What are the religious arguments for and against abortion?

Answer 1

abortion is modern day child sacrifice. Rather than sacrificing it up to a god or idol, people are sacrificing a life unto their own selfish ambitions.

To "Heck if I know", your analogy is very wrong. Pro-choice is like pro-gun people saying they have a right shoot anyone who is an inconvenience to them, even though the person they want to kill made no choice to inconvenience them. In fact it's the person with the gun who chose to make the decision (sex) to bring about this person who inconvenienced them (the baby).

the only argument I've ever heard for pro-choice is, "I should be able to do what I want."

Answer 2

Against abortion

Human life is sacred.
You should not kill
The fetus has a human soul from conception


For abortion

Stem cells, kidney tissue, brain cells, eggs, sperm, zygotes and fetuses are all human life but human life is not the same thing as a human being.

Medically speaking, if it cannot survive outside the womb it is not a person. Idependently it would be considered clinically unable to support its own life and so it is the mother who takes precedence in all deciscions regarding it.

Spiritually speaking, if a human being possesses a soul and that soul is understood to be our "consciousness", then it must be "housed" in a complete body which has the physical capability to process a "consciousness" or "mind" . So until the fetus has a fully functional brain and nervous system it cannot have a soul

Some religions also believe the soul is the actual "breath" and unless the baby takes it's first breath, it has no soul yet.

If you wanted to get all biblical about it. There are biblical verses that do not hold the life of a fetus as not very important. You can look them up here: http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/says_about/abortion.html

Answer 3

If your talking about a traditional religion (Christianity, Judisim, etc) there isn't really an argument for abortion in any circumstance. However, a clear definition as to when life actually begins is not to be found in the Bible, Torah, Koran, etc. Therefore, if you were a religious person who wanted to rationalize abortion, a lack of clear scriptural guidance would be your only argument. It is a rather weak one, however.

The religous argument against abortion? It's so well known and well established, I can add nothing new to it. Google away!

Answer 4

I shudder to think that I could be denied my life just because people disregarded my smallest form. That even without a chance to be aware, I am denied an existence that would be given to me if nature was given it's course. I think it's dangerous to assign varying degrees of "worthiness to live" to people, based on their abilities and characteristics. In my view it's not at all useful to sit around planning which members of our society are most and least worthy of living. We only need to open a history book to see what vile acts are committed by groups of people who adopted that pattern of thought.

I also find it darkly, heartbreakingly ironic when I hear illogical combinations of statements like:

"A fetus isn't a human being"
"An embryo is just part of a woman's body."
"A fetus doesn't feel pain."
"A fetus cannot think."
dom without personal responsibility."An embryo isn't really alive yet"

paired with

"Abortion should be rare"
...or...
"Abortion is a tough decision"

If it isn't a person, killing it isn't a tough decision.

I have more respect for abortion advocates who acknowledge that the fetus is a human being and want to kill it anyhow, than I do for people who attempt to reconstruct reality and the definition of words in order to appease their consciences.



"Even pro-choicers don't argue FOR abortion..."


But supporting the choice to commit murder or not is just the same as supporting murder itself. You can't allow an individual to exercise their rights without supporting the consequences of those rights they will exercise.

Answer 5

For: That all Life is sacred and not for man to terminate.
Against: ?
100s of years ago the Church felt the child within a woman was not "alive" until it "quickened" or moved within her enough to be felt. It was found out and reasoned that life begins at conception; that a fetus is and will be nothing else but a member of the human race, and therefore worthy of protection.

Answer 6

Pro Life...(against abortion)

Jeremiah 1:5

BEFORE I formed you in the womb I knew you; BEFORE you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

There are no Christian arguments 'for abortion'.

Answer 7

For abortion: the baby dies
Against abortion: the baby lives

Answer 8

The RIGHT to CHOOSE is not an end in itself. many of our forefathers have given their lives over the right to choose GOOD OVER EVIL. Choosing an evil is not ever good. ALL of our choices in life must somehow give life....either to me or to the recipient of my actions.

Killing -- and it IS killing -- an innocent unborm child is never good. The child is an awesome responsibility. Obviously a developing child in utero has no other place to go to continue/finish its process of development.

Dear ladies......you crave jobs, careers, positions, etc. and SOME of you thumb your noses at the most fulfilling role there is: motherhood. No, I do NOT advocate a woman staying home all day. My mother worked and worked hard...ALL my life! HOWEVER, climbing the corporate ladder was not her priority....motherhood was!

If you don't want a baby....just don't make one!!!!!

Answer 9

Argument should be made towards responsibility. It's like arguing a battle and not the war, itself.

Answer 10

A potential human born is as good as born. Human influence leading to the human from being born is as good as killing that person after they were born.

And by potential i mean concieved.