Robin Cypress
CWV 101
April 26, 2015
Professor Bob Greene

Abortion – From A Christian’s Perspective The ability to bring a life into the world after having carried and nurtured it in your womb for a woman is considered a gift and blessing to most, however there are times when the decision to bring a life into the world is clouded by another issue such as rape or fetal abnormalities at which point it becomes an ethical dilemma as to whether to bring that life into the world or to end the pregnancy and the life of the child. This paper will address the ethical dilemma, core beliefs, resolution, evaluation and comparison from the Christian perspective that should be considered during this process. Living life is a gift that God has given each of us and regardless of the circumstances to how we came here or what will be faced along our journey, until God decides to end it, He is the only one who should be capable of making that choice. Ethical Dilemma From the moment that a pregnancy is confirmed, feeling of the first movements, hearing the heartbeat, seeing them waving from the sonogram, to the actual birth, bringing a child into the world for many is an exceptional experience. It is not until you are faced with the possibility that something is wrong with the child such as a lifelong medical condition that you face a difficult decision as to whether to keep the child or terminate the pregnancy. For some the decision is an easy one because they feel within them that no matter the circumstances the child will be a blessing. They realize that the road ahead may be a difficult one but above all they go according to the scripture thou shall not kill (Exodus 20:13), which ends the dilemma altogether and they chose to bring the child into the world with the faith that God will help them. For others the decision becomes more about what they will have to deal with rather than the gift of life that they have been given and rather than believe and trust that God makes no mistakes, they end the pregnancy. Core Beliefs As a Christian it is our belief that God creates and gives all life and that taking a life under any circumstances is killing. "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them" (Psalm 139: 13-16). We are made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 2:26) so regardless because God is perfect, through His image we each are also, again God does not make mistakes. Resolution Coming to a resolution again for some is easy while for others it becomes difficult to separate personal desires from what the way in which the Word of God says they should. To abort a child simply based off of a prenatal screening, with documented error rates, is a very chilling slide toward eugenics which means eliminating persons with certain hereditary characteristics. The tests however become a precursor to people who are relying on them as the basis for which to obtain an abortion (Burke, 2014). As Christians we are to recognize the value in all life regardless to the circumstances and the thought of taking a life should never be an option under any circumstances and it comes back to the universal ethic that there is a right and wrong for everyone and killing someone could never be deemed as ethical (Jibben, 2014). Evaluation For the Christian and even those who do not fall under the umbrella of Christianity one the unintended consequences in having an abortion is to never be able to conceive another child. Another might be that everything that you felt was more important such as jobs, career or social standings all suddenly are taken away and you are left without them or the gift of love that a child could have brought. While these may seem extreme, taking a life is as well and nothing that we do outside of the will of God comes without consequences. One of the main benefits of deciding to not have an abortion is that you are choosing life and showing God that you have faith that He will provide for not only your needs but your child’s as well. Comparison When comparing the resolution of Christians against others, Christians must at all times remember who gives life and who has the absolute call and decision to take it away and that is God. Others may say that it should be a choice and that a woman should not be forced to carry a child knowing that the child has a defect, or that aborting the child is the humane thing to do because the child would only suffer (Ryan, 2014), however until you have given the child a chance, you cannot say or determine what quality of life the child will have and if they will suffer at all. In today’s society those who were once left to suffer in silence with disabilities such as Down Syndrome are now becoming active and productive members of society and even becoming activists, actors, writers. The possibilities for them now are no longer confined to what they could not do, but classified by their absolute value and what they are doing. Conclusion The debate about abortion could go on and will for decades and people will like everything else fall on one side or the other and make their own justifications but the one thing that will never change is that God is the only one who should have the ability to take a life. God made us in His image and likeness and He never makes a mistake. While it may be a daunting task to face the possibility of having a child with an abnormality, it would be a greater task to risk going to hell because you went directly against the moral and ethical standard of the Word of God and chose to take a life especially when you are depriving yourself of a love of a child, a love that God gifted you with, a love like no other. One that if you decide to take away, you may never be given the chance to have another…..choosing for a Christian should be easy and it should always be to CHOOSE LIFE!

References
Burke, D. M. (2014). Abortions Performed Because of Genetic Abnormalities Should Be Banned. In N. Merino (Ed.), Opposing Viewpoints. Birth Defects. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Ban on Abortions for Sex Selection and Genetic Abnormalities: Model Legislation and Policy Guide for the 2013 Legislative Year, Vol. 2, 2009) Retrieved from https://library.gcu.edu:2443/login?url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010641224&source=Bookmark&u=canyonuniv&jsid=b8ba248f698cb9a71304b2c3afdc7838

Jibben, J. (2014). The Wisdom of Absoulutes. In A. DiVincenzo (Ed.), The beginning of wisdom: An introduction to Christian thought and life. Available from http://lc.gcumedia.com/cwv101/the-beginning-of-wisdom-an-introduction-to-christian-thought-and-life/v1.1/
Ryan, F. (2014). Selective Abortion to Avoid Disability Is Sometimes the Humane Choice. In N. Merino (Ed.), Opposing Viewpoints. Abortion. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from How Pro-Lifers Hijacked the Paralympics, Guardian, 2012, October 30) Retrieved from https://library.gcu.edu:2443/login?url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010102448&source=Bookmark&u=canyonuniv&jsid=727abf77b86aa2154fcf92b9df19adf6