Religious Studies - Ethics (sanctity of life)

I have my Religious Studies ethics GCSE in under a week and i've been revising for a couple of weeks already, so here are the main points of all i've revised so far on sanctity of life.

Ethics - sanctity of life

Contraception

Contraception or 'birth control' is used for a variety of reasons:

• when pregnancy might harm the mental or physical condition of the mother
• to limit the number of children people have to ensure they don't damage living standards or affect other children
• to prevent pregnancy in people who do not want a child at this stage in their lives

Christian beliefs about contraception

The various Christian churches have different views on contraception:

• The Roman Catholic Church says that the use of contraception is against natural law (which means it is not in keeping with human nature). It is natural that conception may happen with intercourse and therefore this should not be prevented. The only form of contraception permitted is the ‘rhythm method’ where intercourse takes place at a time when the woman is least fertile.
• Most Protestant churches (eg, the Anglican Church and the Methodist Church) now see the use of contraception within marriage as a responsible way of planning a family. It allows sex to be enjoyed without the fear of an unwanted pregnancy.

Abortion

Abortion is the artificial ending of the life of a foetus in the womb (uterus). A natural abortion is called a miscarriage. Abortion has been legal in England, Scotland and Wales since 1967 when The Abortion Act was passed. A new upper time limit of 24 weeks was introduced in 1990 under The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.
An abortion may be carried out if one of the following conditions applies:

• the life or physical health of the mother is at risk
• the mental health of the mother is at risk
• the mother’s existing family will suffer
• there is a reasonable chance that the child will be born seriously disabled

Where the mental health of the mother is at risk, or her family will suffer if the pregnancy continues, the latest termination date is 24 weeks. There is no upper limit if the life or physical health of the mother is at risk, or if there is a reasonable chance of a seriously disabled child being born.
In 1974 119,000 legal abortions were carried out in England and Wales, by 2006 this figure had risen to 193,700.

Christian teaching on abortion

The Christian Church teaches that life is a sacred gift from God:

Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26-27

Christian teaching on abortion is complex. An early Christian document, the Didache, condemns it:

You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb.

The Bible appears to say that life begins when the baby is in the mother’s womb:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.
Jeremiah 1:5

The Roman Catholic Church opposes abortion in every instance. However, if life saving treatment given to a pregnant woman results in the unavoidable loss of a foetus, but saves the mother, then this is accepted and known as 'double effect'.
Roman Catholic teaching is that the foetus is a human being. This is clearly expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) which states:

From the first moment of his (her) existence, a human being must be recognised as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life
CCC 2270

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:41

The pro-life movement generally argues that life becomes human life at the point of conception. It says that abortion should not be allowed, but some would allow an abortion if the mother's life was at risk or if pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.
The pro-choice movement generally argues that human life begins much later in pregnancy, or at birth. There are many points of view among pro-choicers, but fundamentally they think that the woman should have full control over what happens to her body.

Drugs

Arguments about drugs are important because they can concern possible physical harm, or even the end of life, by human hands rather than by God’s will. Most religious teachings have something to say about using drugs.

Facts about drugs

All drugs are classed as either legal or illegal (illicit).

• 'Illegal drugs' include heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD and cannabis (these are divided into Class A, B or C depending on how addictive they are).
• 'Recreational drugs' are drugs that people use for pleasure or relaxation. Most recreational drugs are illegal. However, alcohol and tobacco are legal recreational drugs. (Some religious people would include caffeine as a 'recreational' drug and would avoid its use.)
• 'Prescription drugs' are those prescribed by a doctor to treat a medical condition, and are legal.

Christian attitudes towards drugs

The key Christian teaching in relation to the use of drugs is that the physical body is the natural home of the soul, and is therefore precious and sacred.

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19

So Christians do not approve of the taking of illegal drugs, including most recreational drugs, especially those which can alter the mind and make people incapable of praying or being alert to God.

• Christians will take prescription drugs when appropriate.
• Alcohol, tobacco and caffeine are examples of recreational drugs which are not forbidden to Christians.

The Roman Catholic church says:

The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offence. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.

Alcohol and tobacco

Alcohol is permitted by most Christians and, of course, is normally used for the celebration of the Eucharist:

after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.
1 Corinthians 11:24

The Salvation Army and the Methodist Church have always been opposed to the use of alcohol because of the bad effects it can have on people’s behaviour and lifestyle. For this reason some Christians do not permit the use of alcohol at the Eucharist and instead use unfermented grape juice.
Tobacco is not condemned by the churches but many Christians are concerned about the effect which it can have on people’s health, and many Christians would make a positive decision not to smoke.

Euthanasia

Euthanasia is not suicide but the assisted ending of someone's life who is suffering. Most religions offer teaching on euthanasia and the end of life.

Types of euthanasia

Euthanasia is illegal in the United Kingdom but it was legalised in certain circumstances in the Netherlands in 2002 and assisted suicide was legalised in the State of Oregon (USA) in 1997.
There are two principal types of euthanasia:

• voluntary euthanasia - the person concerned asks someone to help them die, perhaps by asking for help to take an overdose of painkillers
• involuntary euthanasia - euthanasia is carried out without the patient’s consent, for example, if they are in a persistent vegetative state and no longer able to live without a lifesupport machine, which is then switched off

Remember that a person's decision to take their own life is known as 'suicide'

Christian attitudes towards euthanasia

Christianity teaches that all life comes from God:

Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'
Genesis 1:26-28

The bible also teaches that life is sacred:

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19

For this reason Christians believe that it would be wrong to take life:

You shall not murder.
Exodus 20:13

Responding to suffering

The Roman Catholic Church is opposed to euthanasia as murder. However, if large doses of painkillers are used to help ease a person’s suffering, and as a result of these the person ultimately dies, this is understood as ‘double effect’. The intention was not to kill the person, but to allieviate suffering. In the same way the Church does not believe that doctors should use any ‘extraordinary treatment’ to keep people alive against the odds.
The Church of England holds similar views saying that "there are very strong arguments that people should not be kept alive at all costs when they are suffering intolerable pain".
One response from Christianity to the question of euthanasia has been the creation of hospices. These are special places where terminally ill people are cared for and allowed to die with dignity without resorting to euthanasia.