Religious Studies: Abortion Coursework - page 8
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: 8 of 9 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Christian may join a group in order to act upon their views. The Pro-Choice Alliance (PCA) campaigns for women to have abortions ‘on-demand’ up until the 14th week of pregnancy and attempts to make abortions easier to obtain. They believe it should be a woman’s right to choose whether she wants an abortion or not and that forcing her to justify herself to others demeans a woman. Christians could see this as a breach of the Bible’s teaching that men and women are equal, whereas other Christians would consider supporting the PCA because they believe it is unloving to cause a woman suffering by forcing her to continue with a pregnancy.
In conclusion, there are many different ways a Christian can act upon their views on abortion, ranging from prayer to joining a group specific to their thinking; however their actions may vary depending on their viewpoint, commitments, and how strong their beliefs are.
‘Abortion is never justified’ do you agree?
I believe that conception is the point at which a foetus becomes ‘alive’. I believe there is no point within a pregnancy at which the baby is ‘suddenly’ considered to be alive, or is given a soul to signify its existence as a human being (primarily as I do not believe in souls). As I believe this, abortion at any stage of the pregnancy would be ‘killing’ a being. As a Buddhist, I am instructed:
‘Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami’
(I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures)
Pañca-sila (The Five Precepts)
Therefore, I cannot condone such a thing as abortion, because it is an unconcealed disregard for life. There is no circumstance under which the precept above can be ‘broken’, and therefore there is no justification for abortion. We have already discussed that some forms of Christianity would argue that it is uncompassionate to force a woman to carry through with a pregnancy if it poses a risk to her life, if the conception was a result of rape, or if the baby would be born severely handicapped:
‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’ Matthew 19:19
However a Buddhist would argue that the mother’s death is inevitable as one of the ‘Three Facts of Existence’: Impermanence. The harsh truth of this may be hard for Westerners to grasp, but Buddhists believe that it is a universal truth that holds true in all situations. Buddhists would justify their belief that abortion cannot be justified even
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