Does life begin at the moment of conception? Or does life begin when the heart starts pumping and the brain starts to think. Some say that life does not begin until birth. The issue of abortion has been the subject of debate for several decades. Religions in Australia have influenced attitudes and laws with regards to this issue in the past. Are the attitudes and involvement of Australian religions in the abortion debate still relevant and do they make a difference?
Abortion is a surgical or medical removal of an embryo or a fetus from the uterus in order to end a pregnancy (Dictionary, 2016). Abortion in Australia has always been regulated by state law. However, previously before the end of the 19th century, each colony had adopted the
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It was also found that religious belief and support for legal abortion are not mutually exclusive, with 77% of those who identify as religious also support a woman’s right to choose (Children by Choice, 2012).
The attitudes towards abortion have changed over the years. Since the 1980’s, opinion polls have shown that majority of Australians support abortion rights. In 1987 a poll conducted by Saulwick indicated about 7% of Australians would not approve of abortions under any circumstances. However, an ACNielsen poll in 2005 reported that 56% thought the current abortion laws, which generally allow abortion for the sake of life, health or economic factors, were fine, while 16% wanted a change in making abortion more accessible and 17% wanting to make changes to make it less accessible (Grattan, 2005).
The debate regarding abortion among religions has been prominent for centuries. Many religions have different historical perspectives on the immorality of abortion, on whether it can ever be permitted, and how believers should respond (Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, 2016). Buddhism regard abortion as morally wrong as it involves the deliberate destroying of a life. However, the Dalai Lama has spoken in favour of abortion under certain circumstances. He stated,
Of course, abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative,
One of the most controversial topics over the years, and still today, is abortion. Is abortion murder or not? When does a fetus become a human? There are no answers to these questions. Everyone individual has their own beliefs on whether or not abortion is justifiable. Abortions have been performed throughout many of centuries. Recently, there has been a number of court cases that has changed the legality of abortions, especially in the United States, for example Roe v. Wade. Even religions have changed their views on abortions over the course of the years. In the abortions wars there are two parties, pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-life believes that abortion is murder and is completely immoral. Pro-choice,
It is through the Buddhist ethical teachings, the five precepts that is an ethical foundation from which individuals must embrace as a moral code in Buddhism, whereby individuals must adhere to the notion of “Do not kill” as a first precept. By adhering to the moral code, one may gain spiritual strength and positive karma. As a result, the five precepts has impacted an individual’s perceptions and decisions in regards to the notion of abortion. From the perspectives of a Buddhist, such teachings of the precepts has impacted the community in such a way that divides individuals in society to argue that abortion is incurred as an act of murder, regardless of the justifications. Others regarding abortion as a necessity. This issue of abortion can further be accentuated through “Of course, abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative, generally speaking. But it depends on the circumstances.If the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent, these are cases where there can be an exception. I think abortion should be approved or disapproved according to each circumstance.” Dalai Lama, New York Times,
Nowadays, in this world, there are a lot of problems that can make tremendous conflicts for human beings. They are very complicated and bring a lot of argument and nobody knows what the exact answer is. They also have pros and cons. One of the most complex problems is abortion. This is due to moral and ethical values which we all have. The majority of us are Christians or are brought up in that kind of ambiance which means that as small children we were taught values that are based on the bible such as that famous phrase “Thou shall not kill”. This phrase relates to this topic because an abortion is the murder of a human being.
Abortion has been and still is one of the most controversial topics in American culture. The reason for the controversy is the different viewpoints of this very personal matter. Some believe that abortion is the same as murder. Others believe it’s a personal choice which only they have the right to make. Due to the nature of the procedure and the concerns associated with ending a pregnancy, abortion will continue to top the list of “touchy” subjects in American politics and culture. As a pro-choice advocate, it is important for the right to have an abortion to be established and protected.
Abortion in many Buddhist positions appears to be justifiable when it conflicts with bodily autonomy or maintain the idea that a foetus is closer in status to a small or undeveloped animal. Although most views conflict with the first Buddhist precept of not bringing harm to sentient beings, living humans seem to be the most important when considering this and preference is given to the mother of a foetus as well as a foetus not being fully recognised as a human being by some Buddhist variants. Abortion in a Buddhists view however, is seen as a last resort by all variants.
Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in today's world. Abortion in Australia is a subject of state law rather than national law. The grounds on which abortion is permitted in Australia vary from state to state. Once a woman is pregnant, she has all of two options firstly, continue the pregnancy, secondly, try to end it. People tend to turn to the law when trying to decide what is the best possible solution to an unwanted pregnancy. Abortion remains in the Criminal Code in Queensland, contained in sections 224,225 and 226 which make it a crime to perform an abortion, access an abortion, or supply drugs or instruments to be used in an abortion. Most states and territories have re-examined and reformed their laws to varying degrees, starting with South Australia in 1969, leaving Queensland with some of the most restrictive abortion legislation in the country. 빅토리아에서는 합법적임
There are many common pregnancy alternatives, but most often the resulting decision is abortion because it is effortless. Abortion is endings a women’s pregnancy by removing or forcing a fetus or embryo from the mother’s womb before it is able to survive on its own. Not all abortions are purposely done some are spontaneous like when a women that has a miscarriage. Rather abortion is done purposely or naturally it is a worldwide complication as to it being wrong or right. Abortion is an ethical issue that will be analyzed according to a personal worldview and Christian worldview. Ethical thinking will be examined by value-based decisions that address abortion from the perspective of a Christian worldview and comparing it to a personal assumption by addressing ethical dilemma, core beliefs, resolution, evaluation, and comparison.
In Buddhism there is no central authority on ethical matters but the Dalai Lama has spoken in favour of abortion under certain circumstances. His comment was that an act of killing is negative. If the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent, these are cases where there can be an exception.
Abortion is the only medical procedure that is contained in the Queensland Criminal Code. The current Queensland law on abortion dates back to 1899. Since then community attitudes, safe medical practice and women’s status in Australian society have been transformed. Criminal law is an inappropriate vehicle to regulate the provision of medical treatment. Current abortion laws create barriers to doctors providing quality reproductive health care for women and restrict women’s capacity to make decisions about their own reproductive health and fertility.
It is quite clear from a variety of sources that abortion has been severely disapproved of in the Buddhist tradition. It is also equally clear that abortion has been tolerated in Buddhist Japan and accommodated under exceptional circumstances by some modern Buddhists in the U.S. The situation is similar to that of Roman Catholicism, where abortion, though disapproved of in the strongest terms by Church authorities, is still practiced by a large number of devoted Catholics and defended by at least a few.
One of the toughest issues to debate in our world today is abortion. Abortion is the induced termination of pregnancy before the fetus can survive. Nowadays, abortion affects all people, not just the mother and the baby. There are moral, ethical, health-related, political, and religious aspects that affect how people feel towards abortion. By looking at religion and its views, one can see just how hard it would be to argue in the pro-choice position of this debate.
The main reason that Hinduism doesn’t have abortion is because they believe in reincarnation. Reincarnation is a repeating cycle of birth, death, and then rebirth. The view of reincarnation makes a strong case to oppose abortion. If the baby is aborted the soul that is inside the woman suffers a major karmic setback in its life. The baby would not have been given a chance to earn good karma but is instead sent back to the reincarnation cycle. A soul will have many births and abortion deprives the soul of one of them. The moment of conception is believed that the baby soul is already alive and already a person from a very early stage of
Once again it is necessary to state that most of the religious opinions are based on when human life begins. In the case of Hinduism, there is no acceptance of abortion. According to the Vedas, abortion is a sinful activity. There is no question of when a fetus becomes a person. Or even when morality is reached (when a baby is actually born). Abortion in Hinduism is evil in all cases,
Abortion may be one of the most ongoing disagreements throughout time, some may consider this act as wrong such as specified in this quote by Mother Teresa: “The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.” Abortion not only murders an unborn child, causes guilt for the mother’s decision to end her pregnancy and may cause problems to the mother’s health; abortion is irreversible that child will not have life. Some women having an abortion can suffer from damage to the uterus, internal bleeding including having pieces of the baby left inside her body causing difficulties. By means of ending the pregnancy, the mother may
“Theravadin Buddhists disapprove of abortion” (Perrett 101). Abortion is when someone kills the fetus in the womb of the mother. Part of the Buddhist religion, following the Five Precepts, is to not kill or harm any living beings. From understanding the Five Precepts, one can understand why the Theravadin Buddhists disapprove of abortion. The topic of abortion is very controversial and the idea if it should or shouldn’t be performed varies from person to person. This is a very interesting topic due to the fact that abortion in the United States can be performed based on one’s own beliefs and if they want to or not. Many Buddhists still follow their own religion to this day even though one could have an abortion if desired. Researching and