Explain Christian ethical teachings on bioethics with a focus on the

topic of abortion

According to Macquarie Dictionary, ethics is the justification for and formal

reasoning behind human moral behaviour. It is a system of moral principles by
which human actions may be judged to be good or bad or right or wrong.
Christian ethics are views held by followers of the tradition and shape the way a
person lives their life through the influence of their decision making. Bioethics
are those which relate to science, medicine, human life and religion intertwined
and encompass abortion, as it is the act of using medicine to end the life of an
unborn child. Christians are generally against the procedure of abortion as they
believe life begins at conception, therefore making abortion an act of murder.

Christians draw their ethical teachings from sources of authority such as the
scriptures, tradition, personal experience and logic; therefore, their views on
bioethics consider the main aspects of Christian life. Scripture refers to The Bible
which contains divine revelations from both God (Old Testament) and Jesus (New
Testament), Tradition describes views and attitudes which have been long held
by the church and views of people in authority such as the pope and bishops who
lead the Christian or (more specifically in this case) Catholic church. The
authority of experience and logic are determined by the individual unlike
scripture and tradition which are common between Christians. They describe a
persons own conscience and feelings about the issue through their own
education and wisdom. There is a belief by the Christian church of objective
moral truth or ethical realism. This means that some moral truths are true for
everybody despite religion, culture etc. (e.g. rape is always wrong). This opposes
the postmodern view of subjective or relative moral truth which states that there
are only personal moral preferences and what is true for one person may not be
true for another. Bioethics being a part of Christian ethical teachings is therefore
substantiated from the four main sources of authority and abortion seen as an
objective moral truth.

The views of abortion as part of bioethics are determined by the same sources of
authority as described above. Bioethics is the application of morals to
science/medicine which concerns biology in terms of life and reproduction.
Because science and medicine is continually progressing, through new
developments and technology, the issue of bioethics is continuously raised and
the Christian view on bioethics challenged when science enters into anything
new which, becomes controversial. For example with the issue of stem cell
research, Christians believe that embryonic stem cell research is wrong because
it prevents a life occurring even if stem cells could save other lives. Also
Christians oppose suicide because they see human life as belonging to God,
therefore, taking it away is not only ending life but stealing from God and thus
breaking the commandments thou shalt not steal/kill. Hence the ethical
teachings on bioethics are views which are strongly held and put forward by the
Christian church and are significant to all biomedical development.
The issue of abortion falls under the topic bioethics as it deals with life,
reproduction and medicine. Abortion is defined by the Heinemann Dictionary as:
the expulsion or removal of a human foetus from the uterus before the foetus is
capable of independent survival, usually before the 28th week. There are many
ways in which abortion can occur depending on what stage the pregnancy is at.
They involve vacuuming, dissecting, poisoning or piercing the unborn baby in
way to kill it and remove it easily through the cervix or a small incision in the
lower abdominal area. Various reasons are given for the use of such a method to
kill an unborn child, for example: the mother could be financially unable to raise
the child, the birth could be unplanned and the mother too young to be able to
raise the baby, the mother could be a rape victim and having the baby could be
too emotionally challenging or there might be complications and the mothers
life may be in risk. However, there are alternatives, such as adoption, for many
of these reasons instead of the process of abortion. Also, abortion raises many
questions as to when life begins. If life begins, or the soul enters the body when
the baby takes its first breath, then abortion is not the same as killing because
the baby is still within the mothers womb and has not taken its first breath of air.
However, if life begins at conception, abortion would be the taking of a life, or in
other words murder. Furthermore, should a person have the right (even if it is the
mother who is bearing the child) to take away life? For any other case the answer
would be no, but because an embryo/foetus cannot be seen and does not have
the ability to make decisions, it is immediately assumed that they have an
inferior quality of life. The Christian church believes that life begins at conception
and that the life of an embryo/foetus is just as sacred as the life of a full grown
person and so, is generally against the bioethical issue of abortion.

As stated before, Christian ethical teachings regarding bioethics are based on

sources of authority. One of these is the scriptures or the Bible which is very
important to Christian faith as it contains the divine teachings of God and Jesus.
Although there are no direct laws, teachings or matter in the bible about the
issue of abortion, there are passages on the importance and value of life which
can be applied to abortion as it deals with the taking away of life. For instance
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out
of the womb I sanctified thee, I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
(Jeremiah 1:5) This quote shows that there is life in the womb before birth,and
that God considers a foetus to be a person. Therefore the commandment Thou
shalt not kill should apply to foetus as well, making abortion unethical for
Christians. Also God tells humankind Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth (Genesis 1:28), and so, Christians see abortion as opposing Gods wishes
by preventing life from occurring. Consequently, despite The Bible lacking any
quotes on abortion, Christians have found the teachings of the bible applicable
against the act of abortion and therefore hold a pro-life view.

The Catholic Church, a division within Christianity, takes a certain view within the
pro-life side of the abortion debate. Not only is The Bible used as a reference but
other documents and of course The Popes greatly influence decisions made by
the Catholics on the issue of abortion. The belief that life begins at conception is
strongly held by the Catholic Church, and so, the commandments thou shalt not
kill and do unto others as you would have do to you apply to the foetus in a
womans womb. The Didache, which is believed to be written by scholars of the
first century, explains the second commandment written above as commit no
murder, adultery, sodomy, fornication, or theft. Practise no magic, sorcery,
abortion, or infanticideHence this is reason for Catholics to further believe that
abortion is wrong, and life begins at conception, if such an interpretation was
taken not long after the life of Jesus occurred.

