Abortion and Christianity

Abortion and Christianity

        Is abortion right or wrong? What if you are looking at the topic of abortion through the eyes of a Christian? While many people have different reasons for choosing whether they believe it is what they consider right or wrong, people of the Christian faith have other reasons for believing in the way that they do. Many people would decide whether they are “pro-choice” or “pro-life,” but why should we have to make a choice between those two?

        In a small blurb of an article, “Is Abortion Unchristian?” written by Linda Woodhead, she writes that when it comes down to it, we shouldn’t be considering ourselves “pro-choice” or “pro-life” while speaking about abortion. Some people consider “pro-life” as meaning that the woman has no right to choose what she thinks is best for herself, that she is forced to carry a child that she does not want. On the other hand, some people may also believe that “pro-choice” straight up means that someone is for abortions, rather than the real meaning: they are for the right to choose what is best for themselves.

        Why is it that we have to label the beliefs that we have? Wouldn’t it make more sense for a person to say that they are against abortion or for the freedom to choose what a person wants to do? Something that Christians are often accused of is being against the right for a woman to choose what is best for themselves, but what some people don’t understand is that Christians aren’t particularly against the right for a woman to choose whether or not they want this, but instead, Christians are fighting for this because they consider a fetus, even if only hours old, to be the same as a baby, child, or even adult: as a human being.

        In the article “Abortion and Christian Bioethics: The Continuing Ethical Importance of Abortion” written by Joseph Boyle, he discusses the modern bioethical reflection on abortion, while also comparing to the old ways of looking at Christianity and abortion. According to Boyle, one of the main concerns in medical bioethics is the topic of abortion and Christianity (Boyle, 1)

        To Christians, abortion is considered morally wrong, something that has been considered this way for many, many years, almost back to apostolic times. Considering this belief, it was related largely to the organized opposition to the permissive abortion policy that began in the 1960s. Those who follow a faith in Christianity follow different moral beliefs. They may find some things to be morally wrong, while other people may see these same types of things to completely normal and okay.

        In this article, Boyle also includes writing done by John Noonan, who sums up the judgment of abortion in early Christianity. While Noonan includes the idea that many people considered abortion to be “a violation of the love owed to one’s neighbor” or “a special failure of maternal love,” other Christians focused on the idea that it was seen “as a failure to have reverence for God the creator” (Noonan, 18).  Christians believed that everything created by God was a blessing, and it was wrong to destroy such a thing.