Many thanks to Anna and Laura who did the presentation which I've adapted here. The Webmistress
What is abortion and what is its legal position in the UK
Abortion was made legal in the UK in 1967. The main reason was to try to stop backstreet abortions which killed and maimed
women in Britain each year. Its provisions allowed an abortion to take place if two doctors agreed that.
In 1990 the Act was amended and the limit for abortions for 'social' reasons (I.e. reason 2) was lowered from 28 to 24 weeks of
gestation to reflect the advances in neo natal medical technology. Babies born at 24 weeks now had a real chance of survival with
medical intervention. In 1967 the Act was passed despite serious and widespread misgivings, because MPs generally believed that there would be very
few abortions. In fact, within a few years the numbers of abortions had grown substantially, and in 2001 there were 186,000
carried out in England and Wales. The Christian position on Abortion All Christians would consider the use of abortion to be undesirable. This is because Christianity teaches that humans are made in
the image of God and that human life is holy. In some way, human life belongs to God, and we do not have the right to dispose of
it as and when it suits us. This concept is called The Sanctity of Life. A further question that Christians would ask is "When does the foetus become a Person? When does Ensoulment occur?" They
ask this because killing a person unlawfully is murder, and the Bible forbids murder. Liberal Christians/Situation Ethics Liberal Christians, typified by Joseph Fletcher and others take a relativist approach to abortion, based on the search for the most
loving outcome. They do not seek for absolute a priori rules to answer the question of abortion. For them, the most important of
Jesus' commands was "Love your neighbour as yourself." Liberal Christians attempt to apply this principle to abortion, taking
each situation on its merits. Therefore, while they may say that abortion is always a tragic option, in some situations abortion
might be the 'most loving option'. Some of these situations might be if the mother or unborn foetus is in danger, if the mother has
been raped etc. Decisions will be dependent on how they work out their relationship with God. With God, forgiveness is always
possible, even when mistakes are made. Although some Liberal Christians believe that personhood begins at conception, others do not. Some would argue that ensoulment
happens when the baby quickens, and others at a later stage of gestation. Some would say that ensoulment does not happen
until birth. The majority of Liberal Christians would argue that the mother's life is of more intrinsic value than that of the unborn
child. Strengths
Weaknesses
Evangelical Christians Evangelical Christians would probably say that abortion is wrong. This is because their source of authority is the word of God
‘the Bible’ because it is Gods will. In the Bible it says ‘do not murder’ and tells people that they should reproduce. Abortion is seen as
murder and stops reproduction, therefore they would say abortion was wrong and that we should follow the Bibles teaching. This
is in order to bring people the most happiness and give them the greatest benefit. Evangelicals generally believe that personhood
and ensoulment happen at conception. They cite several examples in the Bible of people whose lives were foretold by God even
before conception - including Jesus himself. Also in Psalm 139 "You knew my days before there was one of them." For
Evangelicals, this indicates that the identity of the person is established in God's mind even before conception, and therefore, any
ending of the life of the foetus is the ending of a person known to God. Unlawful ending of that life is therefore murder. Weaknesses
Roman Catholics The Roman Catholic Church takes a deontological approach based upon Thomas Aquinas' interpretation of Natural Law. They
think that abortion is wrong because life is a valuable gift from God and therefore only he can take it away. The Roman Catholics
think that the unborn foetus deserves the same status as a born human being because life begins at the moment of conception so
therefore at any stage abortion is murder. This point ties in with the right to life and other religious approaches. Under Natural
Law, abortion is the taking of innocent life - going against one of the Primary precepts. Abortion undermines the Primary precept
which encourages society to reproduce and grown. All these objections come down to one point. Man's ultimate purpose is to
live in a way which glorifies God. Abortion cannot further this primary aim. Strengths
Weaknesses:
Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a teleological approach to ethics. They would say that a woman should have an abortion or not depending on
what is the best outcome for as many people as possible. Essentially, law-making in this country is based upon Rule Utilitarianism. The Government attempts to establish what measures will promote the greatest happiness for the most
people, and the least pain. They then draft and pass Acts which come into Law which must be obeyed by all citizens. In the
case of the 1967 Act, lawmakers took the view that while Abortion was undesirable in itself, nevertheless, the greatest good was
to be achieved by allowing limited access to Abortion. This has been challenged both by those who believe that the greatest good
is achieved by unlimited access to abortion by all women (abortion on demand) and by those who believe that the greatest good is
by restricting access to abortion much more than the current law allows. Note that the Law is subject to change, depending upon what the government, or society considers to be the greatest good of
people as a whole. Rule Utility takes no view about personhood or ensoulment, although its main advocate, J S Mill would certainly have agreed that
human life has intrinsic value. Act Utilitarlianism would be a more appropriate system to apply to individual dilemmas of whether to have an abortion. Act
Utility sees the greatest good as that which brings most happiness and least pain. There would be plenty of time to apply the
Hedonic Calculus to any individual situation to try to work out whether abortion would be the right action. Strengths.
