Homework 5. 7th February. Abortion (click here for notes)

Explain why there are different views on abortion amongst Christians. (8)

This week I have written an answer but there are a number of mistakes. Find them and suggest corrections!

Some Christians believe in the sanctity of life (that life is special to God and should be protected). However, there are still different beliefs about abortion.

The Roman Catholic church teaches that life starts at conception (about 2 weeks after the sperm meets the egg) (1) and that abortion is OK in some situations . (2) They would say that the Bible teaches "You shall not kill" and because of this it is wrong.

Many Protestants would agree with the Roman Catholic view. The Bible also says "you knew me before I was born" so they think God plans all babies and they are special to him. However, some think abortion might be the right thing to do in some situations. The man who introduced the abortion bill was a Christian and he thought it was better for people to have abortions illegally in back street clinics than with a trained Dr. (3) About 40 women died each year from bad operations. Some Christians would also argue that it might be a loving thing to do to allow someone an abortion if they have been raped or could not cope with a baby.

Key words to learn:

abortion the removal of a foetus from the womb before it can survive

sanctity of life the belief that life is holy and belongs to God

euthanasia an easy and gentle death

assisted suicide providing a seriously ill person with the means to commit suicide

voluntary euthanasia the situation where someone dying in pain asks a doctor to end her/his life painlessly