Christian perspectives on abortion across Catholic, evangelical, and liberal denominations

Abortion AND CRITICALLY EXAMINE VARIOUS CHRISTIAN RESPONSES ( CATHOLICS, EVANGELICALS, AND LIBERALS) TO SUBJECT. CHRISTIAN ETHICS IS TGE COURSE. THANK YOU AGAIN, GOOD JOB.

Christian Views on Abortion

The Christian Church has always had strict regulations when concerning matters like abortion. Even with the fact that the Christian Bible contains no information about the practice, many Christians have gotten actively engaged in trying to denounce it as being against God's will. Some branches of the Church are, however, hesitantly willing to accept abortion in particular cases because they acknowledge that one can look at the matter from a series of different perspectives. One of the most divisive problems about the relationship between Christianity and abortion relates to how the latter can be associated with the gravest sin when considering things from the religious ideology's point-of-view: murder.

History

Abortion has been in public view long before the Christian Church was founded and some of history's most notable individuals emphasized that the practice was required in some situations, both for the benefit of the individual and for the well-being of society as a whole. The Teaching of the Twelve (also known as the Didache) is apparently inspired from oral and written sermons of the twelve apostles. The text promotes the belief that abortion is no different from murder or infanticide and is probably one of the strictest documents originating from Early Christianity that is meant to deal with the topic.

The New Testament has no mention with regard to abortion, but it appears that it was very common for society to denounce the practice during Christianity's early years. Even with this, it was widespread and there were a series of strategies that people could use with the purpose of ending unwanted pregnancies. It is actually intriguing to take this matter into consideration, as it appears that church followers during the period were generally inclined to express the same opinions that they do today: some were supportive of the practice while others opposed it.

b.) Roman Catholicism

Although Catholicism opposes abortion, it acknowledges that "too many women had interest in contraception for its suppression to be entirely effective" (Maguire 56) and that it would be impossible for the Church to act as if abortion was not an important issue. Infanticide was one of the primary means of getting rid of unwanted babies across the world during early times and Christianity thus had a very difficult time dealing with the problem. "By the Middle Ages oblation offered families with too many children in Christian Europe a new form of abandonment: parents could give unwanted children to the Church" (Maguire 57). This makes it possible for people to understand matters from a whole new perspective: the church was unhesitant about taking unwanted children in an attempt to demonstrate that God had a role for everyone with no regard to their social status or general condition.

What is intriguing about many Catholics throughout time is that they appreciated practices like contraception and abortion in spite of the fact that the Church condemned them. Catholics in the late modern era generally believed that abortion was permissible in situations where it happened no longer than 40 days after the moment of conception. "Indirect abortion was allowed; that is, when measures that would normally be undertaken to save the mother's life in the death/expulsion of the fetus, they may be done even though the death of the fetus can be expected to result" (Maguire 60).

In some situations, the Church went as far as to denounce contraception and abortion as being sins equal to murder. The institution generally promoted the belief that one of the most beautiful things about marriage and intercourse was offspring. People needed to get married in order to perform intercourse, and, thus, contraception and abortion came to be associated with dubious groups of people like adulterers and prostitutes (Maguire 62).

While the Catholic Church has changed its view on contraception during the recent decades, it continued to be a passionate critic of abortion. The contemporary pope has actually emphasized that abortion is one of the most important present-day issues and that it has the mission to provide the masses with education concerning the practice's wrongness. The Catholic Church has provided severe responses to church officials who failed to get actively involved in denouncing abortion. "Theologians, priests, and religious who questioned the teaching have been fired, silenced, censured, and forced to recant on threat of explusion" (Maguire 72).

Catholic Christians practically take on a moral attitude in dealing with abortion and highlight that it is wrong to perform such a practice, regardless of the circumstances. In spite of this, political and public opposition to the Church's position has grown significantly in recent years and it appears that it is more and more difficult for the institution to continue to ban abortion in particular cases.

c.) Protestant Christianity

In contrast to Orthodox and Catholic Christians, Protestants did not get involved in abortion-related topics until the nineteenth century. Many movements emerged in this period with the purpose of emphasizing the fact that abortion was wrong and that it was important for the Church to do something in order to open people's eyes concerning this. "The modern American debate on abortion reflected the convergence of two trends -- the development of medicine and the rise of the feminist movement" (Melton 2).

Protestants largely followed the general public by dividing themselves in two camps: prolife and prochoice. Prolife Protestants employed attitudes that were very similar to the ones expressed by the Catholic Church and basically started to concentrate on criticizing abortion as a result of the fact that it was a corrupt practice that needed to be addressed from a moral point-of-view. Liberal Protestants wanted people to understand that they did not necessarily favor abortion as the answer to unwanted pregnancies, but that they considered that it was a solution that the masses needed to consider.

The United Church of Christ put across its opinions regarding abortion in 1987 by insisting that the practice needed to be accepted as a viable solution in desperate situations. It actually emphasized that it would be wrong for any institution, regardless of its role, to deny men and women of the right to perform abortion in situations involving unwanted pregnancies. Even with this, it did not hesitate to highlight that it was important for potential parents to consider the prospect of giving unwanted children away for adoption or to take responsibility by raising them themselves (Melton 3).

Protestant views on abortion largely reflect society's views on the practice, as there are both supporters and individuals who oppose it. "Many conservative Protestants leave a door open for abortion on some occasions, as when a pregnancy results from a rape or threatens the life of the mother" (Melton 3). These people are well-acquainted with the fact that there are some medical situations when it is essential for abortion to take place in order for the mother's life to be saved. They do not necessarily promote abortion, but they accept that it is inevitable for it to happen in some cases (Melton 3).