Weaknesses
Virtue ethics Virtue ethics doesn’t give you rules of behaviour that would help you determine the right thing to do. Instead it helps you to
develop characteristics that help you decide on moral decisions e.g. whether or not to have an abortion. It doesn’t say
abortion is right or wrong because it is up to the individual person’s character. The decision a woman makes must
therefore contribute to eudemonia or her ultimate happiness. A Virtuous person, one who has disciplined themselves in the
virtues of, say, prudence and temperance should be in a better position to decide such an important issue as whether or not
to have an abortion. Strengths · Your better equipped to make a decision about abortion because you can look at the wider picture. E.g. what’s best
for the mother, baby, family etc? · Looks at the way the future situation will affect the present decision. · Consider affects of options. · Decisions have to be justified morally. Weakness
Kant Kant is a deontological thinker. According to his theory of the Categorical Imperative, one must find a maxim in respect to abortion
which one could universalize in order to discover what to do when faced with unwanted pregnancy. He does not address this
problem. However, he might well have felt that abortion is wrong in all circumstances. This is because he believed that human life
was of infinite value and that it should be protected. He also believed that one of the universal laws was ‘do not murder.’ Having
an abortion would break this universal law and end a valuable life. However, he might also have argued that all people should have
the right to determine what happens to their own body. In this case, a universal maxim might permit abortion on the grounds that
the woman has the right to self determination over her body. Likewise, his reliance on human reason as a tool for finding out
moral truth could lead to a universal maxim in which each person directly affected by unwanted pregnancy would make their own
decision as to whether to continue it or not. Strength
the mother’s life is at risk.
The mother's physical or mental health would be more damaged by the continuation of the pregnancy than by its
termination.
Other children of the mother would be put at risk
There was a substantial risk that the baby would be born with a severe abnormality
Through their faith and personal relationship with God they are able to come to a decision affecting the people concerned.
It gives the woman flexibility to decide whether or not to have abortion. She can decide to have an abortion or not based on
what’s the best for her. E.g. taking into consideration her personal, physical and emotional needs. and the circumstances
of the child. This is good because no situations are the same.
The woman takes responsibility for becoming pregnant.
There are no a priori rules to apply. Everyone can decide for themselves what is best for their situation.
It might be difficult in the circumstances because people might not be able to tell what is the most loving outcome
Might be seen as legally and morally acceptable to destroy a life.
Open to outside influences of other people.
Through their faith they are able to make a decision which lies down the wrongs of abortion and value and rights to life.
A child has a right to life.
Gives life intrinsic value.
Establishes common rules to the society which say abortion is wrong to everyone.
It makes a woman think of the implications before having sex because they know that a termination will not be an option for
them.
It’s inflexible and simplifies abortion because it doesn’t take into account personal circumstances.
It takes the responsibility of the decision away fro the woman.
It also doesn’t take into consideration things like rape, Aids, a child being born into an abusive family. Etc.
Many people would argue that the inflexibility of this absolutist approach is not the compassionate or loving response Jesus
would demand of His followers. Instead it is harsh and judgemental - something Jesus roundly condemned in religious
people of His day.
Through their faith they are able to make a decision which lies down the wrong of abortion and value and rights to life.
It makes a woman think of the implications before having sex because they know that a termination will not be an option for
them.
It gives human life intrinsic value
It affirms the continuance of human life and respect for human life.
It is a simple system by which to judge a complex problem
It protects society from an attitude in which human life can be seen as disposable.
It simplifies abortion because it doesn’t take into account the circumstances of the mother or the child.
It also doesn’t take into consideration things like rape, Aids, a child being born into an abusive family. Etc and can
therefore appear a harsh and judgemental approach to an agonising dilemma
As the Roman Catholic Church also forbids contraception, couples are not permitted to take responsibility for their own
fertility in a way that does not take away human life through abortion.
It takes the responsibility of the decision away from the woman.
It’s flexible. Each situation can be measured using the Hedonic Calculus
the mother can reach a decision by herself.
Everyone has the same choices, are respected and it’s fair to everyone
It also gives room for compassion for the mother and the baby when taking decisions.
It takes into account the fathers feelings, other family members etc.
It looks at the family situation a baby would be born into.
It could be easy for the happiness of the baby to be overlooked.
It doesn’t distinguish between 'good' or 'bad' motives for abortion so women might use it at their own convenience! E.g. to
have an abortion so she can wear a bikini. Many people might feel uncomfortable about this.
You also don’t know what the outcome of a situation will be. E.g. A woman may choose to have an abortion because she
has too many children and knows it would affect them. After having an abortion she may become depressed and will be in
no better state to look after them.
In a crisis there is no set of a priori rules
Weaknesses
The system I feel most comfortable with is the liberal Christian point of view. Although I would use my own morals because I
don’t believe in the authority of God’s judgement. This is because liberal Christians give women a choice of whether or not to
have an abortion according to her circumstances but it does not allow a woman to have an abortion if she just wants one for her
convenience. E.g. so she can carry on with her career. I also agree with the virtue ethics principle that decisions should be
justified morally in terms of others as well as the woman concerned.