The above link refers to a story in the Guardian this morning. In short, the story details
proposals by the government - under pressure from predominantly religious pro-life groups - to relieve abortion providers of their counselling role and to hand the role to religious groups who would actively deter them from choosing abortion as an option.
It is, quite simply, a step in the wrong direction. And fatally flawed.
The Christian position on abortion isn't defined in the Bible, but there is enough evidence to suggest that the Christian god believes life begins at conception:
Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5)
John the Baptist: "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother's womb." (Luke 1:15)
The argument from Christians is plausible to a point. According to their beliefs we interfere with god's plan when we terminate a pregnancy. This is because from the moment he decides to allow conception, he has created life. That is a fair argument, even to a non-believer or a pro-life lobbyist without religious conviction. Christians also argue that it is certainly not our right to terminate another life at any cost, never more evident than in Catholicism, where even the use of birth control is forbidden (see my previous blog "Put your hands together...but for science, not for prayer"). In short, the pro-life movement places emphasis and priority on the unborn life, in sync with religious teachings.
The pro-abortionists are not a pack of blood-thirsty wolves, baying for the next abortion. They are scientists, scholars, rape campaigners, and if you excuse the twist, pro-lifers. I use the term "pro-lifers" not to confuse with those in the previous paragraph, but to demonstrate the group of people who believe that should an embryo develop into a child that will have no quality of life and in turn will devalue the quality of life for its (not he, or she) family, then in these cases there is an argument that in the interests of utilitarianism the family should have the right to terminate.
As always, I will defend the position of science and reason.
Let's look more closely at the arguments against abortion and I hope to demonstrate on a basic level the fundamental flaws.
In the first instance, pro-life movements argue that we are interfering with their particular god's divine plan when we opt for termination. So, no Christian has ever gone for IVF treatment? That is also part of your god's divine plan, that you shouldn't bear children. the trouble is, that doesn't fit in with YOUR plan. Worthy of even more recognition is the fact that as many as 1 in 4 pregnancies (source:patient.co.uk) end in miscarriage, often before the mother is even aware of a pregnancy.
Why would a God with a divine plan plant life only to take it away moments later? He is omniscient and omnipotent; he has it all worked out doesn't he? He cannot, by the nature of characteristics given to him by man, chnage his mind. That makes him imperfect. I can already hear the Christian retorts of "maybe the mother sinned!", or my personal favourite when a Christian is stumped, "who are we to know the mind of God?"...that argument only works if up until that point you hadn't been bombarding me with scripture and telling me you know what your god wants from me!
I digress, the point I am making here is that if you are Christian and you consider IVF, you have contradicted your god and he will not be pleased about that. But moreso, if god plants life and then removes it on a whim then surely - and this is undeniable - he is the biggest pro-abortionist in history?!
The second argument from religious pro-lifers is equally as laughable. according to them, no-one has the right to take the life of another.
So, no killing has ever occurred in the name of Christianity?
Take religion out of this and it is easy to see that it is not a life that is being terminated. It is a small cluster of cells completely incapable of thought, emotion, pain and suffering. I personally believe that the lives of actual living, breathing, feeling human beings should get priority over cell clusters. I am not emotionless or cold, I am reasoned and logical. Not many fervent Christians can be called the same.
No, the role of advising women and families who are considering abortion must definitely not go to a group of people that will use scare and shame tactics in order to influence a decision. It must stay with people who have no personal bias...or it is a social step backwards.
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