Abortion
The 381
Final Paper
Abortion
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the sixth commandment states “thou shalt not kill”. This is the fundamental basis for all arguments regarding abortion in Catholicism. The Bible declares that God values all human life and that He wants all people to come to repentance to inherit eternal life. The Bible explains that the entire life of a human being, from the beginning to its natural end, is sacred, since God determines the length of those days. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that direct abortion is always a grave evil. The Second Vatican Council in 1965 referred to abortion as an unspeakable crime in the document Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World) “From the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes.” (Gaudium et Spes 51).
So when does human life begin? According to the Catholic Church, it begins at conception, the Church today firmly holds that the first right of the human person is his life, and that life is assumed to begin at fertilization. The Bible tells us God is involved in our creation from the womb; “Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?” (Job 31:15) The Old Testament provides most of the information on God's view of life before birth, since it gives us the law. The law specifically addresses the issue of taking the life of a fetus in the book of Exodus; "And if men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, yet there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman's husband may demand of him; and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life." (Exodus 21:22-23).
Jesus demonstrated the love of God for children often during His life and...
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