“Accidentally on Purpose”

Case Study on Induced Abortion

• Abortion came from the Latin word abortiō which means “miscarriage” or from aborior which means “miscarry”.

• An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced.

Types of Abortion

• Spontaneous

• Induced

Induction Methods

• Medical

• Surgical

• Other methods

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Constitution and By Laws

• Abortion is illegal in the Philippines and is not permitted under any circumstance. The act is criminalized by the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, which was enacted in 1930 but remains in effect today.

Medical Perspective

• Life begins at the moment of conception. It is the moment at which the sperm penetrates the egg and the two unite. Sperm joins with ovum (egg) to form one cell- smaller than a grain of salt-called a zygote.

Medical Perspective

• Ectopic Pregnancy - This happens when pregnancy occurs outside the uterus.

• Intervention involves the unavoidable death of the unborn baby but the aim of the operation is to save the mother not to kill the baby.

• If we do nothing, both may die.

Protection of Women’s Health

• For tens of thousands of women with heart disease, kidney disease, severe hypertension, sickle-cell anemia and severe diabetes, and other illnesses that can be life-threatening, the availability of legal abortion has helped avert serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth.

Possible Complicationsafter Abortion

• Bladder Injury• Bowel Injury• Ectopic (Tubal) Pregnancy• Failed Abortion• Retained Products of Conception• Infection• Hemorrhage• RH Incompatibility

Possible Effects on Future Pregnancies

• They will be more likely to bleed in the first three months of future pregnancies.

• They will be less likely to have a normal delivery in future pregnancies.• They will need more manual removal of placenta more often and there will

be more complications with expelling the baby and its placenta.• The next baby will be twice as likely to die in the first few months of life.• The next baby will be three to four times as likely to die in the last

months of his first year of life.• The next baby may have a low birth weight.• The next baby is more likely to be born prematurely with all the

dangerous and costly problems that entails. 

PsychologicalPerspective

• Psychologists or counselors consider abortion as immoral yet as being in the profession they need to understand where the client is at and help her realize the implications of her actions.

• Abortion has psychological and emotional consequences.

PsychologicalPerspective

• The client may suffer from Post Abortion Stress Syndrome or PASS which being guilty of aborting the fetus.

• In extreme cases, psychologists and counselors see depression, emotional outbursts, and low self-esteem leading to thoughts of suicide when severe depression occurs.

Biblical Perspective

• Sanctity means ‘the quality of being sacred or holy.’• Christians often talk of human life as being sacred. • They refer to the sanctity of life when considering issues

such as abortion, euthanasia, embryo research, the care of disabled or the elderly.

• They believe there is something special or holy about human life. Every human, Christians believe, is special to God.

Biblical Perspective

• Christians believe all human life is sacred because:

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Biblical Perspective

• Christians believe that life begins at conception.

  

Psalm 139:13-16 “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.”

Biblical Perspective

• If indeed life begins in the womb, then no one could disagree that the fetus (Latin for `little one') is a human being, and is subject to the rights (God's laws concerning humanity) which befit a human being.

• The Bible institute that even before one is born, He recognizes him as a person.

Biblical Perspective

• God is the giver of life.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-3 'There is a time for everything. A time to be born and a time to die ...‘• Christians believe that God gives and takes away life as

he pleases. God decides when life begins and ends.• Murder is forbidden in the 10 Commandments

(Exodus chapter 20 verse 13). It is not acceptable to take away a life God has created. It isn't acceptable to kill someone else.

Biblical Perspective

• Lastly, every life has a purpose. God destined (or meant) for each of us to be born (Psalm chapter 139 verses 13-16). All life is important and shouldn't be wasted.

• Jeremiah 29:11 says “for I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

The Catechism of theCatholic Church

• “THOU SHALL NOT KILL” (section 2, art.5; 5th commandment)

• You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment. (Mt 5:21-22)

The Catechism of theCatholic Church

• 2258 “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.” (CDF, instruction, Donum vitae, intro. 5)

Respect For Human Life

• Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the fifth commandment: “Do not slay the innocent and the righteous.” (Ex 23:7)

• Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. (Cf. CDF, DÚnum vitae I, 1)

Respect For Human Life

• Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. (Jer. 1:5; Job10:8-12)

Respect For Human Life

• Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:

• You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the new born to perish. (75 Didache 2, 2: ÆCh 248,148; cf. Ep. Bárnabae 19, 5: PG 2 777; Ad D<ognetum> 5, 6: PG 2, 1173; Tertullian, Apol.¹9: PL 1,319-320.)

