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The Abortion Debate

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Abortion has been a topic of debate for many centuries and still today is a major topic of debate. Some see abortion as murder of an innocent child, others believe that the fetus is not yet a human therefore can be aborted. Most of the world religions have their own view on abortion, some religious laws allow it while others condemn the act. Abortion in the eyes of religion is a major conflict that is closely related to God and his sole ability to create and destroy life. In this paper I will compare and contrast the positions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam on abortion the methods of approaching abortion and each religions position and also my position with abortion.

Abortion and Religion
When religious positions on abortion …show more content…
Pavone, F. 2009). The religion of Christianity does not support abortion and believes a child in the womb is a human child who has a relationship with God. Many Protestant and Evangelical Christians are against abortion. In Northern Ireland, Catholics and Protestants have united against abortion. However, some denominations are more pro-abortion. The Church of England states that the unborn child is alive and created by God. Roman Catholics are totally against abortion. Rather than interfere with the process of life Christians trust that God knows what is best for us and it is not our choice to decide. Catholic Christianity Church opposes abortion because it believes that life is sacred and unbreakable. In 1995, Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical letter called Evangelism Vitae (the Gospel of Life) in which he spoke of "the sacred value of human life from its very beginning" and of the struggle between the Culture of Life and the Culture of Death. They believe that life begins at conception therefore destroying a fetus is the same as taking a life of a fully grown adult. "The lord blessed her, and she became pregnant and had a son" in this bible verse it says that God made her conceive and Roman Catholic's interpret this and say that only God can give life so only God can take life …show more content…
It does not prohibit abortion but does not permit abortion on request is only permitted for serious reasons. The decision to have abortion needs to be taken to a rabbi to give advice on the matter. Judaism law is a bit more lenient the first 40 days of the pregnancy as it considers this stage a low value. There are small groups of Jewish that are pro-life and oppose the legalizing abortion but it’s a small group with limited influence on the general Jewish population. But according to the Torah which is the Hebrew Bible they are silent when it comes to the abortion topic. Another information stated on the Torah it considers the fetus not fully a person and more like personal property. “Judaism has understood (1) personhood begins at birth and not conception and (2) that the life of a mother supersedes that of the fetus which threatens that mother” (R. Price January 2010). Jewish law does not equate it with murder, and there are circumstances under which Jewish law would permit, or even mandate, an abortion. The welfare of the mother is the most important thing. It is her welfare, avoidance of her pain, that comes first. Jewish law indicates that if abortion was murder then one could not have an abortion because it would then be considered a sin. If this is the case then if the mother’s life is in danger a mother

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