Christianity and abortion: Difference between revisions
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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. The view of abortion as a sin can be found in the Didache which may have been written as early as 80ad.<ref name=autogenerated3>[http://books.google.com/books?id=VBN6r3cC6v0C&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=early+christianity+and+abortion&source=web&ots=Ew-3l3eEYS&sig=JWPvHb7VXPN37YXN4GeiVL2iKNI When Children Became People: the birth of childhood in early Christianity] by Odd Magne Bakke</ref> In the 1st Century AD, Greeks influenced Christian ideas about abortion.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> 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. <ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_hist.htm ReligiousTolerance.org]</ref> Consequently, abortion was not condemned if performed early.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> |
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Between the 2nd Century AD to 4th Century AD, several Christian philosophers condemned women who had an abortion.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> From the 5th to 16th Century AD, Christian philosophers had varying stances on abortion. However, the vast majority held abortion to be homicide. [[Saint Augustine| St. Augustine]] wrote that an early abortion is not murder because the soul of a fetus at an early stage is not present<ref name=autogenerated1 />, however in another writing he asserts he may very well be wrong and the child will be present at the resurrection.<ref>And therefore the following question may be very carefully inquired into and discussed by learned men, though I do not know whether it is in man's power to resolve it: At what time the infant begins to live in the womb: whether life exists in a latent form before it manifests itself in the motions of the living being. To deny that the young who are cut out limb by limb from the womb, lest if they were left there dead the mother should die too, have never been alive, seems too audacious. Now, from the time that a man begins to live, from that time it is possible for him to die. And if he die, wheresoever death may overtake him, I cannot discover on what principle he can be denied an interest in the resurrection of the dead.-Enchiridion 23.86</ref> Abortions following conception, St Augustine undeniably strongly condemned.<ref>[http://www.priestsforlife.org/magisterium/earlychurchfathers/augustine.html Priests for life on St Augustine]</ref> The Catholic Church has held the same teachings on human life and abortion for 2,000 years. The Catechism reads, "Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception...Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law." <ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/bishops/wuerlabort.htm Statement of Archbishop Donald Wuerl, August 26, 2008]</ref> |
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Early Christians, following the lead of their Jewish forebears, respected life in the womb as "fashioned by God."<ref>See, for example, Psalm 139:13-18.</ref> Nonetheless, a distinction was always made between the "unformed" character of the early embryo and the "formed" fetus.<ref>Michael J. Gorman, in '''Abortion & the Early Church''' (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1982), shows that, for most Church Fathers, "a certain stage of development is necessary before there is a person and, hence, before there can be a murder" (p. 69). For an in-depth study, see Daniel Dombrowski, "St. Augustine, Abortion, and Libido Crudelis," '''Journal of the History of Ideas''' 49 (1988) 151-156.</ref> Augustine, for example, concluded that an early abortion could not be termed "a homicide" because, he argued, "there cannot be a living soul in a body that lacks sensation due to its not yet being fully formed" ('''On Exodus''')<ref>Augustine searched the Scriptures and examined the medical/philosophical treatises of his day without coming to any firm conclusion on the matter of the time of ensoulment. He wrote as follows: "When a thing obscure in itself defeats our sagacity, and nothing in Scripture comes to our aid, it is not safe for humans to presume they can pronounce on it" ('''Letter''' 190.5). Augustine, in his '''City of God''' 22.13, takes up the issue as to whether aborted fetuses will be resurrected on the last day. Here, Augustine in tentative when speaking of a viable fetus. |
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</ref>. However, Augustine also admitted he may be wrong and an undeveloped may indeed have life and be present at the resurrection.<ref> -Enchiridion 23.85.4 & Enchiridion 23.86</ref> Thomas Aquinas, in the thirteenth century, regarded the first embryonic stage to be vegetative, the second stage to be animal, and the final stage to be rational (human) by virtue of receiving an immortal soul imparted directly by God.<ref>'''On the Truth of the Catholic Faith''' 2.89. Thomas Aquinas trusted Aristotle and placed ensoulment at 40 days for men and 80 days for women. </ref> The significance of these distinctions is that the unformed fetus, to be sure, had the potential for becoming a human being, ''but it was not yet so''. Nevertheless, both Aquinas and Augustine saw abortions from the moment of conception as sinful, but they did not consider some very early term abortions to be murder.<ref> For an excellent overview of the abortion positions of Augustine and Aquinas, see Dennis R. Di Mauro, '''A Love for Life''' (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2008)</ref> |
