Voice over:
Imagine you were pregnant and you found out the child you were having was disabled.Would you have an abortion?
Marie:
To me abortion would be playing God. How dare I decide on who gets to live and who doesn’t.
Voice over:
But what if you were 17 and you got pregnant by mistake, and you really didn’t want a baby.Shouldn’t you have the right to end the pregnancy?
Anna:
I have the right to choose when exactly I want to be a mother and if I want to be a mother at all.
Voice over:
What’s your opinion?
Two very personal views of an age-old ethical dilemma.
What are the rights and wrongs of abortion?
Anna:
My name’s Anna and I believe that anyone who gets pregnant should have the right to an abortion.
I was 17 and I had been with my boyfriend throughout all of high school. He was my first love. We were young and weren’t careful enough when it came to sex. We didn’t use condoms as often as we should of and there were consequences.
I had a pregnancy test and it was positive. I sat there for a really long time. what I was going to do. Then I had to go to school, which was awful. That day was a really terrible day. I couldn’t really tell anybody. I definitely felt really stupid – I had made a giant mistake and I was being punished in a way.
I decided that I needed to have an abortion - I was too young to be a parent at 17. I didn’t want to be a parent because I was still a kid.
I believe we have to think about what kind of life that a potential child will have. It’s not fair to bring a child into the world if it isn’t wanted. Some people talk about the rights of the unborn foetus and that you’re ending something before it begins, and I think that idea was one of the hardest things for me to deal with. But if something can’t exist outside the body of the mother on its own – how alive is that really? I was only 6 weeks pregnant. When I had the abortion it was just a bunch of cells.
To me, life doesn’t really start until birth, or at least until the foetus is viable and can survive outside of the mother’s body.
I don’t feel bad about it, I don’t ever feel guilty, it was just what I needed to do. I think the rights of the mother trump the rights of the foetus.
The decision to have the abortion completely changed my life. Just in the way that I was able to live my life in the way that I’d imagined it in my head. So I was able to go to university. I could learn everything that I wanted to be learning. I worked really really hard. I was able to come to London where I met all the people I live with now. Eventually I’d like to go back to do my PHD, I really want to teach.
When I was 17 I was naive and I made a mistake. But should I be made to pay for that and have to put off all my dreams and ambitions, when I really didn’t want to be a mother? I just want other young people to know that they have a choice – there is a genuine choice. You have the right to decide what to do with your body and what to do with your life. I have the right to choose when exactly I want to be a mother and if I want to be a mother at all. I don’t regret making that decision. Abortion was a positive thing for me.
Voice over:
Abortion is legal in Britain but opinions are divided about when and how easily women should have access to the procedure.Here’s a different perspective on the debate.
Marie:
My name’s Marie Tyler and I believe every unborn child has a right to life.
When I first found out I was pregnant we were over the moon. It was really happy and welcome news. A whole mix of emotions goes through your mind when you see them on that screen. For me life begins at conception. Although it’s in its simplest form it does have that potential to be fully human. I also believe it has a soul at that point as well.
We had the test to find out whether we were having a child with Down’s syndrome. We were told that it was high risk. I didn’t know anything about Down’s syndrome at that point. I knew there was learning disability with it. For me that would be a wrong thing to do and I think that you must live with that forever. I come from a Christian background and to me abortion would be playing God, really – how dare I sort of decide on who gets to live and who doesn’t?
I do believe that life is sacred and that everybody has a right to be here no matter who they are, what they’ve got and haven’t got. Our duty was to look after that child and principally to love that child and that they were going to be here no matter what.
Hannah is a happy little girl. Amongst people she’s familiar with wants to be the centre of attention. Communication can be difficult so I’ve learnt sign language. We have had another child since. At this particular point in time, I have to say she’s quite jealous of her brother but she’s coming round actually.
It’s not been a picnic with Hannah but not a day would I change. I trust that no matter how difficult the circumstances that the best will come from that situation and that that child has a right to live.
Some women might say that it’s their right to decide what happens to their own body. I have to say I don’t actually believe that.I just feel that life is sacred and you don’t have the right to take it. I know, at the beginning it might be just that life in its simplest form but nevertheless it’s life.
These children have so much to teach us. And I think those differences should be celebrated, not obliterated.
Voice over:
Representatives of different faiths and beliefs were asked how they felt about the issue of abortion.
Khola:
The Islamic scriptures tell us that the soul is breathed into the foetus 6 weeks after conception and then it becomes a living creature. It is a servant of god, it is a creature of god and to abort it is to murder it. But you know this whole concept of unwanted pregnancy is not actually accepted in Islam. That you can say that ‘I don’t want this child, it was an accident’, because if you are mature enough to, you know, to enter into a sexual relationship then you have to accept the consequences and pregnancy is one of those.
God decided to send that child into this world for whatever reason – a test for the child, a test for the parents, a test for society. And we have to learn to respect and love and cherish everybody around us no matter what they look like and what their conditions are.
