Catholic View on Abortion

Catholic view on abortion has always been that abortion is a grave evil. Since the first century, Catholic authors have maintained that abortion is forbidden by the bible the way it forbids murder. The Catholic Church has held this view on the basis of the principle that all life since conception till the time of natural death is sacred. Taking the life of another person, whether unborn or born, is wrong morally.

Why this is the Catholic view on abortion

The Catholic Church has for a long time held this view regarding abortion because human life is and should be considered sacred from the beginning. This is because for a human to come into being or existence, God’s creative action must be involved. This action of creating life maintains a special relationship or bond between a human being and God who should be left to end it. The only Lord with a right over the life of a person is God from the time it begins to the time it ends. Under no circumstance can a person claim to have the right to end or destroy the life of an innocent human.

For this reason, even pregnancies that are due to incest, rape or ones that put the life of a mother in danger are not adequate reasons to allow for an abortion. According to the Catholic Church, abortion amounts to terminating an unborn child or life. Therefore, it is immoral, wrong and sinful. The circumstances for the conception of life are not relevant to the Catholic Church. This is the view for most Catholics because they believe that knowingly, deliberately and willingly committing a sin is not justifiable regardless of how noble or good the cause or intention is. This moral stand is absolute for most Catholics.

How Catholic support its view on abortion

Just like most Christians, Catholics support their view on abortion by citing different verses of the bible. For instance, Catholics argue that abortion was prohibited from as early as at the time of Moses. In Ex. 21:22–24, the bible says that in the event that a pregnant woman is injured and she loses her baby while men are fighting, the offender has to pay a fine that is demanded by the husband of the woman. If the woman sustains a serious injury, life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot action should be taken.

Another verse that is commonly cited by Catholics in supporting their view is the one that emphasizes that unborn children have souls like the older children. David says that he was sinful at birth, since the time he was conceived by his mother. This can be seen in Psalms 51:5. Similarly, James 2:26 says that the body is dead without a spirit. This is because the life principle of human body is the soul. Because from the conception time the body of a child is alive as indicated by the fact that it is growing, the body of a child has a spirit.

When the Catholic view on abortion was declared

On the basis of the arguments of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II in 1995 declared that the teaching and view of abortion for the Catholic Church was unchanged and could not be changed. Thus, the Catholic Church declared abortion as a means, as an end or willed as a grave moral contrast or disorder because it entails taking an innocent life deliberately. This doctrine has been based on the natural law as well as the God’s word in the bible and it is transmitted by the tradition of the Catholic Church and taught by the universal and ordinary magisterium. However, just like other sins, abortion is forgivable.

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Sources

http://www.catholic.com/tracts/abortion

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/abortion/catholic-teaching/the-catholic-church-and-abortion/

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2021:22-24

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+51%3A5&version=KJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+2:26