Avortement - entre religion et éthique

Résumé du document

A few years ago, a desperate mother ended the life of her son, the victim of a terrible car accident that made him completely paralyzed. He wanted to die, not being able to fully live his life. He was reduced to being constantly bedridden, not able to move or even talk. After several court trials, his mother has finally been released. She carried out what was known as euthanasia. The morality on questions such as letting someone suffer, or helping someone to die who is alive against their will (euthanasia) has been asked on different occasions and the oppositions have been strong between the people for and against it.

This situation deals with the problem of the possibility of a human to kill someone else without being held responsible for their murder. This has always been a burning topic between the majority of French people, who thought that this was the best thing to do in certain situations, and the Christians that strongly claim that only God has the right to decide between life and death on Earth.

On the other hand, the ethics in today's society fight for the right of each person to decide if his life is worth living or not. Generally, religion and ethics are in strong opposition on this kind of topic, where the life of human beings is in consideration.

This leads us to the problem of abortion, in which the problem is of the same subject: the life of a human being. The problem is in the latter part: for some people a fetus is a "human being" while for others, it is not a "human being" until the fetus becomes a baby at its birth.

In Europe, abortion has been accepted for a while in the public opinion. It is important to point out the fact that religion has a different influence in North America, and this can explain why abortion is more widely accepted in Europe than in America, where God is still part of citizen's lives and their daily choices. This is why the subject of abortion remains the main topic of an endless war between the "pro-life" and "pro-choice" supporters.

Extraits

[...] Lately, they developed an important number of websites like: - www.prolife.com - www.prolifeaction.org - www.prolifeunity.com On these websites, women can find a great deal of information on abortion, and more precisely, a large number of reasons not to have an abortion. These websites also have stories about women that regretted their decision, famous people that fight for abortion, books, songs, pregnancy center addresses, and links to other websites dedicated to the pro-life” organization. One of their major actions is to have counseling offices within high schools and universities through America. They try to make the students aware of what an abortion really is, and they want these students to enroll in their association to spread the word. [...]

[...] Jesus, according to Christian teaching, did not become divine or human at some later date but was so from the very moment of conception Several passages in the Bible imply that God recognizes a fetus as a human being although it is never explicitly stated. Most believers pick apart verses in order to argue that some position on abortion is implied. For instance, a couple of verses suggest that a person exists already as a fetus. A passage[5] describes God knowing someone in the womb. Of course, choice” activists are opposed to this method of making the Bible's verses say what various people or groups (such as the activists) want it to say. [...]

[...] These types of centers generally fight for abstinence until marriage because in their view, if people wait until they get married to have sex, the number of abortions would decrease very significantly. This is this type of center that is led by Debra Higginbotham in Rosenberg, Texas[2]. I had an interview with her so that I could better understand her motivations to fight abortion and the mission that her center's employees pledged their efforts under: Cécile ARTISON: Can you explain what your job is? What do you fight for? Debra Higginbotham: My job is Executive Director and we fight against abortion. [...]

[...] Wade, (1973) was a United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a landmark decision regarding abortion. According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Pregnancy Resource Center of Fort Bend County Texas 4203 Ave. [...]

[...] D.H: I believe in the sanctity of human life and this is an issue I have felt strongly about for a long time. I personally watched close and dear friends suffer through the pain of an abortion and watched them make hasty decisions that affected their whole life without getting all the facts and information they needed. Everyone thinks abortion is a "quick fix" but what they do not realize is that the after-effects and consequences are life-long. Many women are haunted with dream and nightmares, pain and emotional distress. [...]