• God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes. (GS 51 § 3)

Respect For Human Life

• Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life.

• "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae" (CIC, can. 1398) "by the very commission of the offense,"(CIC, can. 1314) and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.

Respect For Human Life

• Latæ sententiæ is a Latin term used in the canon law of the Catholic Church meaning literally "given (already passed) sentence". Officially, a latae sententiae penalty follows automatically, by force of the law itself, when the law is contravened.

• Excommunication prohibits the exercise of certain baptismal rights, and may involve restrictions on participation in liturgical events and church governance, and the reception of church benefits.

Islamic Perspective

• Muslims regard abortion as wrong and “haram” (forbidden), but many accept that it may be permitted in certain cases.

• In principle, the Qur'an (the eternal contemporary of the Muslims) condemns the killing of humans except in the case of defense or as capital punishment

Islamic Perspective

• The Islamic view is based on the very high priority the faith gives to the sanctity of life. The Qur'an states:

Whosoever has spared the life of a soul, it is as though he has spared the life of all people. Whosoever has killed a soul, it is as though he has murdered all of mankind. Qur'an 5:32

Islamic Perspective

• The Qur'an makes it clear that a fetus must not be aborted because the family fear that they will not be able to provide for it - they should trust Allah to look after things:

Kill not your offspring for fear of poverty; it is we who provide for them and for you. Surely, killing them is a great sin. Qur'an 17:32• A slightly more liberal opinion is that abortion within the

first 120 days would be permitted if a child would be born with such physical and mental deformity as would deprive the child of a normal life.

Islamic Perspective

• The Islamic jurisprudence council of Mekkah Al Mukaramah (the Islamic World League) passing a Fatwa in its 12th session held in February 1990. This allowed abortion if the fetus was:

“Grossly malformed with untreatable severe condition proved by medical investigations and decided upon by a committee formed by competent trustworthy physicians, and provided that abortion is requested by the parents and the fetus is less than 120 days computed from moment of conception.” (Attributed, Mekkah Al Mukaramah, February 1990)

Islamic Perspective

• As for Islam life begins at conception and is created by God. The unborn child has certain rights such as the right to care, protection and life. Abortion on any grounds is forbidden in the Islamic holy book Al’ Quran. "Do not kill or take a human life which God has declared to be sacred." (Chapter 6, verse 151)

Random People’s Perspectives

• According to random surveys and interviews (2012) done by the researchers, majority of the people today consider abortion as immoral.

• Some religious people think that all human life is sacred, that life begins at conception, and so abortion is always wrong and some also believe that contraception is wrong, which leads to even more unwanted pregnancies. But a humanist would argue that the idea of sacredness is unhelpful if one has to choose between risking the life of the mother or the life of the unborn fetus.

Random People’s Perspectives

• Some (non-religious) moral thinkers have argued that full consciousness begins only after birth or even later, and so fetuses and infants are not full human beings with human rights.

• Doctors have a range of opinions on abortion, but tend to give the medical interests of the mother (which may include her mental health) the most weight when making decisions.

• Some doctors and nurses dislike carrying out abortions because they feel that their job is to save life, not to destroy it.

Random People’s Perspectives

• In the survey done by the researchers, 55 out of 56 randomly selected people stand that abortion is immoral and it should not be done by anyone. Abortion is an act that strictly violates the teachings of our Lord.

• It can be done only in the most severe cases like losing the life of the mother.

• Even though a lot of people would say it is immoral, abortion is still rampant in the modern world because of multiple reasons.

Common ReasonsBehind Abortion

• “I didn’t know it was a baby.”• “I was so ashamed and scared.”• “My boyfriend said I had to.”• “My doctor said the baby was deformed.”• “This isn’t a good time for a baby.”• “My mother pressured me into having an abortion.”• “I cannot sufficiently support my child.”• “I’m not yet ready for the responsibility.”• “My partner left me.”• “I am not finished with schooling yet.”

Moral Evaluation

• We are now living in a postmodern society where morality is no longer absolute. Almost everything is debateable. What is true to one might not be true to others.

• Before an act is judged as moral or immoral, there are three (3) determinants of human actions to be considered- the act itself, the motive or intention, and the situation the person is at.

