Hello, my name's Mrs. Rawbone, and I'd like to welcome you to today's lesson on "Christian Responses to Abortion." In today's lesson, you will be able to explain different Christian views on abortion, including key teachings and ethical approaches.

In our lesson today, we'll be using the keywords, "abortion", "pro-choice", "pro-life", "sacred", and "situation ethics".

Abortion is the deliberate ending of a pregnancy.

Pro-choice is a view that means generally in favour of a woman's right to choose to have an abortion.

Pro-life is a view that is generally opposed to abortion and in favour of the life of the foetus.

Sacred is something that is considered holy, divine, or deserving of great respect.

And situation ethics is an ethical theory which argues that the most loving action should guide decisions in each situation.

Our lesson on different religious views about abortion will have two parts.

We will firstly be looking at Christian teachings on abortion and then at Christian views on abortion.

Let's begin by looking at Christian teachings on abortion.

Christians try to answer questions such as, "Does a woman have the right to choose whether to continue with a pregnancy?" By consulting sources of authority including the Bible, church teachings such as tradition, the advice of church leaders and fellow Christians, Christian ethical theories such as Natural Law and situation ethics.

And they might also use their conscience and apply reason.

And they might also use their conscience and apply reason.

They might also use their conscience and apply reason.

In all of this, Christians might interpret a source differently from somebody else or emphasise one more than another.

We're going to look at Bible teachings as a source of wisdom and authority, in relation to the issue of abortion.

The teaching, "So God created mankind in His own image," shows for Christians that all human life has intrinsic value, that means built-in value.

And this is because it reflects God's image, which some Christians would use to argue that life should therefore be protected from conception.

However, it could also, of course, support the argument, that the mother's life has value, and so the mother's life should be taken into account when considering an issue like abortion.

The teaching, "For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb," very much suggests to Christians that God is directly involved in the formation of life before birth.

So it really does support the idea that unborn life is sacred, that it has value.

"You shall not murder." This is one of the Ten Commandments.

So it could suggest that abortion, as it's the taking of human life, is therefore morally wrong, because it's equivalent to murder.

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart." So this verse where God is speaking to the prophet Jeremiah, very much suggests that God had a plan for Jeremiah before he was even conceived, and certainly before he was born.

So it suggests to Christians that maybe life is important.

There's a reason to oppose abortion here because of God's plan for every individual.

We're going to check your understanding now.

Give one Biblical teaching which could be used to suggest abortion is morally unacceptable.

Take your time, have a think about what you could say.

Pause the video if you need to, and then come back when you're ready to check.

You could have said any one of the following.

"So God created mankind in his own image." "For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb." "You shall not murder." "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.

Before you were born, I set you apart." Well done if you got any of those quotations.

Looking further at Biblical teachings as a source of wisdom and authority, we have already seen how, if life has value, so if life is made in God's image, it could also be used to support the life of the mother.

There are a couple more teachings that can also support the choice of the mother.

Jesus's command to "Love your neighbour as yourself," is what He describes as the second most important commandment, after loving God.

And following this, somebody asks Him, "Who is my neighbour?" And this is where Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Now in this parable, the message seems to be that you should actively love and care for people in need, regardless of whether they can care for you or help you, and this is an example of agape love.

So Christians can use a quotation like, "Love your neighbour as yourself," to argue that you should show compassion.

And so in the context of abortion, this might mean compassion to a pregnant woman who is in a difficult situation.

So it could certainly justify abortion in some cases.

Let's look at Christian teachings on abortion.

So across most of the denominations in Christianity, there is generally a pro-life view, which means in favour of protecting the life of the foetus.

The Catholic church maintains a very strong pro-life stance.

The only exception to their view that abortion is morally wrong is where the mother's life is at direct risk.

So for Catholics, life begins at conception and it is sacred.

And this teaching can be found in a papal encyclical called "Evangelium Vitae" that was issued in 1995.

The Church of England also has a pro-life view, but they do have a more flexible approach to abortion.

So cases where the mother's life is at risk or her health is at risk, or the fetus's health is at risk, or perhaps cases like rape would in their view be acceptable for abortion.