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Women throughout the long history of the church sometimes suffered spontaneous miscarriages. While these miscarriages often occasioned intense grief for the mother, her family, and her friends, the Christian churches never judged that the aborted substance (even in the third trimester) merited rites for the dead or a Christian burial.<ref>Some Catholic circles are now proposing that women should take due care to gather the fetal material of a miscarriage and to honor this anticipated life by a funeral rite and a Christian burial. See Andrew J. Sodergren, M.S., "Hope for Healing: Miscarriage and the Dignity of the Human Body" http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/may/hopeforhealing.htm </ref> Furthermore, up until the end of the 18th century, "the law of the Roman Catholic Church forbade one to baptize an aborted fetus that showed no human shape or outline."<ref>Joseph F. Donceel, S.J., "Immediate Animation and Delayed Hominization," '''Theological Studies''' 1 & 2 (1970) 86-88.</ref> Thus, even when Catholic couples experienced grief and anxiety in the face of an unbaptized infant, the Church expressly forbad conditional baptism to be used in cases when ensoulment was impossible. |
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In recent times, the theological and pastoral nuances within church tradition have sometimes been bypassed,<ref>Consider, for example, how John Paul II, in Evangelium Vitae, tries to sidestep the traditional distinction between "unformed" and "formed" by resorting to probabilism: "The mere probability that a human person is involved would suffice to justify an absolutely clear prohibition of any intervention aimed at killing a human embryo" (sec. 60). Modern embryonic science to which John Paul II appeals, however, demonstrates that the probability of the fetus being human during the first trimester is zero. If he had taken modern embyrology into account, he would have discovered that the growth of synapses that wire the brain into all parts of the body take place principally during the 25th and 32nd weeks of gestation. Prior to this, "the fetus is incapable of awareness or volition" (Harold Moritz and James Trefil, '''The Facts of Life: Science and the Abortion Controversy''' [Oxford: University Press, 1992] 116f). Today in the U.S., 98% of all abortions take place within the first 15 weeks (Alan Guttmacher Institute); hence, long before the interiority and ensoulment of the fetus develops. </ref> and one finds official documents of the Catholic Church, for instance, affirming that human life exists "from the first moment of conception" <ref>The Vatican defines abortion as "any method used to terminate human life from the moment of conception until birth." This official definition was expressed in a May 23, 1988, ruling from the '''Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts''', the Vatican office charged with authoritative interpretations of canon law. Such a definition of abortion is so broad that it would seemingly require that a medical doctor allowing a fertilized ovum to dry out on a petri dish has committed an abortion. Moreover, the Vatican definition is circular. It presupposes, in its very definition, that "human life" begins at the first moment of conception, thereby blocking one from taking seriously the long Catholic tradition that human life could not exist prior to ensoulment, and that ensoulment could not take place prior to having a "formed" body. </ref> and that every deliberate abortion is morally equivalent to murder. |
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==Eastern Orthodox== |
==Eastern Orthodox== |
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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." |
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." |
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| ⚫ | [[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.<ref>[http://www.rcrc.org/about/members.cfm The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Membership List]</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The [[Roman Catholic Church]] opposes procedures whose purpose is to destroy a fetus. The 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. Accordingly, an abortion to save the life of a mother is unnacceptable.<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19741118_declaration-abortion_en.html Vatican.va]</ref> 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 (Catholic Church)|Canon law]], provided that the person knows of the penalty at the time the abortion occurs. The [[Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts]] [[authentic interpretation|authentically interpreted]] the law imposing excommunication to include the destruction of any embryo in the category of abortion.<ref>88 Acta Apostolica Sedis 1818 (1988), ''reprinted and translated in'' Code of Canon Law Annotated 1632–33 (Ernest Caparros et al. eds., 2d ed. 2004)</ref> Pope Paul VI stated in his encyclical ''[[Humanae Vitae]]'', "We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children."<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html Pope Paul VI's Encyclical Humanae Vitae, Paragraph 14, condemnation of abortion issued July 25, 1968]</ref> |
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| ⚫ | However, Catholic scholars with the [http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives/011703/011703d.htm National Catholic Review] and [http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0898.asp AmericanCatholic.org] make a distinction between "direct abortions" that is, abortion which is either an end or a means, and "indirect abortions." While the Church opposes all direct abortions, it does not condemn procedures which result, indirectly, in the loss of the unborn child as a "secondary effect." For example, if a mother is suffering an |
