Religion and Early Life

Question 0

Explain the importance of having children to people, including religious people and how children can be seen as a blessing

Answer 0

People have children for many reasons including:
•To show their love for each other
•To continue the family name
•Religious duty (“Go forth and multiply” -Genesis)
•Receive God’s blessing on their marriage

Question 1

At what point do different people believe life starts at?

Answer 1

• At conception
• When the baby forms a backbone
• When the foetus has a beating heart
• When the foetus is likely to survive if it is born early
• When it has been born

Question 2

What is the law on abortion?

Answer 2

Having an abortion in the UK is illegal. However, an abortion is allowed if two doctors agree that one or more of the following are true:

• There is a danger to the woman’s physical and/or mental health
• The foetus will be born with physical and/or mental disabilities
• The mental/physical health of existing children will be put at risk

The abortion must be carried out by a registered doctor at a registered place before 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Question 4

What are some Prolife arguments?

Answer 4

• The foetus needs to have someone to defend its rights; they can’t!
• It has a right to life, like any human being does.
• Abortion is the murder of another human, and murder is wrong.
• It’s not up to us to say if the foetus is ‘Too Disabled’ or not. That’s discrimination!

Question 5

What are some Prochoice arguments?

Answer 5

• A woman should decide what happens to her body
• It’s wrong to deny people abortions in the case of rape and incest.
• It isn’t a life untill it can survive on its own
• Some foetuses are so damaged that abortion is the best option for them.

Question 5

What does Christianity say about abortions and early life?

Answer 5

Many Christians believe abortion to be wrong. Some accept it rarely as a necessary evil.

The Bible says:
•Life is sacred
•All humans were created in the image of God
•God gives and takes life
•It is wrong to kill
•God has planned a life for all of us

Question 6

What are the pros and cons of keeping a baby instead of abortion?

Answer 6

Pros:
•Child is born and has a natural life with its mother
Cons:
•Reasons for wanting an abortion may have a serious impact, such as being unable to love the child, or being unable to look after it properly.

Question 7

What does the term “Quality of Life” mean?

Answer 7

Quality of Life means what someone’s life will be like. We try to judge whether that life is worth living because of its quality. For example, if a person is quadriplegic and in constant, extreme pain, is their life worth living? This argument is used to support abortion. It claims that if the quality of life a child would have if born is unacceptably low, it would be cruel to allow the child to be born.

Question 8

What are the pros and cons of risking your own life/health to not have an abortion?

Answer 8

Pros:
•Child may be born and live
Cons:
•The child will either have no mother or a seriously incapacitated mother.
•Existing family more seriously affected

Question 9

What are the pros/cons of having a child fostered as an alternative to abortion?

Answer 9

Pros:
•Child is eventually born and may eventually have a life with its mother
Cons:
•Self-esteem of child who has been given up
•Confusing situation for all

Question 10

What are the pros/cons of having a child adopted as an alternative to abortion?

Answer 10

Pros:
•Child is born and looked after in a loving other family
Cons:
•Mother may want to find biological parent later
•Mother may find it harder to give her baby up than she thought.