Religious Views on Abortion - Essay Example

Introduction Abortion is the major cause of rifts existing in religions all over the world. The very mention of the word abortion stirs strong reactions from individuals. This is because the concept involves matters affecting life and death. In addition, abortion affects the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of affected parties. Because of the spiritual aspect of abortion, it is imperative to include religious arguments about the issues. Most religions believe that there are answers to profound questions in this topic. In addition, there are a number of people who seek refuge in religion when confronted with the abortion dilemma. Some also turn to religion when seeking comfort while others try to seek for approval after making a specific choice regarding abortion. There are differing opinions about the issue among various denominations and religions. A survey done by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public life has shown the statistics behind these differing opinions. In the debate concerning legalizing abortion, the general consensus among most religions is that there should be a restriction on abortion. It was found that 68% of evangelical Protestants think that abortion should not be allowed. It was also found that only about 43% of Catholics believe that abortion should be illegal. (Geoffrey, 1996) Buddhism and abortion Buddhism has its greatest following in Japan and their views generally represent those of the majority. Generally speaking Buddhists strongly believe that abortion is immoral and incorrect. This is because their religion is founded on the sanctity and respect for life. There must be a respect for their five ethical guidelines. One of them discourages the destruction of life. The religion believes that there should be a high regard of all beings that have life in them. There is a non violence belief that must not be violated by all Buddhists. The other main reason why abortion is strongly opposed in Buddhism is due to a special ceremony performed by its adherents. It is called Mizuko Kuyo. This ceremony is a service designed for victims of abortions, miscarriages and stillbirths. Here, parents of the dead visit a shrine and perform this ceremony with the main intention of gaining reassurance, appeasing the spirit of the dead fetus and to grief for their dead. This ceremony is usually conducted in a specific way. The ceremony was started about thirty years ago when unavoidable circumstances forced individuals to perform abortions. It was founded on the belief that those souls who died in the process of abortion would cause retribution after the mistreatment they faced from their parents. (James, 1998) It should however be noted that there are special circumstances when it can be considered okay for mothers to abort. This was stated by one of their well known leaders; Tenzin Gyatso. This leader believes that if the fetus will grow up to be mentally retarded and if there is a danger of the parent's death during child birth, then it can be considered permissible for an abortion to occur. Just like any other religion, all Buddhists do not share the same view on this controversial topic. There are conservatives and liberalists. Those who are more tolerant believe that abortions can be done only under special circumstances. But majorities do not support it at all. (James, 1998) Hinduism and abortion The Hindu religion has a no-tolerance view on abortion. This is because they adhere to the belief that life begins at inception. They classify abortion as a sin; it is a form of murder and causes souls of the unborn to be hindered from normal progress in the journey of life. This concept was emphasized by one of their gods called Chiranjeevin. This god performed an abortion and was cursed by another god Krishna to suffer eternally. (James, 1999) Because to every rule there is an exception, there is a low level of tolerance fro the practice. This is due to the fact that there is a general preference for male children in the Hindu culture. Consequently, mothers who find out that they are expecting girls, tend to perform abortions so as to be accepted into society. Because of this common occurrence, Hindus have established atonement for those who have engaged in abortions. This is normally done by taking up or raising an additional child. Judaism Jews are divided on this issue. Some believe that there should be a certain level of tolerance while others shun it completely. There are a number of categories in the Judaism faith and all their views shall be examined in detail. The Jews are governed by the Talmud which is their form of the Bible. In the Talmud, there is a verse that talks about the treatment of fetuses directly. In this verse, people are being given instructions on what to do when confronted with the choice of saving or not saving an embryo. In that situation, if a man was to harm an expectant lady whose pregnancy was at its early stages. Then he may simply pay compensation in monetary terms for the destruction of the fetus. But if he caused the death of the mother bearing the child, then he will be considered as a murderer and must be treated as such. This verse implies that embryos who have not reached a certain age are not considered as human beings and their death can be compensated by financial values. But this same verse can be interpreted in other different ways and has been the subject of disagreement between conservative, reform and orthodox Jews. (Ruth, 1997) Orthodox Jews do not believe that fetuses should be destroyed when it is expected that they will be retarded. However if the deformity that a child will have in the future will cause it pain and affliction, then an abortion may be done. One such case is if the child will suffer from Tay-Sachs which is a fatal disease. They also believe that an abortion may be done before forty days because at that