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| ⚫ | [[Fundamentalist]] churches that include the [[Evangelicalism|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.<ref>[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/a/abortion/index.html?query=SOUTHERN%20BAPTIST%20CONVENTION&field=org&match=exact Ny Times]</ref><ref>[http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_upci.htm Religious Tolerance]</ref> |
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====History within the Southern Baptist Convention==== |
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| ⚫ | According to the memorandum written by [[Pope Benedict XVI|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 (Catholic Church)|Eucharist]] until they change their political views.<ref>Written in ''[http://www.tldm.org/News7/Ratzinger.htm Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion. General Principles]'' by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on July 3, 2004</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Before 1980, the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] advocated for [[pro-choice|abortion rights]].<ref name=autogenerated2>[http://books.google.com/books?id=LSO5YDifWz8C&pg=PA209&vq=history+baptist+abortion&sig=KZgjPsS22v-Yl0bLPRrl6eu-Etk#PPA12,M1 ''They Kindgom Come''] pg. 12, a book by Randall Herbert Balmer, Professor of Religion and History at [[Barnard College]].</ref> 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'''."<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=LSO5YDifWz8C&pg=PA209&vq=history+baptist+abortion&sig=KZgjPsS22v-Yl0bLPRrl6eu-Etk#PPA12,M1 ''They Kindgom Come''] pg. 12, a book by Randall Herbert Balmer, Professor of Religion and History at [[Columbia University.</ref> W. Barry Garrett wrote in the ''[[Baptist Press]]'', "Religious liberty, human equality and justice are advanced by the <nowiki>[Roe v. Wade]</nowiki> Supreme Cosrt Decision."<ref name=autogenerated2 /> |
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Focus on the Family, an evangelical Christian organization concentrating on family and social issues, is also against abortion, and is one of the leading organizations to reduce abortions in the United States. In fact, they organized a special website concerning this: http://www.heartlink.org.<ref>See www.heartlink.org for more details.</ref> |
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| ⚫ | 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.<ref>[http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/about/default.asp catholicsforchoice.org]</ref> Catholics for a Free Choice believe: |
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====History in the larger Evangelical movement==== |
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| ⚫ | <blockquote>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.<ref>[http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/topics/abortion/default.asp CatholicsForAFreeChoice.org]</ref></blockquote> |
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| ⚫ | [[Randall Balmer| Randall Herbert Balmer]], Ph.D., argues in his book, ''Thy Kingdom Come,'' that despite 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). The IRS stripped evangelical universities, like [[Bob Jones University]], from their tax-exempt status for remaining racially [[Racial segregation| segregated]]. <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=LSO5YDifWz8C&pg=PA209&vq=history+baptist+abortion&sig=KZgjPsS22v-Yl0bLPRrl6eu-Etk#PPA15,M1 Thy Kingdom Come] p. 15, by [[Barnard College]] History and Religion Professor Randall Herbert Balmer</ref> It was not until 1980 that the evangelical movement came to oppose abortion.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18429953 NPR.org] "Church Meets State in the Oval Office" on [[Fresh Air]]</ref><ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1073173 NPR.org] "Charismatic Movement"</ref> |
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| ⚫ | A Vatican spokesman rejected this group's advertisements as being nothing more than "paid propaganda in favor of the use of contraceptives" that does not "express a theological or moral position."<ref>[http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0803842.htm Papal spokesman calls Catholics for Choice ad 'paid propaganda' July 25, 2008. Accessed:October 17, 2008.]</ref> |
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| ⚫ | [[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, and the Lutheran Women's Caucus.<ref>[http://www.rcrc.org/about/members.cfm The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Membership List]</ref> |
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===Mainstream Protestant churches=== |
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===Anglican Church=== |
====Anglican Church==== |
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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." |
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." |
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The [[Anglican Church of Australia]] does not take a position on abortion.<ref>[http://www.anglican.org.au/index.cfm?SID=2&SSID=97&PID=242 Anglican Church of Australia]</ref> However, in December 2007, an all-woman committee representing the [[Anglican Diocese of Melbourne|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".<ref>{{Citation|title=Submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission Inquiry on the Law of Abortion from the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne|author=Anglican Diocese of Melbourne|url=https://www.melbourne.anglican.com.au/main.php?pg=download&id=10497|date=2007-11-09}}</ref> This is seen to be the first official approval of abortion by Australian Anglicans.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/anglicans-call-for-new-stance-on-abortion/2007/12/14/1197568264984.html "Anglicans call for new stance on abortion"] The Age</ref> |
