Christianity and abortion

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There is no mention in the Christian Bible about abortion, and at different times early Christians held different beliefs about abortion.^[1] In the 1st Century A.D., Greeks influenced Christian ideas about abortion.^[2] Greeks held the belief that early in gestation a fetus has the soul of a vegetable and only later in gestation does the soul become "animated" as the result of "ensoulment." For the Greeks, ensoulment occurred 40 days after conception for male fetuses and 90 days after conception for female fetuses. ^[3] Consequently, abortion was not condemned if performed early.^[4]

Between the 2nd Century A.D. to 4th Century C.E., several Christian philosophers condemned women who had an abortion.^[5] From the 5th to 16th Century A.D., Christian philosophers had varying stances on abortion. St. Augustine wrote that an early abortion is not murder because the soul of a fetus at an early stage is not present.^[6] St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Innocent III, and Pope Gregory XIV believed that a fetus does not have a soul until "quickening," or when a woman begins to feel her fetus kick and move. Abortion before quickening was, therefore, acceptable. Pope Stephen V and Pope Sixtus V opposed abortion at any stage of pregnancy.^[7]

Contents 1 Scriptural considerations 2 Eastern Orthodox 3 Protestant 3.1 Fundamentalist (Evangelical) movements 3.1.1 History within the Southern Baptist Convention 3.1.2 History in the larger Evangelical movement 3.2 Mainline Protestant churches 3.2.1 Anglican Communion 3.2.2 Methodist Church 3.2.3 Presbyterian Church 3.2.4 Unitarian Universalist Church 3.2.5 United Church of Christ (UCC) 4 Mormonism 5 Roman Catholicism 5.1 Catholics for a Free Choice 6 References 7 See also

[edit] Scriptural considerations

Though there is no explicit reference to abortion in the Bible, several scriptural observations have been noted by biblical scholars to qualify the unborn child as a living being possessing the attributes of personhood, and thus an independent right to life:

• The Bible does not differentiate between foetus and child at the level of terminology.^[8] In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word "yeled" is used consistently to describe both unborn and born children. In the New Testament, the Greek word "brephos" is used.

• In Luke 1:44, an unborn child is shown to be capable of demonstrating basic emotions: "For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy."

• In Luke 1:15, a child is filled with the Holy Ghost before birth; it is argued, a characteristic consistent with the notion of the foetus as an individual with a discrete soul and spiritual personality: "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."

• Deuteronomy 12:23 states "for the blood is the life". Blood circulation is established in utero in the first trimester.

• God is described to have knowledge of an individual before he or she is born. Jeremiah 1:5 states: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you." Psalm 139:13-16 states: "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them."

[edit] Eastern Orthodox

The Eastern Orthodox Church believes that life begins at conception, and that abortion (including the use of abortifacient drugs) is the taking of a human life. However, it is acceptable in a few circumstances. The Basis of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church states that while abortion can never be seen as morally neutral, in some cases economy can be used:

In case of a direct threat to the life of a mother if her pregnancy continues, especially if she has other children, it is recommended to be lenient in the pastoral practice. The woman who interrupted pregnancy in this situation shall not be excluded from the Eucharistic communion with the Church provided that she has fulfilled the canon of Penance assigned by the priest who takes her confession. ^[9]

The document also acknowledges that abortions often are a result of poverty and helplessness and that the Church and society should "work out effective measures to protect motherhood."

[edit] Protestant

Protestant views on abortion vary considerably. Christian fundamentalist movements unanimously condemn abortion, while mainstream Protestant traditions take more nuanced positions, but are generally pro-choice with some exceptions. Several mainstream Protestant traditions belong to the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. These include the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), The United Church of Christ, The United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Church, and the Lutheran Women's Caucus.^[10]

In the United Kingdom, there is an equivalent organisation of individual Christian pro-choice activists called "Christians for a Free Choice," whose members have supported the former National Abortion Campaign and opposed conservative Christian attacks on women's reproductive freedom.

[edit] Fundamentalist (Evangelical) movements

Fundamentalist churches that include the Evangelical, Non-denominational, Southern Baptist and Pentecostal movements, do not have a single definition or doctrine on abortion. While these movements hold in common that abortion (when there is no threat to the life of the mother) is a form of infanticide, there is no consensus within these camps as to whether exceptions should be allowed when the woman's life is in mortal danger, or when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest. Some argue that the lives of both woman and child should be given equal consideration, in effect condemning all abortion including those performed to save the life of the woman. Others argue for exceptions which favor the life of the woman, perhaps including pregnancies resulting from cases of rape or incest.^[11][12]

There have been some reported sightings of an organisation called "Evangelicals for Choice," but whether that organisation has ever had formal existence, or is in fact an ad hoc ephemeral group, is unknown.

[edit] History within the Southern Baptist Convention

Since 1980, the Southern Baptist Convention has opposed abortion "except to save the life of the mother," and supports legislation which would prohibit it except in that circumstance. This marked a reversal from the early 70s, when the Convention advocated for abortion rights.^[13] During the 1971 and 1974 Southern Baptist Conventions, Southern Baptists were called upon "to work for legislation that will allow the possibility of abortion under such conditions as rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity, and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother."^[14] W. Barry Garrett wrote in the Baptist Press, "Religious liberty, human equality and justice are advanced by the [Roe v. Wade] Supreme Court Decision."^[15] In 2003, a resolution by the Convention stated that the 1971 and 1974 resolutions "accepted unbiblical premises of the abortion rights movement" and that the Convention now "lament[ed] and renounce[d] statements and actions by previous Conventions and previous denominational leadership that offered support to the abortion culture." ^[16]

[edit] History in the larger Evangelical movement

Randall Herbert Balmer, Ph.D., argues in his book, Thy Kingdom Come, that contrary to the popular belief that anti-abortion sentiments galvanized the fundamentalist evangelical movement, what actually galvanized the movement was evangelical opposition to the American Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after the IRS stripped the evangelical Bob Jones University of its tax-exempt status for refusing to allow interracial dating and marriage.^[17] It was not until 1980 that the evangelical movement came to oppose abortion.^[18][19]

[edit] Mainline Protestant churches

It should be noted that within mainline Protestant churches, there is considerable latitude in terms of theological opinion, and consequently, some churches with official pro-choice positions have evangelical/fundamentalist pro-life factions- the Episcopal Church has the National Organisation of Episcopalians for Life, the PCUSA has Presbyterians Pro-Life, and similar organisations exist within the United Methodist Church.

