abortion Flashcards
1
Q
the sancity of life
A
the belief that all life is sacred
2
Q
abortion
A
the termination of the foetus
3
Q
conception
A
the fertilisation of the egg by the sperm in the womb
4
Q
speciesism
A
the belief that human life is more important than the life of any other animal
5
Q
pro-choice
A
Women should be able to choose for
their own body
6
Q
pro-life
A
opposing abortion
7
Q
catholic beliefs on sanctity of life
A
- humans are special because they were created imago dei (genesis 1:27)
- life is holy because we were given an immortal soul from god - st paul said that your body is a temple for the holy spirit
- humans have conscience given by god to make right or wrong decisions (genesis 2-3)
- Catherine of sienna tells us that god creates us out of omnibenevolence and that he made us with dignity
8
Q
catholic beliefs on abortion
A
- wrong because life begins at conception and destroying this goes against the commandment ‘thou shall not kill’ (exodus 20:13)
- god formed us in the womb (jeremiah 1:5 ‘before I formed you in the womb, I knew you’) - you should not destroy God’s creation
- the ‘double effect’ states that if an attempt to treat the mother threatens the life of the unborn child, it is acceptable as it was not a direct attempt to terminate the foetus
9
Q
church of england beliefs on abortion
A
- in 1988 ‘in an imperfect world, the ‘right’ choice is the lesser of two evils’
- abortion is acceptable in the case of rape so as not to add to the long term suffering of the mother
10
Q
humanists beliefs on abortion
A
- ‘pro choice’ because they do not believe the foetus qualifies for ‘personhood’ and therefore does not have any rights that supersedes the mother’s
- peter singer argues against speciesism, a new born cat has more mental capacity than an infant human and treating humans with any greater concern is morally wrong