The [[Anglican Church of Australia]] does not take a position on abortion.<ref>[http://www.anglican.org.au/index.cfm?SID=2&SSID=97&PID=242 Anglican Church of Australia]</ref> However, in December 2007, an all-woman committee representing the [[Anglican Diocese of Melbourne|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".<ref>{{Citation|title=Submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission Inquiry on the Law of Abortion from the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne|author=Anglican Diocese of Melbourne|url=https://www.melbourne.anglican.com.au/main.php?pg=download&id=10497|date=2007-11-09}}</ref> This is seen to be the first official approval of abortion by Australian Anglicans.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/anglicans-call-for-new-stance-on-abortion/2007/12/14/1197568264984.html "Anglicans call for new stance on abortion"] The Age</ref> |
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On the other hand, a fast-growing Episcopal denomination in the United States, the [[Charismatic Episcopal Church]], stated in its 2002 statement on the Sanctity of Human Life, that "The deliberate destruction of innocent persons, preborn or born, through all forms of direct abortion, infanticide, euthanasia or any other means is considered to be unethical, immoral, evil and sinful."<ref>Dennis R. Di Mauro, A Love for Life: Christianity's Consistent Protection of the Unborn. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008), 129.</ref> |
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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]].<ref>[http://www.rcrc.org/about/members.cfm Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice"]</ref><ref name="Relgigious Tolerance - Abortion">{{cite web|url = http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_hist1.htm| title = Abortion: Current Beliefs by Various Religious and Secular Groups |publisher = Religious Tolerance |accessdate = 2007-06-08}}</ref> |
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===Congregational Churches=== |
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| ⚫ | 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).<ref>[http://www.ucc.org/jwm/ The United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministry]</ref><ref>[http://www.rcrc.org/about/members.cfm The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice]</ref> |
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Two smaller congregational church bodies, the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference and the Evangelical Congregational Church have both taken pro-life positions.<ref>Dennis R. Di Mauro, A Love for Life: Christianity's Consistent Protection of the Unborn. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008), 119,123. </ref> |
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| ⚫ | 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. |
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| ⚫ | [[Fundamentalist]] churches that include the [[Evangelicalism|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.<ref>[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/a/abortion/index.html?query=SOUTHERN%20BAPTIST%20CONVENTION&field=org&match=exact Ny Times]</ref><ref>[http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_upci.htm Religious Tolerance]</ref> |
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====Unitarian Universalist Church==== |
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| ⚫ | [[Randall Balmer| Randall Herbert Balmer]], Ph.D., argues in his book, ''Thy Kingdom Come,'' that despite 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). The IRS stripped evangelical universities, like [[Bob Jones University]], from their tax-exempt status for remaining racially [[Racial segregation| segregated]]. <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=LSO5YDifWz8C&pg=PA209&vq=history+baptist+abortion&sig=KZgjPsS22v-Yl0bLPRrl6eu-Etk#PPA15,M1 Thy Kingdom Come] p. 15, by [[Barnard College]] History and Religion Professor Randall Herbert Balmer</ref> It was not until 1980 that the evangelical movement came to oppose abortion.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18429953 NPR.org] "Church Meets State in the Oval Office" on [[Fresh Air]]</ref><ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1073173 NPR.org] "Charismatic Movement"</ref> |
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The [[Unitarian Universalist Church]] strongly supports abortion rights. In 1978, the Unitarian Universalist Church passed a resolution that declared, "...<nowiki>[the]</nowiki> 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." |
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| ⚫ | Before 1980, the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] advocated for [[pro-choice|abortion rights]].<ref name=autogenerated2>[http://books.google.com/books?id=LSO5YDifWz8C&pg=PA209&vq=history+baptist+abortion&sig=KZgjPsS22v-Yl0bLPRrl6eu-Etk#PPA12,M1 ''They Kindgom Come''] pg. 12, a book by Randall Herbert Balmer, Professor of Religion and History at [[Barnard College]].</ref> 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'''."<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=LSO5YDifWz8C&pg=PA209&vq=history+baptist+abortion&sig=KZgjPsS22v-Yl0bLPRrl6eu-Etk#PPA12,M1 ''They Kindgom Come''] pg. 12, a book by Randall Herbert Balmer, Professor of Religion and History at [[Columbia University.</ref> W. Barry Garrett wrote in the ''[[Baptist Press]]'', "Religious liberty, human equality and justice are advanced by the <nowiki>[Roe v. Wade]</nowiki> Supreme |