And this can be found in a report from 1987.

The Methodist Church has quite a similar view to the Church of England.

Abortion is usually wrong, but it can be acceptable in certain situations.

Again, risks to the mother's life or health or to the foetus'.

And their view is that decisions should be made on the basis of love.

So we can see here the Catholic church very much emphasising the sanctity of life in regard to the foetus.

Other churches are also valuing that, but taking into account the idea of agape love applied to the woman's situation.

Let's check your understanding.

Which denomination is pro-life in the majority of cases? So in other words, it has the strongest pro-life view.

Is it A, the Methodist Church? B, the Roman Catholic Church? Or C, the Church of England? Take a moment to think about your answer, pause if you need to, and then come back when you're ready to check.

So well done if you put the Roman Catholic Church.

So there's a real clear difference here.

Roman Catholics, pro-life in almost every instance, unless the mother's life is in really severe danger.

Here's a picture of St.

Thomas Aquinas.

Thomas Aquinas was a theologian and a philosopher who developed a theory known as Natural Law.

The idea is that God created the world with a natural order, and this can be seen in the creation if you look just carefully enough.

And humans, of course, should live in line with the natural order that God created.

According to Aquinas, Natural Law is absolute.

So it's built in to nature.

It applies the same in every situation, in every place, and every person can access it, because every person can use their God-given ability to reason, to work it out.

So as well as working out the Natural Law for yourself, the Catholic Church uses it to inform its teaching.

And so when you get documents issued like Evangelium Vitae, they are usually based on not just the Bible, but Natural Law as a source of authority.

So applying it to moral issues like abortion, this is wrong because the Natural Law, the natural way of things, shows us that we should preserve life, because the purpose of life is to live.

In 1995, Pope John Paul II issued a document called Evangelium Vitae.

Lots of papal encyclicals, which is the word for a letter from the Pope, are titled in Latin.

So this comes from Latin.

Evangelium means "good news", and vitae means "of life".

So Evangelium Vitae means "the good news of life", and it's the title of the papal encyclical or letter written by Pope John Paul II, which clarifies the church's stance on the value of human life, and it includes strong opposition to abortion.

Now it is based on biblical teaching, but it's also based on Natural Law, because Catholics believe that Natural Law is the natural order that God has put in place in the world, and the church is clarifying what that is and how it relates to the issue of abortion.

Here are some of the things that Evangelium Vitae says about abortion.

First of all, human life is sacred from conception, and so abortion is a grave moral wrong.

No circumstances can justify taking an innocent human life, as all life has dignity.

So this is an absolute view.

It's not flexible dependent on the situation.

Society should protect the most vulnerable, including unborn children.

So the Pope is calling for society to do its best to stop abortion.

And Catholics must oppose laws allowing abortion and promote a culture of life.

In contrast, a very different way of approaching moral issues like abortion is to apply a theory called situation ethics.

This theory, which was created in the 1960s by a man called Joseph Fletcher, is based on the idea of agape love, which is Jesus' teaching of "love your neighbour".

Now, unlike Natural Law, and Catholic teaching that arises from it, this is relative.

So it really does talk about individual situations, hence the name "situation ethics".

Some Anglican churches would support using situation ethics to make moral decisions.

And Methodist teaching would also take this kind of approach into account, and that is why, when we looked at the different denominations, we had Anglicans and Methodists with a more flexible pro-life view than Catholics.

So this is how situation ethics works.

You start by identifying the actions you could take, and there might be a few.

So in an abortion scenario, it could be the option of adoption or continuing with the pregnancy or having an abortion.

You then calculate how much agape love will be produced by each action.

So this theory is teleological or consequentialist.

That means it's looking at outcomes.

So it's not saying in itself there's a right or wrong action, but what it is saying is, let's look at the outcome.

So if someone were to have an abortion, this would be the outcome.

This would be how much love might be produced through that outcome.

And if they weren't, this would be the outcome.

And it's a question of weighing up which is the best option.

So the option that's chosen is the one that brings about the most agape love.

