Help with an essay?!?

Question

"Examine and comment on the ways in which the acceptance of abortion has affected women today, with particular reference to Christian beliefs"

Would I need to include ethical theories such as utilitarianism and situation ethics? If so, how? What conclusion could I come to?

Any help is much appreciated! (",)

Answer 1

You sound as if you already know what you are talking about! Good luck with it all & well done.

Answer 2

It says with particular reference to Christian beliefs, so you really need to be focusing on that. Christians don't believe abortion is good, because it is murder, therefore a sin....by abortion being accepted, it is basically social acceptance to a form of murder...which obviously is no good for Christian beliefs. Situation ethics could be bought in, because if a woman was raped and then became pregnant, a Christian wouldn't actually expect the woman to have the child, but equally couldn't condone an abortion. It's an irony of their religion, that if two parts contradict each other, there is no set resolution.

The conclusion could be that times are changing, and will continue to do so, to the benefit of some and the detriment of others, including religious groups.

Answer 3

Well, my thoughts are this - if you were a Christian person and had to have an abortion for whatever reason, i think you would feel very conflicted. IE the decision you have taken flies in the face of your religious beliefs. I think such a person would feel more guilt, anxiety etc than an atheist in the same situation. Women are basically meant to create life not to destroy it, so when it has to happen the woman feels tortured by guilt over what she has done, even if she did it with good reason. Too much choice is not necessarily a good thing.

Answer 4

Situational ethics would include the rape, incest, and other circumstances with which a woman might consider an abortion. I had a girlfriend who worked as a nurse at Dr. office which conducted abortions. She never told me her job because she was afraid I would judge her. What drove her crazy was the number of women who considered abortion a form of "birth control". She saw the same women over and over. Don't forget in other countries women can get paid to abort, so that the state can control the population.

Answer 5

First, classify as best you can how you perceive the moral edict of Christianity. Then compare women's views both pre- and post-abortion current abortion law ( Roe v. Wade). Using the filter of your moral categorization of Christian edict, do a qualitative analysis of the 50 most prominent feminists speakers of the 20th century. Weight their opions in accordance with their perceived following via a name count by professional journal mention (of course give extra weight if the have been cited regularly in the past 7 years)... Or you can just wing it!

Answer 6

okay.
you sound like you know some theories that you can include.
what i'd say, is be careful to answer the question here :)

you're being asked how women have been affected, given the fact that abortion is generally accepted.
it's NOT asking for an analysis of christian views on abortion. nor ethical arguments for and against...

i don't really have all the sociological terminology for all of this, but i'd probably be thinking about discussing things like:
- the shift in women's social status and increase in their financial independence from men, as they no longer *have* to care for unwanted children. eg men are no longer seen as *the breadwinner* and women as *the homemaker*. this can cut against christian beliefs about the *proper* roles of men and women.
- women who have abortions are no longer classed as *morally deficient* or even *mentally ill* like they used to be.
- changes in sexual morality and behaviour.
- changes in the perception of women's *ownership* of their bodies.
- women who's christian beliefs lead them to be anti-abortion are now opposed to, rather than in line with, generally accepted moral standards.

and so on....

good luck!

Answer 7

I would use feminist theory, in that patriarchy has kept women from having control over their own bodies for quite some time, and that in the Torah (old testament the Jewish faith follows) abortion is more accepted because the mother's life comes first (one can assume that means ~mentally, physically and spiritually~ and since Jesus was technically jewish...

and that if god made eve from adam's rib and adam is the head of the household... she should be damn well allowed to choose for herself what happens to her body....also there is the notion that god made man capbable of free thought....

just some directions you could go with.

Answer 8

If the truth is to be known, Abortion, is a hell of a means for Birth control, And if you want to know the truth, women should not have sex until they are Married, and then only to produce offspring,.Abortion is Murder, And I don,t care who gets pissed off. Whats Right is Right, and whats Wrong is Wrong

Answer 9

1 pro-life ....
2 pro-choice ....
3 how the media portrays abortion
4 do Christians believe abortion is ALWAYS wrong? in EVERY circumstance? or are there exceptions?
a few ideas for ya

Answer 10

christian beliefs and abortion,an excellent complex study.
catholics oppose abortion,protestant generally accept abortion,both are huge groups of christianity,in the bible you will find anti and pro abortion beliefs so i think its about interpretation
mike

Answer 11

Yeah, personally i would not take this assignment for two reasons: the first, abortion, the second religion. You're gonna piss off somebody writing this paper.