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====United Church of Christ (UCC)==== |
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| ⚫ | 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).<ref>[http://www.ucc.org/jwm/ The United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministry]</ref><ref>[http://www.rcrc.org/about/members.cfm The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice]</ref> |
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The Lutheran Church in the United States consists of three major denominations, the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] (5M members), which takes an essential pro-choice position on abortion, and the [[Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod]] (2.5M members) and [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] (0.5M members), which both take a pro-life position on abortion.<ref>Dennis R. Di Mauro, ''A Love for Life: Christianity's Consistent Protection of the Unborn.'' Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008), 76-77. </ref> |
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| ⚫ | [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] takes a position against abortion and holds that abortion is a 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'''. The LDS church urges those who face such circumstances to consider abortion only after consulting with their local Church leaders and after receiving a confirmation through prayer. |
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Over the past thirty years, The [[United Methodist Church]] has upheld 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]].<ref>[http://www.rcrc.org/about/members.cfm Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice"]</ref><ref name="Relgigious Tolerance - Abortion">{{cite web|url = http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_hist1.htm| title = Abortion: Current Beliefs by Various Religious and Secular Groups |publisher = Religious Tolerance |accessdate = 2007-06-08}}</ref> Nevertheless, at its last General Conference (2008), which met in Fort Worth, Texas, the denomination veered to a position which showed more concern for the unborn by stating, "We support parental, guardian, or other responsible adult notification and consent before abortions can be performed on girls who have not yet reached the age of legal adulthood,"<ref>Stallsworth, Paul. "United Methodism on Abortion," ''First Things Online.'' May 29, 2008, accessed December 17, 2008, <http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=1080> INTERNET.</ref> and "We affirm and encourage the Church to assist the ministry of crisis pregnancy centers and pregnancy resource centers that compassionately help women find feasible alternatives to abortion."<ref>Stallsworth, Paul. "United Methodism on Abortion," ''First Things Online.'' May 29, 2008, accessed December 17, 2008, <http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=1080> INTERNET.</ref> |
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<ref>[http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Curriculum/home%20and%20family.htm/true%20to%20the%20faith%20a%20gospel%20reference.htm/abortion.htm?f=templates$fn=document-frame.htm$3.0$q=$x= True to the Faith (LDS) article on abortion]. Retrieved [[2006-05-06]].</ref> |
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Two smaller denominations within the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition, the [[Church of the Nazarene]] and the [[Wesleyan Church]] are both staunchly pro-life.<ref>Dennis R. Di Mauro, A Love for Life: Christianity's Consistent Protection of the Unborn. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008), 85.</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The [[Roman Catholic Church]] opposes procedures whose purpose is to destroy a fetus. The 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. Accordingly, an abortion to save the life of a mother is unnacceptable.<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19741118_declaration-abortion_en.html Vatican.va]</ref> 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 (Catholic Church)|Canon law]], provided that the person knows of the penalty at the time the abortion occurs. The [[Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts]] [[authentic interpretation|authentically interpreted]] the law imposing excommunication to include the destruction of any embryo in the category of abortion.<ref>88 Acta Apostolica Sedis 1818 (1988), ''reprinted and translated in'' Code of Canon Law Annotated 1632–33 (Ernest Caparros et al. eds., 2d ed. 2004)</ref> Pope Paul VI stated in his encyclical ''[[Humanae Vitae]]'', "We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children."<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html Pope Paul VI's Encyclical Humanae Vitae, Paragraph 14, condemnation of abortion issued July 25, 1968]</ref> |
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| ⚫ | However, Catholic scholars with the [http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives/011703/011703d.htm National Catholic Review] and [http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0898.asp AmericanCatholic.org] make a distinction between "direct abortions" that is, abortion which is either an end or a means, and "indirect abortions." While the Church opposes all direct abortions, it does not condemn procedures which result, indirectly, in the loss of the unborn child as a "secondary effect." For example, if a mother is suffering an ectopic pregnancy (a baby is developing in her fallopian tube, not the womb), a doctor may remove the fallopian tube as therapeutic treatment to prevent the mother’s death. The infant will not survive long after this, but the intention of the procedure and its action is to preserve the mother’s life. It is not a direct abortion. |
