Religion and Early Life ( Unit 3 ) :

The Miracle of Life :

Life can be described with the term 'numinous'. It can give a feeling of 'awe, winder and mystery'. When we think about the human life profoundly and deeply, it is truly a miraculous. We can be left with a sense of amazement at how a sperm can fertilise an egg and nine months later, a living breathing human being is born.
However a lot of people look past this and take life for granted instead of viewing it as a remarkable event. For religious people, we should be careful of this and view all life existing, as an astounding happening, having meaning and purpose.
Children are seen as blessing from God for religious people ( e.g. Christianity ). Religions celebrate the birth of a child with a religious ceremony, mainly to thank god for the birth of the child
In some ways, generally all people ( non religious & religious ) view child as a gift , whether this is from God, nature or just life itself

When does Life Begin?

Christians believe lie begins at conception. This is when the sperm fertilises the egg.
At Conception the fertilised egg gains a soul. This is called 'ensoulment' and is a key Christian belief.
A child's DNA is fixed a conception
During the third week of pregnancy the nervous system and spinal cord starts developing
The heart starts beating at the 4th week. Is it then?
Some say that at the 14 weeks when the foetus begins to breathe for itself, it is alive
At roughly 22-24 weeks the foetus becomes viable, which means it may survive outside the womb (able to live as an independent human being). The UK law views that life starts here.
To destroy an embryo at any stage goes against the Christian teaching of 'Thou shall not kill"

Quality of life Life?

This is a term used to refer to a person living in in happiness and enjoyment, not just surviving and existing.
The quality of life refers to the kind of life someone leads. In this case, a baby or child's quality of life. It can mean both mental and physical well-being of the child, as well as the family and the social circumstances into which it is born.
The term 'quality of life' is relevant to the topic of abortion when considering if it is acceptable in cases such as if the child is going to be born with severe disability, is unwanted by its parents or is going to be born into poverty
Severe Disability - A child could be born with such a handicap that it would be living in severe pain or unable to develop into a person that can communicate or look after themselves.
Opponents of the view, often refer to Paralympics, as an example of people living a good quality of life, whilst being disabled.
Unwanted Children - This could be because the pregnancy was not planned by its parents or could be perhaps the result of a rape. In either of these circumstances, for some an abortion is acceptable, as the child would have a poor quality of life because it may not be loved and cared for emotionally; being viewed as almost an inconvenience or reminder of a horrific sex assault to its parents

How might the terms Sanctity of Life & Quality of Life be used to generate an argument about abortion?

Sanctity of Life : Can be used as an argument against abortion as it means that life is precious,therefore too precious to be ended by abortion. It can also be used against Abortion, as life is a special gift from God; therefore by having an abortion you are destroying the Gift. Having an abortion is disrespectful to God and his divine gift of life.
Quality of Life : Can be used as an argument for a women having an abortion. Some people believe abortion is acceptable if the child is born with severe disability. They would say that disability would cause the child to have a poor quality of life. Someone with severe disability may not be able to be happy or enjoy life, thus they would simply exist. They may be in pain , so their life will be one of the excessive suffering. They will therefore not experience life properly; they would have a poor quality of life as life is about being able to look after your self, communicating with others and being happy and content, which due to their condition, they will not be able to do so. The term quality of life can also be used as an argument for abortion, if the child was being born into a family that could not realistically support the child and provide it with a stable family life, good housing and care.

Generally accepted Reasons for Abortion? ( and some arguments against these):

If there is danger/ risk to the mothers life.
There is a risk that the baby will have a severe physical and mental disability. - ( However, this suggests that people who do have disabilities should not be alive. Furthermore, people could say that a person could love their child no matter what. It is a gift from God.)
There is a risk to the women's mental/ physical health.
The mother cannot financially cope with raising a child. - ( However, it could be argues that she should therefore had been more careful with regards to contraception, and should accept the consequences )
The Pregnancy is a result from a rape and thus she could never love her child. - However, the child has done nothing wrong and is still a human life with rights; the most basic of which is the 'right of life'. Child could b adopted.

Law on Abortion Rights ? :

Abortion can take place up to 28th week pregnancy.
Some argue that the child should have rights as it is a living thing, despite being dependant on the mother. - Since it cannot speak for itself it is in need for protection
Some argue that the mother should have rights over the child in her womb. After all, it is still her body and her life. Her Health and Freedom are also important and will be affected by a child. She should have the final say.
Some people suggest that the woman should have a right to safety. Childbirth can be dangerous for some women and abortion may be safer.
Failure to provide legal abortion could lead to Back Street abortion, which is extremely dangerous.
If abortion is not available, women should have more rights to work flexible hours or access to childcare.

Alternatives to Abortion ? :

Keeping the child : In this age, a mother can be seen keeping the baby, as an alternative to having an abortion. Decades prior, for many, this was not an option as there was limited financial support from the government with regard to benefits for single mothers, and thus they could not support themselves or the child. However now, there is more support available e.g. child benefit and single-parent benefit.
Adoption - If the child is really unwanted , it could be adopted by loving parents that will care and look after it. It would also benefit couples who cannot make babies
Fostering - This is when the child is placed in the temporary care of another family. Some foster parents are paid by the government to look after the children in care. Sometimes, the foster parents may adopt the child.

Pro-Life vs Pro-Choice ?

Pro Life Argument ( Against Abortion )

Life begins at conception. Abortion is murder
Unwanted child could be fostered or adopted
Abortion is just a way of avoiding responsibility for getting pregnant
Each person is unique and we should not end that
Pressure groups - The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) campaigns to reduce the number of abortions to try providing financial aid to single mothers.

Pro Choice Argument ( For Abortion )

Many consider it cruel to have a severely handicapped child. It can have no 'quality of life' and may live in pain
Life does not start until the foetus is born or at least viable
The risk to the mother outweigh's the risk to baby, as the mothers's mental and physical health is important. She has right to choose .
The circumstances are important. If the woman was raped or she too young with rest of her life ahead of her, then abortion should be considered.
Pressure groups - Abortion Rights. They put pressure on the government to keep 24 week limit for abortion legal.

	Created by Miraal Ali over 8 years ago

GCSE Religious Studies (Religion and Early Life) Note on Religion and Early Life, created by Miraal Ali on 11/05/2016.

Religion and Early Life