Pro-life And Religious Views Of Abortion

Pro-life and Religious Views of AbortionThere have been many different views of abortion over the centuries in the various religious beliefs. As early as 380 AD, Christian leaders have condemned abortion. Abortion was only allowed when performed in the early stages of pregnancy. Abortion was damned however if the fetus had taken on the shape of human form and considered to have a spirit. In 1869 Pope Pius IX created a distinction between what was called “fetus animatus” and “fetus inanimatus”. In 1917 to 1983 Can law was changed to refer to the embryo as “the fetus”. The church to this day has a consequence for abortion during any phase ...view middle of the document...

An example of this would be in the case of an ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy in the fallopian tube). An abortion in this case is acceptable for the reason that the woman’s being was saved due to the elimination of the oviduct; it was not from killing the fetus.With the new methods of in-vitro fertilization and stimulation of the ovary the chance of an increase of multiple fetuses sharing the one womb has become very unpredictable. Many times all the fetuses are not able to grow to full term or they may be so premature that their survival is unlikely. A new technique “fetal reduction” has been developed to handle these cases of pregnancies. With this technique quite a few of the fetuses are terminated, so the others have a chance for full development. Again the church frowns on this as each fetus is a full human being. The church states that fetal reduction is a form of abortion that is the “direct and willful elimination of an innocent human being. Therefore, whether willed as an end or only utilized as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder” (Pontifical Council for the Family)."Abortion," New Advent. Translated from the Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 (1907). Retrieved February 1, 2007 from: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01046b.htmPontifical Council for the Family, "Declaration on fetal reduction in cases of multiple pregnancies," Retrieved February 1, 2007from: http://www.cin.org/docs/fetal-reduction.html