by Luke yang
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139: 13-14
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139: 13-14
Is fetus
human being? Is it the woman’s right to choose?
The careless answer to these questions will lead to the following
result. Today, every day 150,000 pregnancies are terminated worldwide[1].
In China, According to statics in 2013, there are about 13 million abortions
every year[2].
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History of abortion in China
Most people do not view fetus as life, historically, it is typical for Chinese to
have permissive attitude towards abortion, since Chinese think “a human life
start at birth”[3]. Abortion was recorded in ancient China
about 500 B.C.E, extremely toxic herbs and other concoctions are used to induce
abortion.[4] In many movies in emperor times, the
emperor’s wives used different plants like Oleander and Gabardine to terminate
other concubine’s pregnancy due to their jealousy or trying to secure their
position.
Why abortion is so popular in China now
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Since 1957,
“one-child” policy was implemented by the government, hence force, China became
the most liberal country on abortion in the world.[5]
By March, 2013, more than 330 million abortions were performed by Chinese
doctors within 40 years.[6]
Chinese government promotes abortion as a substitute for family planning, and
it seems it is a good option to get rid of the unplanned pregnancy for
families. It also covers shame for unwed couples. It is common to see abortion
advertisement in public, and some simple clinic can perform abortion surgery
too. Nowadays, another phenomenon which causes more abortion is premarital sex,
especially among the young people.
Christian view on abortion
From Christian worldview, life is from God, and it
starts from pregnancy. “Human development is a continuous process beginning
with fertilization and continuing throughout pregnancy, birth, childhood,
adolescence, adulthood, and into old age”.[7]
What can Christian do to protect unborn
lives?
Christian
should teach the truth, offer compassionate assistance and host ministry of
healing and forgiveness. Generally all women experience different kinds of
shame and guilt after abortion, the reason for abortion can be classified as
financial issue, social issue, ethical issue, and health issue. Gender
preference is still quite popular in China, though the government lifted the
bar off for several provinces, paying a fine for the second child or even third
can be a heavy burden on majority families. Christian should implant God’s view
on lives and on that God is the ultimate owner of all lives, however, tangible
support and compassionate assistance should be highly applied.
Ethical Questions:
- Can abortion be called murder for the
unborn baby is human?
- “Be fruitful and multiply”, is this obsolete or only applied in certain situation? Because some say they want to provide quality life for their kids.
- How do you think of birth control? Is it against God’s plan on human being?
- Is the abortion the woman’s right?
Bibliography
[2] 统计称中国每年人工流产1300万例 低龄化趋势严重http://news.ifeng.com/society/2/detail_2013_11/15/31279909_0.shtml (accessed on
July 28, 2014).
[4]
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/abortion/a/ancientabortion.htm
[6]
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/6724580a-8d64-11e2-82d2-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2kURbJh9k
[7]
Adapted from Theresa Huculak, unpublished notes in Choosing Life Trainer’s Training (Quezon City, Philippines, 2013)