Determinants ofHuman Action

• First, the act of killing is a premoral act which means that the act itself is neutral. It is either good or bad. But murder is certainly evil. It means killing or taking the life of an innocent person.

 • Second, the motive or intention which explains the “WHY” of

the action. It gives an idea of what the person wants to achieve or to happen. It tells us the purpose or goal of the certain action.

 • Third, is the circumstance surrounding the act. It is the certain

situation the person is at. This includes the external factors in the environment that influence the person to act in a particular manner.

Moral Evaluation

• In the case of induced abortion, the baby is murdered since he/she doesn’t threat or cause harm to the mother.

• The fetus is a human being starting from conception.

• The baby has the right to life.

Moral Evaluation

• Pregnancy happens when there is sexual intercourse involved.

• Women are placed in a dilemma between aborting the child and the social disgrace, foreseen difficulty, and heavy responsibility.

• Women are overwhelmed with fears and pressures thus push them to terminate the fetus but the locus of control is still in the hands of the mother. They can still choose not to abort the baby by keeping it from happening.

Moral Evaluation

• Yet, in this case, women submit to or allowed fear and pressure to overpower them which lead them to abortion. For that reason, the error is wilfully intended.

• The death of the fetus is due to the person’s own fault, so one is culpable. This is the kind of an erroneous conscience we call “Vincibly Erroneous Conscience.”

Moral Evaluation

• Induced abortion is violating the principle of The Inviolability of Life. The principle of the inviolability of life or the sanctity of life primarily states that life is sacred from the process of conception to its natural death.

Moral Evaluation

• Any human life is of infinite value as it is a God given gift. This principle applies to every human life and it can never be sacrificed by whatever means or for whatever reasons.

• Thus, it is immoral to intentionally terminate the pregnancy of a woman and to put an end to the life of the baby even if the fetus is still in the process of developing, he/she have all the basic natural right to life. The baby in the womb is not a threat to the mother to have a reason to eliminate the baby.

Moral Evaluation

• Abortion is the direct intentional killing of an innocent human being, and therefore it has to be regarded as murder. Whether it is yet unformed, the fetus is still a human being.

• Abortion goes against the value of “Respect for Life”. It devalues and degrades the worth of life. The fetus as a human being has the right to be respected and should not be considered as less valuable.

Moral Evaluation

• Imagine that millions of children were murdered in the name of convenience and comfort. When did it become moral to dehumanize the baby in exchange for convenient living? Never.

• It becomes easier to murder a fetus than murder an adult because these little creatures cannot defend themselves. We cannot see them begging for help nor hear their cries of how painful it is.

Moral Evaluation

• Sex issue becomes a ‘trend’ nowadays where people considered it as normal.

• What kind of morality will the next generation have if this “trend” will be passed on from one generation to another?

• It is God who breathed life in us; we do not have the right to take it away. Even if they were unplanned by the parents, God still has a plan for their lives.

Recommendations

• Chastity is saying no to sex.

• There are some situations where abortion would seem to be the only option when you are into the situation already. The best alternative to it is to let the baby develop in the womb of the mother for nine months and have legal adoption.

Recommendations

• On the other hand, if you will still continue to abort the child, the memory of your act will keep on bothering you.

• Its intensity may slowly fade as time passes by but the scar of the past will still remain. Do not withhold the life that the child deserves.

Recommendations

• To the women who have done abortion, you may tend to feel down and perhaps guilty about what you did.

• We recommend you to have post abortion counseling which includes the process of healing for their personal disturbances.

Recommendations

• We commend parents who made the decision not to terminate the baby, who bravely faced the consequences of their actions. The best way to help yourself and the baby is to find a livelihood to be able to provide the needs of the child.

• Remember that when you turn to God, He forgives. With that, He promised to help you in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Recommendations

• To the society, let us not keep our eyes from seeing the problems in our surroundings. The rampant abortion problem in our country is alarming.

• We believe that we can do something as part of this society by starting with its basic unit—the family--where values formation starts, acquired and nurtured.

Recommendations

• To everyone, let us not close our eyes, cover our ears, and zip our mouths regarding this issue. Currently, the issue on abortion is developing.

• With this, we can contribute to prevent its further development.

Recommendations

• Therefore, be very wise in making decisions since in a snap of a finger, your life might turn upside down.

• Take responsibility in everything you do.

• Live up to your values and principles. Do not lose your sensitivity to the point that you indulge into immoral acts.