[edit] Anglican Communion

Positions taken by Anglicans across the world are divergent although most would refrain from simplifying the debate into "Pro Choice" or "Pro Life" Camps. The Church of England, for example, shares the opinion held by the Roman Catholic Church. In a 1980 statement, the church declared, "In the light of our conviction that the foetus has the right to live and develop as a member of the human family, we see abortion, the termination of that life by the act of man, as a great moral evil. We do not believe that the right to life, as a right pertaining to persons, admits of no exceptions whatever; but the right of the innocent to life admits surely of few exceptions indeed."^{[citation needed]}

The Episcopal Church in the United States of America has taken a pro-choice stand and has passed resolutions at its triannual General Convention that supports woman's right to choose. The church opposes any government action that limits a woman's right to choose this includes parental notification.^[20] The ECUSA does condemn abortions for sex selection and also condemns violence against abortion clinics. Like most mainstream Protestant denominations the Episcopalians allow the use of birth control.^[21]

The Anglican Church of Australia does not take a position on abortion. ^[22] However, in December 2007, an all-woman committee representing the Melbourne diocese recommended that abortion be "decriminalised", on the basis of the ethical view that "the moral significance [of the embryo] increases with the age and development of the foetus".^[23] This is seen to be the first official approval of abortion by Australian Anglicans.^[24]

It should be noted that the evangelical/fundamentalistAnglican Diocese of Sydney shares the usual antipathy against abortion displayed by most adherents to that theological position, however.

[edit] Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church upholds the idea that church doctrine should not interfere with secular abortion laws. In light of grave or socio-economic circumstances, the Methodist church believes in the right of the mother to choose whether to have an abortion, and is thus often regarded as pro-choice.^[25][26]

[edit] Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian Church generally takes a pro-choice stance. In their 204th General Assembly, they affirmed the following:

There is [both] agreement and disagreement on the basic issue of abortion. The committee [on problem pregnancies and abortion] agreed that there are no biblical texts that speak expressly to the topic of abortion, but that taken in their totality the Holy Scriptures are filled with messages that advocate respect for the woman and child before and after birth. Therefore the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) encourages an atmosphere of open debate and mutual respect for a variety of opinions concerning the issues related to problem pregnancies and abortion. The church ought to be able to maintain within its fellowship those who, on the basis of a study of Scripture and prayerful decision, come to diverse conclusions and actions.^[27]

[edit] Unitarian Universalist Church

The Unitarian Universalist Church strongly supports abortion rights. In 1978, the Unitarian Universalist Church passed a resolution that declared, "...[the] right to choice on contraception and abortion are important aspects of the right of privacy, respect for human life and freedom of conscience of women and their families."

[edit] United Church of Christ (UCC)

The United Church of Christ has strongly supported abortion rights since 1971 as a part of their Justice and Witness Ministry. The church is an organizational member of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL).^[28][29]

[edit] Mormonism

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints takes a strong position against abortion and holds that abortion is form of killing. However, there are exceptions. According to the LDS library, "Some exceptional circumstances may justify an abortion, such as when pregnancy is the result of incest or rape, when the life or health of the mother is judged by competent medical authority to be in serious jeopardy, or when the fetus is known by competent medical authority to have severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth. But even these circumstances do not automatically justify an abortion. Those who face such circumstances should consider abortion only after consulting with their local Church leaders and receiving a confirmation through earnest prayer." ^[30]

[edit] Roman Catholicism

The Roman Catholic Church today firmly holds that "the first right of the human person is his life" and that life is assumed to begin at fertilization. The equality of all human life is fundamental and complete, any discrimination is evil. Therefore, even when a woman's life appears jeopardized, choosing her life over her child's is no less discrimination between two lives - and therefore morally unacceptable. ^[31] Catholics who procure or participate in an abortion suffer ipso facto latae sententiae (automatic, literally by that very fact the sentence is incurred) excommunication under Canon law, provided that the person knows of the penalty at the time the abortion occurs. The Roman Catholic Church also considers the destruction of any embryo to be equivalent to abortion.

According to the memorandum written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Catholic politicians who campaign and vote for permissive abortion laws should be warned by their priest to refrain from taking communion or risk being denied the Eucharist until they change their political views.^[32]

[edit] Catholics for a Free Choice

Catholics for a Free Choice was founded in 1973 "to serve as a voice for Catholics" who believe individual women and men are not acting immorally when they choose to use birth control, and that women are not immoral for choosing to have an abortion.^[33] Catholics for a Free Choice believe:

Catholic support for legal abortion is grounded in core principles of Catholic theology, which respect the moral agency of all women. It is bolstered by respect for the religious freedom and rights of people of all faiths and no religious faith, by respect for plural and tolerant democratic societies and, most importantly, by adherence to the Catholic principle of standing with the poor and marginalized of the world who are disproportionately women.^[34]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Abortion
• Religion and abortion
• Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
• Pro-life
• Pro-Choice
• Catholics for a Free Choice
• Southern Baptist Convention
• Evangelical