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| ⚫ | 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. |
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| ⚫ | According to the memorandum written by [[Pope Benedict XVI|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 (Catholic Church)|Eucharist]] until they change their political views.<ref>Written in ''[http://www.tldm.org/News7/Ratzinger.htm Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion. General Principles]'' by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on July 3, 2004</ref> |
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The smaller [[Presbyterian Church of America]] (PCA) is strongly pro-life. At its 1972 convention it stated, "We are convinced Scripture forbids abortion."<ref>Dennis R. Di Mauro, A Love for Life: Christianity's Consistent Protection of the Unborn. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008), 136. </ref> |
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| ⚫ | 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.<ref>[http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/about/default.asp catholicsforchoice.org]</ref> Catholics for a Free Choice believe: |
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| ⚫ | <blockquote>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.<ref>[http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/topics/abortion/default.asp CatholicsForAFreeChoice.org]</ref></blockquote> |
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| ⚫ | [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] holds that abortion is a form of |
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| ⚫ | A Vatican spokesman rejected this group's advertisements as being nothing more than "paid propaganda in favor of the use of contraceptives" that does not "express a theological or moral position."<ref>[http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0803842.htm Papal spokesman calls Catholics for Choice ad 'paid propaganda' July 25, 2008. Accessed:October 17, 2008.]</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 04:06, 29 December 2008
There is no mention in the Christian Bible about abortion, and at different times early Christians held different beliefs about abortion. The view of abortion as a sin can be found in the Didache which may have been written as early as 80ad.[1] In the 1st Century AD, Greeks influenced Christian ideas about abortion.[1] 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. [2] Consequently, abortion was not condemned if performed early.[2]
Between the 2nd Century AD to 4th Century AD, several Christian philosophers condemned women who had an abortion.[2] From the 5th to 16th Century AD, Christian philosophers had varying stances on abortion. However, the vast majority held abortion to be homicide. St. Augustine wrote that an early abortion is not murder because the soul of a fetus at an early stage is not present[2], however in another writing he asserts he may very well be wrong and the child will be present at the resurrection.[3] Abortions following conception, St Augustine undeniably strongly condemned.[4] The Catholic Church has held the same teachings on human life and abortion for 2,000 years. The Catechism reads, "Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception...Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law." [5]
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, there are exceptions. 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.[6]
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."
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.[7]
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.[8][9]
History within the Southern Baptist Convention
Before 1980, the Southern Baptist Convention advocated for abortion rights.[10] 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."[11] W. Barry Garrett wrote in the Baptist Press, "Religious liberty, human equality and justice are advanced by the [Roe v. Wade] Supreme Cosrt Decision."[10]
Focus on the Family, an evangelical Christian organization concentrating on family and social issues, is also against abortion, and is one of the leading organizations to reduce abortions in the United States. In fact, they organized a special website concerning this: http://www.heartlink.org.[12]
History in the larger Evangelical movement
Randall Herbert Balmer, Ph.D., argues in his book, Thy Kingdom Come, that despite 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). The IRS stripped evangelical universities, like Bob Jones University, from their tax-exempt status for remaining racially segregated. [13] It was not until 1980 that the evangelical movement came to oppose abortion.[14][15]
Mainstream Protestant churches
Anglican Church
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."
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.[16]
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.[16]
The Anglican Church of Australia does not take a position on abortion.[17] 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".[18] This is seen to be the first official approval of abortion by Australian Anglicans.[19]
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.[20][21]
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.[22]
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."
