Paper

Abortion

John Jones

University

Religion and Values

RELU 110

Donald Duck

February 24, 2012

Life, we can all agree is precious. The prospect of a life ended before its time is tragic. There is crisis with an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. Now life will take a direction that was not anticipated, and there is great uncertainty for both mother and baby. The topic of abortion is very emotional and it is full of opinion and judgment. Research of the Abrahamic religions’ positions on life and death reveals common beliefs regarding the topic of abortion. In addition, there are varying ideas within each individual religion. Through study my personal opinion on abortion has not changed, but my view towards women, abortions and their situations has softened and has helped me to realize all situations are not the same. In my reading and research, I found that examining the similarities and differences of Jews, Christians, and Muslims regarding abortion, allowed for me to solidify my own personal opinion while also understanding the process, and values that might go into the decisions of others.

For the sake of being informed and understanding the context and definition of abortion, I researched the different definitions for the word. The definition is sterile and unemotional, everything that this topic is not. Webster’s dictionary defines abortion as the expulsion of a non-viable fetus during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy (Webster). Dictionary .com website defines abortion as, the removal of an embryo from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy or any of various surgical methods for terminating a pregnancy, especially during the first six months (Dictionary.com). From the standpoint of religion this is not an easy, sterile choice. All three Abrahamic religions would struggle with the terribly hard decision to abort a baby based on their similar foundational belief in life as sacred and God as supreme creator, “Abortion is taboo as it is an interference in the...