My Approach
My chosen topic is abortion, which I consider to be an important social topic. Termination of pregnancy is often a difficult step for a woman and her loved ones, and it is necessary to take such a step thoughtfully and soberly, weighing all the pros and cons. However, in recent years, medical and government institutions have taken a course to decide for themselves what to do for a woman who wants to terminate a pregnancy, or limit her choice. Moreover, the Church’s attitude towards abortion is often misinterpreted, considering it an institution that restricts women’s rights. Therefore, I would like to construct a presentation that would both inform women about how the Church treats abortion and educate them about what options they have.
Legal Perspective
Church Position
The problem of abortion splits modern society into two camps: supporters of the liberal position call for freedom of reproductive choice and full legalization of abortion. At the same time, traditionalists demand the legislative prohibition of abortion as an intentional deprivation of life. The latter position is most consistently supported by the Christian religion, which holds that life begins at conception. The position of the Orthodox Church on abortion is based primarily on the norms of canon law, which generalizes and translates into practical terms the moral and dogmatic provisions of Christianity. The Church considers the widespread acceptance and justification of abortion in modern society as a threat to the future of humanity and a clear sign of moral degradation.
Human life should be respected and protected to an absolute extent from the moment of conception. Such a reverent attitude towards mother and child in the Church has persisted since Antiquity. It was reflected, among other things, in art, as shown in Illustration 1. The future mother is depicted on it in the style used, among other things, to depict saints. Although at that time there was a debate about whether the fetus was considered alive from the moment of conception or after stirring in the womb, the Church already supported the first option.
For the Church, abortion is considered a terrible sin because life begins from the moment of conception. Although abortion in case of threat to the mother’s health is also a sin, it is not so grave. The woman will have to repent in this case, and her sin will then be absolved. When there is a direct threat to the mother’s life during the continuation of pregnancy, especially if she has other children, it is recommended to show leniency in pastoral practice. Therefore, the accusations that the Church restricts a woman’s freedom to take care of her health are false.
Followers of the Church founded a pro-life movement. They spread the opinion that abortion is not a woman’s right to dispose of her body. This is a woman’s right to dispose of another body, because from the moment of conception, the fetus is not her body, but the body growing in her. It also contains genetic material from both the mother and the father. Therefore, the point of view of the restriction of women’s rights by the Church is erroneous, since abortion does not affect the body of the woman herself as much as the body of another person.
A person’s life begins from the moment of his conception, and not from the birth of his mother. God gives this life, and to take it away at will is to violate God’s commandment “thou shalt not kill”. By killing a child in the womb, a person is killing an innocent person. The Church teaches that the human soul is connected to the body from the moment of conception, and, therefore, abortion is murder, no matter how long it is carried out.
Secular Community Position
The conditions for legalizing abortion in different countries of the world are different in nature as follows. In 98% of countries, abortions are allowed if it is necessary to save a woman’s life, in 70% — to preserve her physical and mental health. Termination of pregnancy caused by rape is allowed in 60% of countries.
In 30% of countries, a social or economic factor may affect the resolution. The attitude of society and the state towards abortion depends on various features of the social and state system. Various aspects of the social and state systems influence how society and the government feel about abortion. America is one of the countries with a legal system that allows abortions, while leaving the final decision to a specific state.
The issue of legalizing abortion was raised again with the coming to power of Donald Trump. In the United States, abortion was legalized at the federal level in 1973 in the case of Roe and Wade. However, President Trump has consistently sought support from conservative-minded voters, so he opposed abortion.
On May 7, 2019, Republican Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia signed the Heartbeat Act into law. With the adoption of the law, abortion at any stage of pregnancy has become equated with one of the most serious crimes of class A, which implies life imprisonment. The exception is the situation when the mother’s life is in danger.
After Georgia, the law was passed in several other states. Among them are Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama, Missouri, and North Dakota. In Iowa, Kentucky, and North Dakota, it was soon canceled. As a result, over the past ten years, abortion restriction laws have been introduced in 29 states in the United States. According to the law, it is forbidden for a woman to terminate a pregnancy when the heartbeat of her fetus becomes distinguishable.
The doctor can use sonography to listen to the heart rate in the sixth week of pregnancy. However, the pulsation of the heart begins as early as 21 days after conception. A woman may not have time to realize that she is pregnant. At the same time, such a term of termination of pregnancy is associated with taking care of the health of the pregnant woman. As can be seen from Chart 1, a relatively large percentage of pregnancy termination is observed in the age group from 15 to 19 years old. Abortion at this age can lead to infertility and harm the formation of the body. In this regard, legal restrictions on abortion are aimed not at limiting a woman’s right, but at protecting her health.
