumstances, e.g. if there is a risk to the woman’s life.
• An abortion must be carried out by a doctor in government-approved NHS or private hospital
  or clinic

Question 4

Pro-Life

Answer 4

• Those who argue for pro-life typically advocate the “sanctity of life principle” – that human life has intrinsic value
• The unborn foetus thus has a “right to life”

Question 5

Pro-Choice

Answer 5

• By contrast some believe that a woman should have an absolute right to decide whether or not to continue with the pregnancy
• As it is her body and her life that will be affected by the pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood, it should be her choice

Question 6

Judith Jarvis Thomson

Answer 6

• a pro abortion advocate argues that even though the foetus is a person the mother still has the right to abort
• using the analogy of a person captive to give blood to a violinist who would otherwise die, Thomson argues that the kidnapped person has no obligation to keep the violinist alive. Her argument is that the mother has been kidnapped by the foetus and ahs no obligation to maintain the foetus’ life

Question 7

Q - Explain why people argue about abortion from a non-religious view point

Answer 7

• Some people are pro-life when it comes to abortion, meaning that they are against it. This can be because they believe that life begins at conception and it is wrong to take a human life.
• They may also believe abortion is wrong because all humans have rights one of which is a right to life itself. By aborting a life, you are taking away that right.
• Other people are pro-choice and believe that it is the mother’s decision whether or not they should keep the child. The pregnancy could be the result of a rape and keeping the child could therefore result in long term mental health problems for both mother and child.
• Others that are pro- choice may argue that it is the woman’s body and it is therefore her right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.
• People within the pro-choice groups may disagree with each other about when the limit for abortions should be

Question 8

Q - “The law on abortion should be changed”

Answer 8

Agree:
- Abortion should be illegal because life begins at conception and abortion is therefore murder.
- The heart starts beating at 3 weeks which signifies the beginning of life.
- Just because a baby is physically or mentally handicapped doesn’t mean its life isn’t valuable, so abortion should not be allowed in this instance.
Disagree:
- Many non-religious people are pro-choice about abortion meaning they support the current law.
- The child would only be able to breathe at 24 weeks, therefore some only consider it to be human at this point.
- The current law saves women’s lives when having a child would risk the mothers life

Question 9

Christian Teachings

Answer 9

• Christian teaching on abortion is not simple
• Generally Christians believe in the sanctity of life
• No Christian Church believes that abortion should be encouraged, and most agree that it should only be used in the most serious circumstances

Question 10

Catholic Church and Evangelical Christians

Answer 10

Abortion is wrong because:
- God creates life, and therefore man has no right to end life
- It is wrong to kill (Ten commandments)
- An unborn baby is a person from the moment of conception.
- The life of the baby is considered more important than difficulties the mother may face, e.g. trauma due to rape etc.

Question 11

The Catholic Church

Answer 11

• The Catholic Church believes abortion is never acceptable
• It is strongly against abortion in every situation
• However, it does accept it to save the life of the mother, since the intention behind this action is not to kill the foetus but to care for the woman’s life and health

Question 12

what is the principle of double effect

Answer 12

• ## The only circumstances when abortion is allowed (as a side effect) is when the mother’s life is in grave danger

Question 13

The Church of England

Answer 13

• The Church of England is generally opposed to abortion, though some believe that in certain situations it can be justified
  For example:
• If the continued pregnancy will lead to the mother’s death
• If the foetus is so badly disabled that after being born it would only live for a short period of time
• The Church recognises that, in trying to respond to severe situations with compassion, individuals may arrive at different decisions
• The Church believes that alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, should be available and that parents in difficult situations should be supported

Question 14

Q - Explain why some Christians accept abortion

Answer 14

• Jesus acted with love and compassion and so Christians must do the same, for example in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk.
• God gave us free will and people must make the right choices for themselves. They can rely on what their conscience tells them
• Modern technology allows the early detection of conditions and diseases that will cause suffering later. Therefore an abortion may be the lesser of two evils
• Some Christians believe that life does not begin at conception, therefore early in the pregnancy a foetus can be aborted without it being classed as ‘murder’.

Question 15

Q - Explain why some Christians do not accept abortion

Answer 15

• Roman Catholics and evangelical Christians believe that life begins at conception. They believe that life is sacred and created in the image of God, therefore only God can take it away.
• Because they believe that life begins at conception abortion is therefore murder and murder is against the ten commandments.
• Some foetuses are aborted because they are not going to be perfect. God has a plan for all of us and we should not ‘play’ God.
• The Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church argues against abortion because it goes against the ‘rights of a child’.