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• Gift from God
• Has a bit of God inside it
(Body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit)
• Not everyone can get
pregnant naturally, therefore
those who can are lucky
• The chance of miscarriage is
quite high
This is an important question because once life has begun, a
person has rights, these rights include the right not to be killed.
We need to understand when life begins so that we can decide
when, if at all, abortion can be acceptable.
At conception
because all the
DNA needed as
there are this
point
Christians believe that a life
begins from the moment of
conception.
At 3 weeks
when the
spinal column
start to
develop
At 4 weeks when
the heart starts
to beat traditionally been
associated with
being alive
VIABILITY
At 24 weeks because at this
stage it has more than a
50% chance of survival and
can no longer be legally
aborted (except for severe
disability or harm to the
mother)
At birth because at
this point it is no
longer dependent
on the mother’s
body for survival.
Legally considered a
person
AUTHORITY
In the Bible it
says
BELIEF
This suggests
CONTEXT
Therefore
Before I formed
you in the womb,
I knew you
Life begins
before birth
Babies are considered to be alive long before they are actually
born and as such are entitled to protection
The idea that all life is a
special gift from God – it is
up to God to give and take
life away
The idea that it is what you are
able to do with your life that is
important, eg can you do things for
yourself, are you in pain etc
STRENGTH
Values and respects all
life – recognises that
disabled people can live full
and happy lives
WEAKNESS
Ignores that some people
live with painful illnesses
that mean they cannot live
enjoyable independent lives
STRENGTH
Jessica Cox was
born with no
arms yet lives a
full and happy
life, doing
actually more
than most able
bodied people
Jonny Kennedy
was born with an
incurable skin
disease that left
him in constant
pain and unable to
do most things
independently
PRO-LIFE
Believes that the foetus has a right to
life because…
1, The foetus can feel pain after a
certain point in pregnancy
2,All life is special and everyone has
something to offer the world
3, Unwanted children could be
adopted
Looks at each situation
individually and means that
people do not have to have
a baby if it is only going to suffer
WEAKNESS
No clear rules to follow, what some
people see as a serious disability
others may see as acceptable
PRO-CHOICE
Believes that the mother has the right
to choose because…
A pressure group is a group that
campaigns for changes in society.
Pro-choice and Pro-Life are both pressure
groups that campaign for changes in the
law to abortion.
1, It is her body that is put at risk
during the pregnancy and birth
2,If a child will have a poor quality of
life, it is not fair to make it suffer
3, If she has been raped, it could be
too traumatic for her to carry the baby
Stick closely to the rules in
the Bible (Do not kill) and
only accept harming a
foetus if it is as a result of
doing something to save
the mother’s life.
SANCTITY OF LIFE VIEW
Would abortion
be acceptable
if…
In the Bible it says…
This suggests to
Christians that…
Therefore…
Do not kill
Taking life is wrong
Abortion is wrong
because it is the taking
of a life
Your body is a
temple of the holy
spirit
Everyone has a bit
of God inside them
Abortion is wrong
because it is killing a bit
of God
Before I formed you
in the womb I knew
you
Babies are alive
long before they
are born
Abortion is wrong
because it is killing
something that is
already alive
Follow the example of
Jesus who broke the rules
if he thought it was the
kindest thing to do.
QUALITY OF LIFE VIEW
The mother’s life
was at risk
The baby would
be severely
disabled
The pregnancy
was caused
through rape
The mother is
very young*
The mother is
very poor
The mother just
doesn’t want the
baby
Roman
Catholic
YES – better to
lose one life
than risk losing 2
NO – all life is
special and has
value to God
NO – its not the
child’s fault how
it was conceived
NO – she can be
given support or
have it adopted
NO - she can be
given support or
have it adopted
NO – she can
have it adopted
Church of
England
YES – better to
lose one life
than risk losing 2
YES – not fair to
make the baby
suffer
YES – too
traumatic for the
mother
NO – she can be
given support or
have it adopted
NO - she can be
given support or
have it adopted
NO – she can
have it adopted
*This is assuming that her age does not put her life at risk and she has not been raped
LEGAL UP TO 24 WEEKS
If the baby will be disabled
If having the baby will affect the mother’s
physical or mental health
If having the baby will compromise the
welfare of any existing children
LEGAL AT ANY TIME
If the baby will be severely disabled
If the mother’s life is at risk
Abortion was
made legal in1967
because women
were dying in
unsafe at home
abortions
TOO LATE?
Some people are concerned with the law
as it allows foetuses to be easily aborted
up to 24 weeks when babies born as early
as 22 weeks have survived.
TOO SOFT?
Some people believe the law is too soft
as although on paper we do not have
abortion ‘on demand’ it is very easy for
a woman to have one before 24 weeks,
all she has to do is say that her mental
health will suffer
Amillia Taylor survived after being
born at 22 weeks
In the
Bible it
says…
This
suggests
Therefore…
The body
is a temple
of the holy
spirit
Everyone
has a bit
of God
inside
them
Christians would be keen
to protect the right to life
of the baby and the bit of
God inside it. Christians
do however believe that in
the case of a pregnancy
threatening the life of the
mother, she has the right
to abort the baby to
protect her own life.
ALTERNATIVES
STRENGTH
WEAKNESS
Keeping the baby
Can help people who want to
with financial support keep their baby
Does not help in cases of rape,
disability or if the mother’s life is
at risk
Adoption – baby
legally belongs to
someone else
Means that a baby does not
have to be aborted because it
can go to someone who wants it
Does not help in cases of rape,
disability or if the mother’s life is
at risk
Fostering – baby is
temporarily looked
after by someone
else
The baby can be cared for by
someone who is willing to
Not a long term solution
In the Bible it says…
This suggests
Therefore…
The body is a temple of the
holy spirit
Everyone has a bit of God
inside them
Christians would be keen to promote alternatives to abortion
where possible as it would mean that the bit of God inside the
baby was not being destroyed. Christians do however believe that
in the case of a pregnancy threatening the life of the mother, she
has the right to abort the baby to protect her own life.