Collision
The position of the Church and the state does not coincide regarding the cases in which abortion is allowed. The Church opposes abortions for women who are committed for economic reasons. At the same time, the Commission on Family, Maternity and Childhood Protection supports the idea of abortions for those who are officially below the poverty line. These initiatives are seen as a systematic effort to protect motherhood and childhood. The development of science has enabled more effective control of the birth rate. A significant part of modern society, especially in developed countries, has come to understand that children need to be educated, provided for, and given attention and care. The state supports this by allowing those below the poverty line to have abortions, and the Church opposes it, considering it a sin.
The Church believes that abortion remains a spiritual disaster for the individual and society. It sees them as a phenomenon that should not be legitimate. According to the official opinion, it should not be paid at the expense of all citizens, many of whom are believers. At the same time, state laws require the collection of taxes from all citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs. Abortions for people on low incomes are funded by the portion of taxes dedicated to healthcare.
The traditional Christian argument against abortion is based on historically authoritative texts within churches. At the same time, in modern society, where the church is often significantly separated from the state and secularization is underway, new ideas have emerged that require reflection and a response from the Church. In particular, modern society in many developed countries worldwide has generally recognized the need for gender equality and women’s rights.
Another point of disagreement is the moment when the fetus is recognized as a living person. According to the official state position, this happens at the 21st week of pregnancy, that is, when the fetal heartbeat is heard. According to the Church’s position, a child is considered a living person from the moment of conception.
A woman’s right to an abortion, while remaining a controversial issue for a part of society, is nevertheless considered by many as an essential aspect of personal freedom. On the part of the Church, abortion does not concern the exercise of the mother’s freedom, but the restriction of the child’s freedom. Modern society has begun to pay greater attention to preserving women’s health.
Therefore, the state allows abortions for medical reasons. The Church considers such abortions a sin, and orders that the child be kept, even if the screening shows that he will be born with a serious illness or will die. For example, Picture 1 shows the documentation of stillbirth and how it is encouraged by the Church. Although fetal death is a legal indication for abortion, the Church calls it a sin.
Agreement
Representatives of the Church have repeatedly raised the issue of the ban on artificial termination of pregnancy. The Congress of Pediatricians has called for more active abortion prevention and limiting government funding for them. The position of the Church and the state is similar in that it is necessary to carry out abortion prevention.
Ministers can condescend to the termination of pregnancy only if there is a threat to the life of the mother. Such a woman is not excommunicated from Eucharistic communion with the Church, but is obliged to fulfill the penitential prayer rule, which will determine her confessor. Similarly, the state allows a woman whose pregnancy is a threat to her health to have an abortion.
Both the state and the Church teach women that they have an alternative. Both of these institutions encourage abortion clinics to provide women with information where they can receive social support and psychological help if they are unsure of their decision. As can be seen from Graph 1, the associative series of the word “Abortion” has both legal and emotionally charged associations.
In this regard, it is necessary to pay attention not only to the rights of the expectant mother, but also to her emotional state. Sometimes a woman has an abortion not because she does not want a child, but because she feels that she is all alone and has nowhere to turn for help. The Church and the state encourage advertising for women’s counseling centers, as it can help prevent dangerous surgery.
Both institutions are opposed to forcing a woman to have an abortion. Cases have been revealed when a gynecologist in a private clinic, for selfish purposes, pushed women to have an abortion, causing fear and threatening sick children and health problems. Both the Church and the state believe that in this case, it is impossible to remain silent about psychological pressure and violence. Believers should be humble, but not when it comes to offending and inclining to sin. Therefore, the Church supports the view that if this happens to a woman, she should file a complaint with the doctor’s management and, at most, file a lawsuit against him.
The Church also supports the state’s introduction of days of silence. To give time to address the above-described situations, an article of the law on the protection of citizens’ health was adopted. A woman does not have an abortion on the day of treatment, but gets from three to seven days to have time to realize the situation. The result of these very mild measures is an 8% reduction in the number of abortions. This method, fixed at the legal level, is approved by the Church because it helps save child lives.
References
Christopoulos, John. 2021. Abortion in Early Modern Italy (I Tatti Studies in Italian Renaissance History). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Glibetic, Nina. “Orthodox Liturgical Rites at Pregnancy Loss: Ritual Responses to Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Abortion in Late Byzantium”. Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies 4, no. 2 (2022): 151–179.
Pham, Tiana. “Abortion Talks: The Distinct Ways Twitter Discusses Abortion in 2021”. International Planning History Society 200, no. 1 (2021): 1.
Yibeltal Siraneh and Ahadu Workneh. “Determinants and Outcome of Safe Second Trimester Medical Abortion at Jimma University Medical Center, Southwest Ethiopia“. Journal of Pregnancy 5, no. 8 (2019): 1–7.