Joseph Fletcher in his book, "Situation Ethics", gave lots and lots of examples, and he gave quite a few that related to abortion in order to try and show Christians that sometimes you have to be more flexible, and teachings like "love your neighbour" would mean that you might accept abortion.

Amongst them was one of a woman with heart disease who finds herself pregnant and her health and life are at risk because of this.

So applying agape love as situation ethics asks you to do, it would suggest that the woman's life should be saved.

That should be the priority, because it would produce the most loving outcome.

So let's have a look at how these two different Christian approaches really work.

So Natural Law, which is typically a Roman Catholic teaching, is about observing how things naturally work, using reason to work out right and wrong, and it's there in Catholic teaching, in official documents published by the church.

Situation ethics is a theory that's more likely to inform thinking in churches such as the Church of England and Methodist churches.

And this is because, although they might have a clear view, they're more prepared to be flexible on the basis of agape love and what the outcome of the situation would be.

So it's using love to determine the best course of action.

What these two approaches have in common is that women deserve compassion and support.

So whilst Catholic teaching is pro-life, that doesn't mean that the woman's rights and needs are not considered.

So Natural Law is used to support a more strongly pro-life view, because it's there in nature and it's inflexible, so it's a stronger view.

And situation ethics might support a conditional pro-life view.

So supporting abortion in some situations.

For task A on Christian teachings on abortion, here is a question.

Explain two Christian beliefs about abortion.

I would like you to develop each of the points in the table.

The first point says that, "Some Christians, like Catholics, believe abortion is wrong, as?" And the second, "Others, like Christians who belong to the Church of England believe abortion can be?" So your job is to finish off the point that each of those has started and then to develop by.

You could have said, "Some Christians, like Catholics, believe abortion is wrong, as life is sacred and given by God." They may refer to Psalm 139 verse 13, which says, "God forms life in the womb" to argue that life begins at conception.

Others, like Christians who belong to the Church of England, believe abortion can be the most loving choice in some cases.

They follow Jesus' teaching of love, agape, and argue abortion may be acceptable if the mother's health is at risk, or if the pregnancy results from rape.

Now, there are lots of ways you could have developed those points, so well done if you've used a biblical teaching.

You might even have actually referenced a theory like Natural Law or situation ethics.

Moving on to the second part of our lesson, we're now going to be looking a little bit more at actually what Christian views on abortion might look like in reality.

James, who is a Roman Catholic Christian, has been asked whether he thinks a woman has the right to choose whether she continues with a pregnancy.

He says, "I believe abortion is wrong because life is sacred and should be protected from conception.

The only exception is when the mother's life is in danger.

Pregnancy as a result of rape is deeply traumatic, and the mother deserves to receive love and support.

However, abortion is still not right, even in this situation, because two wrongs don't make a right." So look at the scale.

We have pro-life on the left and pro-choice on the right, and a numbered scale in between.

Where would you put James's view on this scale? Would it be at one end or the other, or would it be somewhere along the way? If you can, turn and talk to somebody nearby, or you can pause and talk to me.

Come back when you're ready to move on.

Fiona, who's an Anglican and attends the Church of England, has been asked whether she thinks a woman has the right to choose whether she continues with a pregnancy.

She says, "I believe abortion is usually wrong, but that it can be acceptable in certain situations, like when a mother's health or life is at risk.

I find situation ethics is helpful when making difficult moral decisions.

It could suggest that if the mother's health or wellbeing is at risk, the most loving choice is to allow her to decide." So thinking about that scale from pro-life to pro-choice, where do you think you would put Fiona's view, and why? If you can talk to somebody nearby, please do.

Pause the video.

You can always talk to me.

And then come back when you're ready to move on.

Let's check your understanding.

Which statement accurately describes acting according to situation ethics? Is it A, considering each situation individually and acting on the basis of love? Is it B, using reason to understand what is right or wrong, by observing how things naturally work? Or is it C, following rules directly commanded by God? Take some time to think carefully about the correct answer.

Pause if you need to, and then come back when you're ready to check.

Well done if you put A, situation ethics is indeed about considering a situation and then acting on the basis of love.