point fetuses do not have limbs which were referred to in that verse of the bible. This subject however, is still debatable amongst them. Lastly, Orthodox Jews can permit abortions if the birth of the child will cause credible and sizeable likelihood of the death of the mother. Conservative Judaism holds the view that abortions should only be allowed if there is very serious likelihood of a fetus causing damage to the mother of the child. However, they believe that these causes should be substantiated through intensive consultation with a Rabbi, family members and other concerned parties. (Ruth, 1997) Reform Judaism allows abortions in a number of scenarios. The first situation is if the birth of the child will cause a lot of problems to the parents, the second is if the child was born out of incest or rape. Also, if a child will have a serious birth defect, then an abortion may be justified. There are also other reasons that may justify abortions for reformists. According to their view, abortion is a decision that will is personal and every woman posses the right to make her own choice. This implies that they are tolerant but insist on strong justifications. Christianity There are lists of denominations in the Christian faith that all have different views on the subject. Christianity is based on teachings of the bible. The Bible has a lot of references to the unborn child and has been the basis of views held by the Christian church today. One such teaching is that people should treat others the way they would like to be treated. This means that committing any cases of murder are strongly prohibited. There are also a number of verses where God informs his prophets of how he knew them even before they were born. This implies that there is sanctity of the unborn child. (Teresa, 2000)There are early Christian leaders that accuse men of making women murderers by making them commit abortions. The author of the Christian faith Jesus Christ was also known before his birth. News about his birth was spread all over his home town while his mother Mary carried him in her womb. This implies that there is sanctity in the unborn life and this view is what guides Christians to believe that all life is sacred even before birth. According to them a child who has not been born yet is known by God and must therefore not be tampered with. However there are other verses in the Bible that deliberately leave out fetuses when talking about human life. They talk about infants, old people, children, adults but do not mention embryos. This has brought about some controversy because other Christians think that these verses imply that embryos are insignificant. We shall further examine these perspectives under the various denominations below; Protestants There are varied views of abortion among protestant churches. Most of them believe that abortions should not be done if there is no grave danger posed to the mother or child. This implies that there are some tolerances on this issue. However other mainline churches believe that there are no justifiable reasons for abortion and that it should be prohibited at all costs, this has especially been advocated by evangelical churches. Such churches have even campaigned for legislation against abortion in their respective countries. (Merry, 2000) Roman Catholicism This denomination follows the Bible and writes down agreements on certain issues in their Conciliar Constitution. This is normally written by the Vatican after thorough consultation with other leaders from various sections of the world. Catholics generally have a common view on abortion. They strongly believe that it is wrong, immoral and a critical sin. They normally give penalties to people who have performed abortions by excommunicating them from the church. Excommunication is when a church member's rights have been revoked and they can no longer practice the teachings of that particular faith. Catholics take a very tough stance on this issue because they also do not allow indirect causes of abortion. These are things that may be done to a mother to save her life that may cause death of her unborn child as a result. These are also prohibited in the Catholic faith and include procedures done to treat ectopic pregnancies. They believe that a mother's life should not take precedence over her child's life. (Teresa, 2000) Sikhism This faith adheres to the fact that life is sacred and that abortion would be deemed as an interruption of God's creativity in his work. However, due to preference for boys among Sikhists, abortion is become common in that society and some people do not take such a tough stance on it. (James, 1999) Conclusion Most religions strongly oppose abortion and consider it as immoral. However, exceptions arise when abortions cause substantial harm to mothers, result in the birth of a deformed child or when they will cause extreme suffering to the child in the future. These reasons have caused a lot of divisions even within members of the same faith as differences arise when trying to define the special circumstances that can make justify an abortion. Over ally, most religions denounce abortion for convenience or as a means of birth control. Reference James B. Nelson (1999); Body Theology, John Knox Press Jose Ignacio Cabezn (1998): Buddhism, Sexuality, and Gender: State University of New York Press, Teresa M. Shaw (2000): The Burden of the Flesh: Fasting and Sexuality in Early Christianity; Augsburg Fortress Publishers Merry E. Weiser-Hanks (2000): Christianity and Sexuality in the Early Modern World: Regulating Desire; Routledge Publishers James T. Sears (1998): Curriculum, Religion, and Public Education: Conversations for an Enlarging Public Square; Teachers College Press Ruth K. Westheimer (1997): Heavenly Sex: Sexuality in the Jewish Tradition; New York University Press, Geoffrey Parrinder (1997): Sexual Morality in the World's Religions; Penguin Putnam Inc Read More