This report will be focusing on the ethical issue of abortion from the viewpoint of the Catholic Church.The main points that will be analysed are: The group of individuals who are “pro-life (The Catholic Church), The group of individuals who are “pro-choice” (Pro Life New Zealand), The Catholics traditional teachings on abortion, and how individuals in the Catholic Church take on these teachings about the ethical issue.
The term ethical means moral principles or branch of knowledge dealing with big topical issue. Abortion is the deliberate termination of a fetus which is normally performed within the first 28 weeks of a pregnancy. Abortion is an ethical issue as it is a topical issue that people have very different viewpoints on due to their
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These people have the belief and understanding that it is ultimately up to the parents, or just strictly the mother, about whether or not they will go through with the pregnancy or get an abortion instead. If the parents are unable to take care of the children due to mental and physical issues, the parents already having too many children and can't afford another one and even the mother’s health being at risk, pro-choice individuals believe that these are perfectly reasonable cases for the parents to go through with an abortion. These individual’s moral principles and knowledge are completely at opposite ends with the Catholic Church's viewpoint on the ethical …show more content…
In this sacred text there is reference to the ethical issue and what is thought about it through the Bible. In Part Three - Life of Christ, Section Two - The Ten Commandments, Chapter Two - “You Shall Love Your Neighbour as Yourself”, Article 5 - In the Fifth Commandment it states Thou shalt not kill - “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being” (2258). And under Article 5 - abortion another extract is “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognised as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being of life” (2270). These extracts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church relate back to what their ultimate beliefs are about how God is the only one who has the overall right to take away a life as it is his wholesome creation. This section from the Catechism also helps with the teaching that goes on in the church services so developing the beliefs of the congregation. These extracts from the Catechism are a good insight to how the Catholics fully view the ethical issue