Religious Studies: Abortion Coursework - page 5
Keywords: Religious Studies: Abortion Coursework GCSE Religious Studies Education RS RE R.E. R.S.
By slashwk on 23/11/2006 17:34:37
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 5 of 9 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
is a serious risk to the mother’s life
• If conception was a result of rape
• If there is a grave risk that the baby would be born disabled
The Church of England provides the following justification for these beliefs:
‘We affirm that every human life, created in the divine image is unique…and that this holds for each of us, born or yet to be born. We therefore believe that abortion is an evil…and that abortion on demand would be a very great evil. But we also believe that to withhold compassion is evil and in circumstances of extreme distress or need…Christians need to face frankly the fact that in an imperfect world the ‘right’ choice is sometimes the acceptance of the lesser of two evils’ Church of England
We can clearly see that the Church of England uses ‘Situation Ethics’ to justify the use of abortion. ‘Situation Ethics’ is the making of a decision which would be the more ‘loving’ thing to do. Therefore, the Church of England understands that sometimes people are put in the position of deciding whether it is more ‘loving’, for example, to:
1. Allow the mother to live via the use of abortion
OR
2. Carry through with the pregnancy which poses a risk to the mother’s life as well as that of the baby
Each case can be justified, via the use of Biblical and Church teaching, to be some form of evil, however one can be considered ‘less’ evil than another.
The Salvation Army carries similar views to those of the Church of England and believes in the ‘Sanctity of Life’ from the moment of conception, however, also believes that abortion is justifiable in very few cases including: a threat to the life of the mother, or if the baby would be born abnormal to the extent that it would only survive for a period lasting only a few days.
The Church of Scotland has vies more similar to those of the Roman Catholic Church and stated that in most cases:
‘Abortion has no moral justification and represents the unwarranted destruction of human life that is made in the image of God’
Church of Scotland’s Board of Social Responsibility, 1987
In conclusion, all Churches including the Roman Catholic Church, Church of England, Church of Scotland, and Salvation Army believe that abortion is an evil and a sin; however, they all have specific circumstances under which an abortion may be justified. The level of leniency ranges from that of
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