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Abortion

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Abortion is the induced termination of a pregnancy, resulting in the death of the embryo or fœtus. Miscarriages may be called "spontaneous abortion," but the term "abortion" almost always refers to induced abortion. Abortion during the first two trimesters was all-but-legalised nationwide in the United States by their Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. In most Western European countries, abortion is also legal. Abortion is widely practiced in all Australian states, although in some it remains technically illegal; government policy is to only enforce the prohibition in cases where standard practices are not adhered to.

Many people (e.g., feminists and liberals) term themselves "pro-choice," meaning that they consider abortion to be a private decision that is the pregnant woman's right to make. Some go so far as to assert that it is a fundamental human right, and claim that those who oppose it are misogynistic.

Contents

Methods of abortion

  • Medical abortions are used only in the first trimester and are induced abortions performed through medical abortifacients.
  • Vacuum aspiration is performed within the first 12 weeks, and consists of using a vacuum to suck out the fetus and any other contents of the uterus.
  • Dilation and evacuation abortion consists of dismembering the fetus with forceps and then using vacuum aspiration to empty the uterus. It is used in the second trimester.
  • Intact dilation and extraction or "partial birth abortion" consists of delivering the baby backwards up to the neck, and then sucking out its brain. The dead baby is then delivered.

Dangers of abortion

Apart from the fatal consequences for the baby, about 1 in 150-175 women who have an abortion suffer a complication such as excessive blood loss, perforation of the uterus, and rarely, infertility.[1]

The most common complication is infection, which can occur once the womb is evacuated or from an wound within the womb infected by germs arriving from the vagina.[2]

Biblical view on abortion

The Bible teaches that human beings are created in the image of God[3]. It also teaches that mankind has dominion over the rest of creation[4], but this does not include people. When Cain killed his brother, God punished him.[5]

This principle of not killing an innocent human was enshrined in the Ten Commandments.[6].

The Bible also teaches that the unborn child is a person. "...Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her..."[7] When Mary went to visit Elizabeth in the hill country, the "fetal tissue" who would become John the Baptist lept for joy within her womb. [8]

This is also what we learn from genetics. From the moment of conception, the new person has human DNA. Even New Scientist, which is in favour of abortion, wrote:

The task force finds that the new recombinant DNA technologies indisputably prove that the unborn child is a whole human being from the moment of fertilization, that all abortions terminate the life of a human being, and that the unborn child is a separate human patient under the care of modern medicine.[9]

As killing an innocent human is wrong, and an unborn child is human, therefore (from a biblical standpoint) abortion is wrong.

Church positions on Abortion

  • American Baptist Church Opposes abortion "as a means of avoiding responsibility for conception, as a primary means of birth control, [and/or] without regard for the far-reaching consequences of the act." However, also recognizes that its congregation is split on the issue of legalized abortion.[10]
  • Evangelical Lutheran Churches of America: "The strong Christian presumption is to preserve and protect life," the statement says. "Abortion ought to be an option only of last resort. Therefore, as a church we seek to reduce the need to turn to abortion. ...We also deplore the circumstances that lead a woman to consider abortion as the best option available to her." A compassionate community, praying and standing with those in struggle, is called neither to judge nor justify but to support people making difficult moral decisions.[11]
  • Presbyterian Church, USA: Abortion should be reserved for conditions of last resort. Emphasis should be placed on programs (like adoption, and funding medical care, and post birth support for new families) that reduce the need for abortions. Ministerial counseling should never be removed from a mother who is frightened by an unwanted pregnancy, or has made a choice the individual congregation disagrees with.[12]
  • Roman Catholic Church: Abortion is considered a mortal sin, and any Catholics who procure or participate in the procuring of a non-life-saving abortion are automatically excommunicated. [13]
  • Southern Baptist Convention: No official statement yet found, but they are clearly against abortion in all situations other than those that endanger the life (not health) of the mother. Religious ethics of Abortion.
  • United Methodist Church: "In continuity with past Christian teaching, we recognize tragic conflicts of life with life that may justify abortion, and in such cases we support the legal option of abortion under proper medical procedures. We cannot affirm abortion as an acceptable means of birth control, and we unconditionally reject it as a means of gender selection."[14]
  • Church of England: Strongly opposes abortion, because "[a]ll human life, including life developing in the womb, is created by God in his own image and is, therefore, to be nurtured, supported and protected." However, it also recognizes that there can be "strictly limited" conditions "under which [abortion] may be morally preferable to any available alternative" and that "[e]very possible support" needs to be given to women who are pregnant in difficult circumstances. Generally believes that the number of abortions performed in the United Kingdom is "unacceptably high." [15]

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Reardon, Dr. David C, List of Major Physical Sequelae Related to Abortion. Elliot Institute, After Abortion. 1997.
  2. ↑ Reardon, Dr. David C, Aftereffects of Abortion. Elliot Institute, After Abortion. 1990.
  3. ↑ Genesis 1:26-27
  4. ↑ Genesis 1:28
  5. ↑ Genesis 4:11-12
  6. ↑ Exodus 20:13
  7. ↑ Genesis 25:21,22
  8. ↑ Luke 1:44
  9. ↑ New Scientist 189(2543):8–9, 18 March 2006, quoted in Cosner, 2007
  10. ↑ http://www.abc-usa.org/resources/resol/abortion.htm
  11. ↑ http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/New-or-Returning-to-Church/Dig-Deeper/Abortion.aspx
  12. ↑ http://www.pcusa.org/101/101-abortion.htm
  13. ↑ http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html
  14. ↑ http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?mid=1732
  15. ↑ http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/socialpublic/science/abortion/abortion.pdf
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