Practical Responses
Christians AGAINST abortion might put their beliefs into action:
- In discussion, they may explain their opinions by referring to their faith.
- Join a pro-life organisation which campaigns against abortion, e.g. LIFE or SPUC.
- Vote, e.g. in America, where abortion is a big voting issue!
- Take part in protests, marches, demonstrations against abortion.
- Write letters to newspapers and MPs.
- Stand outside abortion clinics and try to persuade people to think again.
- Pray, asking God’s help for the foetuses and the women.
- Campaign for proper sex education so fewer unwanted pregnancies happen in the first place.
- Organise talks for young people in the church
- Work as volunteers in a counselling centre offering help and contraceptive advice to young people.
- Offer practical help to women if they choose to keep the baby, e.g. money, baby clothes, etc..
- Baby sit for single parents, to take away some of the stress.
- Become foster parents, and look after children of parents who find it difficult to cope.
- Offer advice to someone considering an abortion, and propose alternatives e.g. adoption.
- There are various Christian adoption agencies.
The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland project offers financial and practical help to women who choose not to have an abortion. Christians from all over the world send money and resources.
SPUC – the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child
Not a Christian organisation, but Christians might support it because it campaigns against abortion (in all cases except when the mother’s life is at risk), as well as euthanasia and embryo experimentation. SPUC argues that:
- Life begins at the moment of conception.
- Abortion denies a basic human right to life (the United Nations 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child said that the child "needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth."
- All human life is equally valuable (even if the foetus is not healthy).
- Aborting foetuses with disabilities is discrimination
SPUC raises funds; produces advertisements and school educational materials; organises protests; campaigns to change the law; writes letters to MPs; tries to discourage women from choosing abortion.
Many Christians support SPUC because they believe life is sacred. Because of their faith, they might think it is not enough to express opinions about abortion without doing anything positive or practical. They might join an organisation like SPUC because it is a way of putting their faith into action. The Bible teaches about the importance of defending the weak:
“Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm 82:4
Christians IN FAVOUR of a woman being able to choose to have an abortion might:
- Join a pro-choice organisation.
- Support organisations which counsel people who have had abortions.
- In discussion, explain why they feel abortion is sometimes the most loving choice.
- Pray about the problem of abortion.
The All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Choice Group
Closely linked with the Pro-Choice Alliance, it campaigns for a woman’s right to have an abortion
on demand up to the 14th week, and tries to change the law so abortions are easier to obtain.
They believe women should not have to explain their reasons, arguing that it is an invasion of
her privacy, and assumes she cannot make sensible decisions by herself. It is open to anyone.
Some Christians might support the PCA because:
- Many Bible passages teach that men and women have equal value.
- They want women to be able to make choices about their own lives.
- Christian Love and Forgiveness - it is more loving to allow an early abortion if a woman wants one, than to make her go through with an unwanted pregnancy, causing her suffering.