The pro-life view against abortion has been maintained throughout history by the
Catholic church. The Vatican II, in the document Gaudium et Spes stated: God,
the Lord of life, has entrusted men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and
men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected
with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide
are abominable crimes. The document describes abortion as abominable crimes,
which shows how strong the Catholic Churches views are against abortion and
how sacred life is which is also supported by the Catechism of the Catholic
Church saying the first right of the human person is his life. This deeply concerns
abortion as life is the only thing a foetus has, therefore its only right, and
abortion rids them of that right. Thus the Catholic church opposes abortion
because through the different documents and people in Catholic history, it has
been agreed and maintained that life begins at conception and abortion is the
killing of an innocent life.

Despite differences in views on contraception, Orthodox Christians hold similar

ethical teachings on the act of abortion to Roman Catholics. They believe that life
begins at conception and so abortion is the killing of an innocent life, one which
people should not have any precedence over. Through the celebration of the
Feast of Annunciation (Jesus conception), the Feast of the conception of Virgin
Mary and the Feast of the conception of John the Forerunner, it is evident that
conception to Orthodox Christians is just as important birth because it is when
life begins, whereas birth is simply bringing the child into the world. Along with
abortion, the Orthodox church have strong views against euthanasia and human
cloning, both of which affect the quality of human life. The viewpoint on these
issues strongly supports the pro-life attitude undertaken by the Orthodox church
against abortion.

Due to a large variety of different protestant churches, there is also a range of

views held on the topic of abortion by Protestants. The act of abortion and
abortifacient methods such as the morning after pill are generally condemned
by the protestant churches, however methods of contraception are not
forbidden. Because there is no formal teaching of abortion in protestant
churches, the views are different depending on the people or authoritative figure
of the church, and a sociological approach is taken when dealing with the issue.
It is seen by protestant churches as a form of infanticide and so abortion for
convenience is generally denounced. Some churches, believe that a woman
and foetus life are equal, and so, even abortion as a result of rape, incest, or if
the mothers or foetus life is at risk, should not be allowed.
There are protestants (eg. Anglicans and Methodists) who argue on the other
side of the statement as well. The Church believes the demand for abortions is
unacceptably high. It stresses that abortion should happen as early in the
pregnancy as possible and only after serious moral reflection. Its view on late
terminations ( after 24 weeks) of handicapped foetuses is that they should only
be given if the baby is likely to die from deformities soon after birth (Church of
England). This quote expresses the Anglican point of view on abortion which is
clearly different from both the Catholic and Orthodox Christian view as it agrees
with abortion of foetuses if there is a high risk of death after birth as it eases the
physical and mental pain of both mother and child. Thus the variety of
Protestants also hold a variety of views from the condemnation of abortion to the
allowance of certain birth control methods to the allowance of abortion in certain
situations.

As a result of the teachings of bioethics in the area of abortion, Christian

adherents respond to the issue of abortion in a variety of ways depending on
their specific denomination and personal situation. Because the general Christian
view is against abortion, avoiding being in a situation where abortion may be
considered is favoured. If children are not wanted, or a couple or person was not
in a situation to have children, abstaining from sex is a practice which would
prevent falling pregnant and having an unwanted baby and therefore prevent
abortion. Also natural family planning enables couples to minimise their chance
of falling pregnant (if another child is not wanted) while still practising sex,
however, does not fully eliminate the chance of procreation and is accepted by
Christian churches. If a woman does happen to fall into a disagreeable pregnancy
and cannot (or does not want to) support the child, she is able to go through the
pregnancy, give birth and then adopt the child out, this way abortion is avoided
and a life is saved. On the other hand, some Christians prefer to follow their own
conscience and/or the practices of society rather than their religion and therefore
condone abortion. This may be because of experience or the situation which they
are put in, for example, a rape victim may fall pregnant and the trauma she is
experiencing from the pregnancy can effect her health and life. An abortion in
this case could seem justified to the woman due to the suffering she is under
because of an unborn child she shouldnt have. Another example would be of a
teenager falling pregnant. She may not be physically or emotionally mature
enough to have the child and it would affect a large part of her life, also she may
not be able to support the child either and therefore an abortion would be safer
and easier. Although many Christian churches respect and support an
individuals decision the Catholic church is very much against abortion that, any
Catholic who goes through with an abortion or assists an abortion in any way, is
excommunicated from the church. Thus Christian adherents respond to abortion
in a variety of ways depending on their denomination, personal and cultural
views on ethical teachings.

Christian ethical teachings on bioethics in the topic of abortion are varied

throughout denominations and also through the different people who receive
them. Generally, abortion is seen as unethical because Christians believe that
life starts at conception and abortion is therefore the murder of an innocent
young life. The different sources of authority, for example, the bible and tradition
support a view against abortion. When examined more closely, a slight
fluctuation is seen as some Christians support abortion in certain situations
(deformities, risk of death), while others are against the act altogether. Also it is
evident that personal beliefs may support or overcome religious ethical
teachings and so there is a variety of ways the teachings are received. However,
despite this, Christian ethical teachings on abortion have been maintained
throughout history with basically the same message, that abortion is wrong.