IV. Feminist views and testimonies

Women feel that it would only be normal for society to provide them with the opportunity to choose when to give birth and when they want to have a child. "To have choice in this area, women need not only contraceptives but access to safe, legal abortion if they find themselves with a pregnancy that they cannot complete" (Eggebroten 3).

Being a Christian woman wanting to deal with an unwanted pregnancy can be particularly stressful, as it is very likely for the local community to express lack of support toward such individuals. Many Christians believe that it would be wrong for concepts like forgiveness and salvation by grace to apply in situations involving abortion.

What people fail to understand is that some women are passionate believers and are unfortunate enough to have an unwanted pregnancy. It is especially embarrassing for them to be in this position, taking into account that they are devoted Christians. Instead of being discriminated for their condition, they should actually be provided with assistance such as prayer and spiritual therapy. These women consider a series of solutions before actually deciding that abortion is the only method for them and for society as a whole.

It is especially easy to live in a world where Christians are perfect because they do not have abortions or because they do not put themselves in a place where they would need an abortion. However, all people are sinners and it is virtually impossible for some to avoid coming across an unwanted pregnancy. Abortion is not a selfish decision in some cases and it is actually selfish to relate to it as being so.

Factors like rape, seduction, and failed birth-control can have devastating consequences on women. The fact that they are Christian further contributes to worsening their condition because they fail to look at matters from a general perspective. Some actually feel that no one is to blame but themselves for the situation that they are in. Others have a poor health condition and are physically unable to produce healthy children. The fact that some communities pressure them in thinking that it would be wrong to perform abortion is especially worrying.

While there are numerous accounts of women who suffered greatly because the church was against them committing abortion, there are many more cases that have not been made public. This makes it possible for society to understand that conditions are critical when considering the Christian Church's attitudes regarding abortion and that something needs to be done in order to prevent such situations from happening again.

A case involving a woman who was abandoned when she was little is especially intriguing, considering that she was reluctant to give birth to a child that she would later give for adoption. She was well-acquainted with the suffering that an adopted child goes through across his or her life and she was reluctant to give birth to an individual who would have to go through the same traumatizing experiences that she went through. Cases like this one demonstrate that it is wrong to discriminate a women performing abortion without having a complex understanding of her general condition and of the reasons why she chose to terminate a pregnancy.

Some Christian women feel that it is absolutely necessary for them to act in agreement with the Christian motherhood principle. They believe that risking their own life in order to give birth stands as proof that they are true believers and that suffering cannot prevent them from connecting with God. It is especially problematic for these women to look at matters from a logical point-of-view. They have been taught that morality is the most important concept that one can think of in such situations and that it would be wrong for them to perform any kind of act that is in disagreement with Christian teachings.

The case of Cindy, a woman coming from a broken home and being traumatized as a result is especially self-explanatory when considering the ethical matter of performing abortion. Her boyfriend committed suicide consequent to pressuring her to perform an abortion because he considered that she was not capable to raise a child in healthy conditions. In contrast to her boyfriend's opinion, Church members believed that it was very important for her to keep the baby, even with the fact that she was in no position to care for him properly (Eggebroten 24).

Cindy eventually gave birth to Josh, a baby boy that would grow to be tormented by his mother and grandparents with regard to how he was one of the main reasons for which his father committed suicide. Eggebroten describes her experiences with children in a mental hospital who were in a similar situation to Josh's. These children had trouble integrating society and regressed instead of experiencing progress. The fact that their parents were frustrated reflected negatively on them and eventually put them in a situation where they were no longer able to differentiate between real life and the life that their parents created for them. Most of these children suffer for an absurd reason: Christianity and society as a whole considers abortion to be a taboo concept and generally tend to criticize it.

Sensible situations require significant spiritual discernment, taking into account that Church representatives need to employ a more flexible attitude in dealing with such conditions. Situations where women want to perform abortion as a result of having unwanted pregnancies because they were raped require special attention. It would be absurd for someone to consider that these women are accountable for their condition and it is thus important for Christians to treat the matter differently. Giving birth to a child that results from rape can be especially traumatizing, both for the mother and for the child.

V. Conclusion

A great deal of women end up dying because they want to put across their devotion to God and believe that the best method to do so would be by refraining from performing abortion. This is alarming, as these individuals are virtually provided with the feeling that it is their duty to harm themselves in order to demonstrate that they are true Christians. They fail to see the bigger picture and they end up being the victims of their own arrogance. Surely, it is laudable to see an individual willing to give everything he or she has in order to fight for the principles that he or she believes in. However, it is absurd for the person to do so because he or she has been bombarded with information concerning how it is best for him or her to adopt a certain position on abortion.

Works cited:

Eggebroten, Anne Marie, "Abortion: My Choice, God's Grace: Christian Women Tell Their Stories," (Hope Publishing House, 1994)

Maguire, Daniel, "Sacred Rights: The Case for Contraception and Abortion in World Religions," (Oxford University Press, 2003)

Melton, Gordon J., "Encyclopedia of Protestantism," (Infobase Publishing, 01.01.2005)

"The Orthodox view on Abortion," Retrieved November 30, 2012, from the Orthodox Christian Website: http://www.orthodoxchristian.info/pages/abortion2.htm