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).[23][24]
Mormonism
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints takes a position against abortion and holds that abortion is a 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. The LDS church urges those who face such circumstances to consider abortion only after consulting with their local Church leaders and after receiving a confirmation through prayer. [25]
Roman Catholicism
The Roman Catholic Church opposes procedures whose purpose is to destroy a fetus. The 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. Accordingly, an abortion to save the life of a mother is unnacceptable.[26] 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 Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts authentically interpreted the law imposing excommunication to include the destruction of any embryo in the category of abortion.[27] Pope Paul VI stated in his encyclical Humanae Vitae, "We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children."[28]
However, Catholic scholars with the National Catholic Review and AmericanCatholic.org make a distinction between "direct abortions" that is, abortion which is either an end or a means, and "indirect abortions." While the Church opposes all direct abortions, it does not condemn procedures which result, indirectly, in the loss of the unborn child as a "secondary effect." For example, if a mother is suffering an ectopic pregnancy (a baby is developing in her fallopian tube, not the womb), a doctor may remove the fallopian tube as therapeutic treatment to prevent the mother’s death. The infant will not survive long after this, but the intention of the procedure and its action is to preserve the mother’s life. It is not a direct abortion.
While the positions in the previous two paragraphs appear in tension with one another, the relevant distinction may be between cases where the mother's life may be "in jeopardy," and cases where the mother would almost certainly die without the procedure that would incidentally destroy the fetus.
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.[29]
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.[30] 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.[31]
A Vatican spokesman rejected this group's advertisements as being nothing more than "paid propaganda in favor of the use of contraceptives" that does not "express a theological or moral position."[32]
References
- ^ a b When Children Became People: the birth of childhood in early Christianity by Odd Magne Bakke
- ^ a b c d ReligiousTolerance.org
- ^ And therefore the following question may be very carefully inquired into and discussed by learned men, though I do not know whether it is in man's power to resolve it: At what time the infant begins to live in the womb: whether life exists in a latent form before it manifests itself in the motions of the living being. To deny that the young who are cut out limb by limb from the womb, lest if they were left there dead the mother should die too, have never been alive, seems too audacious. Now, from the time that a man begins to live, from that time it is possible for him to die. And if he die, wheresoever death may overtake him, I cannot discover on what principle he can be denied an interest in the resurrection of the dead.-Enchiridion 23.86
- ^ Priests for life on St Augustine
- ^ Statement of Archbishop Donald Wuerl, August 26, 2008
- ^ Официальный сайт Русской Православной Церкви
- ^ The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Membership List
- ^ Ny Times
- ^ Religious Tolerance
- ^ a b They Kindgom Come pg. 12, a book by Randall Herbert Balmer, Professor of Religion and History at Barnard College.
- ^ They Kindgom Come pg. 12, a book by Randall Herbert Balmer, Professor of Religion and History at [[Columbia University.
- ^ See www.heartlink.org for more details.
- ^ Thy Kingdom Come p. 15, by Barnard College History and Religion Professor Randall Herbert Balmer
- ^ NPR.org "Church Meets State in the Oval Office" on Fresh Air
- ^ NPR.org "Charismatic Movement"
- ^ a b EpiscopalChurch.org
- ^ Anglican Church of Australia
- ^ Anglican Diocese of Melbourne (2007-11-09), Submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission Inquiry on the Law of Abortion from the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
- ^ "Anglicans call for new stance on abortion" The Age
- ^ Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice"
- ^ "Abortion: Current Beliefs by Various Religious and Secular Groups". Religious Tolerance. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
- ^ PCUSA.org The website of the Presbyterian Church
- ^ The United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministry
- ^ The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
- ^ True to the Faith (LDS) article on abortion. Retrieved 2006-05-06.
- ^ Vatican.va
- ^ 88 Acta Apostolica Sedis 1818 (1988), reprinted and translated in Code of Canon Law Annotated 1632–33 (Ernest Caparros et al. eds., 2d ed. 2004)
- ^ Pope Paul VI's Encyclical Humanae Vitae, Paragraph 14, condemnation of abortion issued July 25, 1968
- ^ Written in Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion. General Principles by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on July 3, 2004
- ^ catholicsforchoice.org
- ^ CatholicsForAFreeChoice.org
- ^ Papal spokesman calls Catholics for Choice ad 'paid propaganda' July 25, 2008. Accessed:October 17, 2008.