Tia, who is a Methodist, has been asked whether she thinks a woman has the right to choose whether she continues with a pregnancy.

She says, "I believe that life is sacred, but abortion can be morally acceptable in certain circumstances, such as when the mother's health or wellbeing is at serious risk.

My church teaches that decisions should be made with compassion, considering the individual situation, and prioritising love and care for the mother whilst respecting the value of life." So think about that scale again.

This time I would like you to consider where Tia's view would fall on the scale, and why.

If you're able to pause and turn and talk to somebody nearby, please do, or you can talk me, and then come back when you're ready to move on.

Let's check your understanding.

What does a Methodist church teach about abortion? I'd like you to choose two answers.

A, the mother's life and health should be considered when deciding whether abortion is morally acceptable.

B, abortion is always wrong regardless of the situation.

C, the foetus' rights should always outweigh the mother's.

Or D, each abortion decision should be considered individually, based on the specific circumstances.

So two of these fairly represent what the Methodist Church teaches.

Take your time to think about which two, pause, and come back when you're ready to check.

Well done if you put A and D.

So for some Christians, thinking about the mother's life and health is really important as well, and each individual situation matters.

However, it's important to remember that for Christians generally, abortion is wrong.

For task B, we're going to practise your understanding of Christian views on abortion.

I'd like you to develop and evaluate the points made by James and Fiona, using a biblical teaching as a source of authority.

As you evaluate, explain why they might think their point is a strong argument to support either a pro-life or a conditional pro-life view.

So what we're doing here is practising the really important skill of evaluation, and within that, talking about the strength of an argument, because this is something that will really improve evaluation answers.

James' point is that the Bible teaches that all humans were made in God's image, which means life is sacred.

So you're going to develop this into an argument about abortion.

"For this reason, abortion is." And then you're going to evaluate that argument.

So you're going to explain why, for some Christians, for example, James, it is an important and a strong convincing argument.

"For some Christians, this is a compelling argument because." Fiona's point is that Jesus taught us to show love, so protecting quality of life is therefore important.

You're going to develop that into an argument.

"On this basis, abortion is." And then you're going to evaluate that too, talking about why for some Christians, it's convincing.

"For other Christians, this argument is convincing because." Now remember, we're using these two points to support slightly different points of view.

One will be pro-life, very clearly, and one will be conditional pro-life.

So that means abortion is usually wrong, but there may be situations when it's acceptable.

So take your time to think about each of those points, to develop them into an argument, and then to evaluate them showing why, for some Christians, they're really strong arguments.

Pause the video, and come back when you're ready to look at what you might have said.

You could have said for James, "The Bible teaches that all humans were made in God's image, which means life is sacred.

For this reason, abortion is seen as wrong, as it ends a life created by God." "For some Christians, this is a compelling argument, because Genesis 1:27 shows life is sacred, and Exodus 20:13, 'Do not murder', also applies to the unborn." Fiona's point is, "Jesus taught us to show love, so protecting quality of life is therefore important.

On this basis, abortion is sometimes acceptable if it is the most loving choice, such as when the mother's wellbeing is at risk." "For some Christians, this argument is convincing, because Jesus taught agape, 'love your neighbour as yourself', Matthew 22 verse 39.

And this means considering the mother's quality of life and acting with compassion." So well done if you managed to develop each of their points and apply them to abortion in slightly different ways.

And if you managed to evaluate, particularly if you used some biblical teachings.

You may not have put the exact reference, but if you've managed to really show that you understand what the Bible teaches, that is excellent.

In today's lesson on different religious views about abortion, we've been looking at Christianity.

Biblical teachings such as, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you," from Jeremiah 1 verse 5 could suggest abortion is morally unacceptable.

Other teachings, such as "love your neighbour as yourself," Matthew 22 verse 39, could suggest abortion may be the most loving option.

Evangelium Vitae clarifies the Catholic church's strong pro-life teaching, and it's supported by Natural Law.

Anglican and Methodist teachings are pro-life, but they may accept abortion could be the most loving options following a more situation ethics approach.

Thank you for working so hard with me on this lesson today.

Well done.