Since Christianity historically taught that a fetus didn't have a soul until it kicked, why is abortion wrong?

Question

I wanted to put "early-term abortion" but did not have enough room.


This was officially overturned in the late 19th century.

Answer 1

this oughta be good...

http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_hist.htm

Answer 2

You know, we're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't. People just love to hate the Christians. George Peach it is NEVER ok for any christian to bash others. But people are angry if we don't change, and they're angry when we do. For instance, the church once believed the world was flat. And everyone today loves to poke fun at that. Now, we're once again accused... because we did change. This may help you understand: Canonical Misconception: Pope Pius IX and The Church's Teaching on Abortion ISSUE: Has the Catholic Church always taught that abortion is a grave sin? If so, how do you respond to the charge that the Church only declared abortion to be murder in 1869 under Pope Pius IX? RESPONSE: The Catholic Church has always taught that abortion is a grave sin and has always prohibited Catholics from cooperating in or procuring an abortion. This has been the clear and constant doctrine of the Catholic Church, as even the ancient Didache, a first-century document that conveys the teaching of the early Church, affirms: “You shall not procure abortion, nor destroy a new-born child”[1] (cf. Acts. 2:42, Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 2270-75). What became clearer over time, because of advances in biology, was the issue of ensoulment, i.e., when the soul is infused into the unborn.[2] In addition, the action of Pope Pius IX in 1869 was one of changeable discipline, not a change in doctrine. In this case, the Pope merely removed the distinction between the “unensouled” and “ensouled” fetus, making the canonical punishment the same for abortion at every stage because the soul is infused at conception (Catechism, no. 366).[3] While the Church does not change her doctrine, she can modify the penalties for violating that doctrine as she deems appropriate. Thus, while a complete description of all the ways in which abortion offends God has not always been completely understood, the fact that it is a grave offense against God has always been taught.

Answer 3

Before modern biological science, people didn't know how babies formed. Seminal fluid was obviously not alive and they didn't know about human eggs. "Quickening" represented an obvious change that could be equated with ensoulment.

Now, thanks to science, quickening is not such an obvious indicator of change. The fetus is recognizably human long before movement is detected. But the development is a gradual process with no precise boundaries between fetus, zygote and blastocyst, nor any significance to the various phases.

So the obvious target for the substantial change is conception, when a completely functional human cell is first assembled. The concept of "Natural Law" is all about "substance" and "form" and assumes that any existing thing has a "substance" with intrinsic qualities to itself. A tree cell naturally becomes a tree. A human cell has the potential to become a human being, nothing else. A screwdriver cell will never become something that should be used as a hammer or a prybar, etc.

So if you're going to put a soul in there, you need to get it in early to avoid endless arguments. Keep in mind, pre-term abortions weren't something people of the time could manage all that effectively anyway. With science comes knowledge. With knowledge comes opportunity. And with opportunity comes abuse (physical AND psychological).

Answer 4

What does it matter what the Church ruled or didn't rule, or when?

My own opinions are not formed according to what the Church believed or believes.

I am against ALL abortion (except in some extenuating circumstances, like endangerment to the mother's life, rape, and incest) because by the time a woman knows she's pregnant, the baby has a heartbeat. I've known this since I was very young; my parents had (and still have) a set of encyclopedias, including a medical encyclopedia, and it was in this that I first learned about reproduction.

It has nothing to do with my religious beliefs. I was against abortion when I was an atheist, and when I was Wiccan.

It has nothing to do with whether or not a baby in the first trimester has a "soul." That's completely irrelevant. The QUESTION is, is a baby in the first three months of development in his or her mother's womb ALIVE? And the answer to that is...YES.

Answer 5

Well, "Christianity" is a very broad term. Catholicism has composed a smaller and smaller portion of Christianity with each passing year. Ever since the reformation, I would be very hesitant to say what "Christianity teaches" is dependent on the Catholic clergy.

That being said, even if a body doesn't have a "soul" per se, it could still be alive. I view abortion as a waste of life, which is precious, and would hold the same view irrespective of my religious views, which are subject to change anyway.

For me, as soon as there are brain synapses and a beating heart (about 6-8 weeks), the child is "alive" (to the same extent as a comatose person, in any case) and shouldn't be aborted.

Answer 6

The idea that the soul is imparted at the moment of conception. This idea comes from the christian belief... from the Middle Ages... that each sperm carried a 'homunculus'... a fully developed human in miniature. Even though that idea has been dismissed... and we now know that after conception there is just an undifferentiated clump of cells through the early stages of fetal development... the archaic idea of a soul still persists.

Answer 7

Christianity never taught that a "fetus" didnt have a soul until it kicked... long ago people didnt even know they were pregnant until they felt the kick. The Bible teaches life begins at conception and always will.

Answer 8

I assume you have never been pregnant before.

My child was alive the first time his heart had a beat...at 3 weeks GESTATION

Majority of miscarriage's happen before that..a woman usually doesn't know she was even pregnant.

So Historically, A doctor didn't have the instuments to hear a child's heart beat, so they used the first movement of a child. That would be the first indication that the child was "alive"

Think man, Think...

Answer 9

abortion isn't wrong nor right. those who claim so are saying an opinion and not a fact. many cultures believe the soul enters the body at many different times. i believe the soul enters the body at birth, while muslims believe the soul enters the body at 12 weeks gestation.

Answer 10

I thought Christians believed in the breath-soul connection since God breathed life into Adam and what not.

You'd think that they'd say a baby didn't have a soul until after it cried.

Answer 11

Must be a Catholic teaching, I've never heard of it, but Protestants believe that life begins @ conception.