Zoe:
The Humanist perspective on this is that an embryo is not a baby, a foetus is not a baby, an egg is not a baby, a sperm is not a baby, a baby is a baby. At the core of the humanist message is that the person carrying the child, the person growing the foetus is the person who’s feelings matter, because that’s the person who, when the foetus becomes a baby – if it does, will love it and will have to love it for the rest of it’s life.
A mother who wants a baby and will give a baby a wonderful life will of her own accord and with no compulsion grow a foetus into a baby and a mother who doesn’t want a baby and who doesn’t feel ready, should have no compulsion.
There’s no such thing as an unnecessary abortion. Any woman who’s pregnant by accident who doesn’t want a baby is having a necessary abortion.
David:
For Catholicism the key principle is the unborn child is a child and so deserves protection.
At 6 weeks a child has arms and legs and a beating heart. So the view on abortion is simply that the child is not protected any less or any more than a child outside the womb. The direct killing of the child the targeting of the child is something which is not permitted in Catholicism.
Jay:
If a foetus is seriously deformed and the parents decide that rather than allow this individual to survive and struggle all his or her life, let us abort so that particular individual will get the opportunity to be reborn in a healthier foetus might as well abort. So this would be understandable.
But if somebody says, ‘Look, this was an unplanned pregnancy, so we wish to terminate it, or perhaps the gender of the foetus is not right for us lets terminate it,' then the Hindu faith will go strongly against it and say this is not a good reason for aborting or taking life.There will always be issues on the borderline, so there is no clear so how do we decide – the Hindu religion says: look, it’s nice to fall back on your scriptures, on the teaching of your mentors and gurus etc, but in the final instance it is you as an individual or as a family who must make a decision.
Jonathon:
Judaism sees abortion as a very serious matter. It’s not murder and there are circumstances in which it is permitted. But at the same time Judaism doesn’t tell us that we own our bodies and have the right to do with them whatever we wish. The grounds on which abortion is widely permitted is if the pregnancy is damaging to the mothers health or threatens the mothers life.
There is more range of opinion when it comes to the emotional health or the spiritual health of the mother. If it’s felt that having this particular child would be just too much and the person could not cope, then there would be those who would take a more lenient view of abortion.
Voice over:
So now so now you’ve heard two very personal views on this question – from Anna and from Marie - and a range of other beliefs as well.
So what do you think?
What are the rights and wrongs of abortion?
Video summary
An exploration of some of the ethical and moral questions around the issue of abortion, focusing on Anna and Marie, whose life experiences have left them on contrasting sides of the debate.
Anna, having had an abortion at the age of 17, believes everyone should have the right to choose if they want to be a parent. Marie, a mother of a young daughter with Down’s Syndrome, believes that every child has the right to live.
This poses the question: What are the rights and wrongs of abortion?
Abortion is legal in the UK; however, this has not always been the case.
In, 2019 Northern Ireland decriminalised abortion, applying the same laws and principles as the rest of UK. Previously, a woman could only terminate a pregnancy if her life were at risk, or there was danger to her mental or physical health. These relatively recent events have placed the issue back into the spotlight. Opinion remains divided over when and how women should have access to the procedure.
This short film explores the moral and practical issues of abortion, from both religious and non-religious perspectives. It provides students with the opportunity to evaluate a range of beliefs, prior to consolidating their own viewpoint.
This clip is taken from the BBC Two series, Matters of life and death.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS FILM INCLUDES DISCUSSIONS ON ABORTION. TEACHER REVIEW IS RECOMMENDED PRIOR TO USE IN CLASS.
Teacher Notes
The clip provides two contrasting views regarding abortion.
Anna believes that anyone who is pregnant should have the right to an abortion. At 17, she was in a relationship with her first love, when she became pregnant. She was not ready to be a mother and considered herself to still be a child. She felt as if she was being punished for one mistake. Anna believes that it would be unfair to bring an unwanted child into the world. She does not consider that a foetus has any rights, as it could not exist outside of the body of its mother. Having had an abortion at six weeks, she does not feel any regret. The decision has allowed her to live her life the way in which she wanted. Anna ultimately believes that women should have the right to choose when and if they become mothers.
Contrastingly, Maria believes that every unborn child has a right to life. For her, life begins at conception and every foetus has a soul and the potential to be fully human. Maria comes from a Christian background and as such believes that life is sacred, we have no right to take it. When Maria was pregnant with her daughter, she was informed that she had a high risk of being born with Down's Syndrome. She went ahead with the pregnancy, placing her trust in the belief that no matter how difficult the circumstances, good would always come from it. Although raising her daughter has been challenging at times, she would not change a day and believes that we should celebrate and learn from everybody’s differences.
The clip concludes with representatives from various faiths and humanist societies, explaining their views on abortion and linking them to their belief systems.
Before watching the film:
Issues addressed within the clip may well personally affect students within the classroom.
You should preview the footage, to familiarise yourself with the content and enable you to pre-warn students of its sensitive nature. Specifically, the clip references teenage pregnancy and abortion and delivers personal testimonies in relation to these issues. You should be equipped to signpost students to relevant support agencies should the topics discussed raise personal concerns.
You will need to approach with sensitivity and remind pupils to be empathetic towards others were there are differing viewpoints.
You may find it useful to introduce or revisit ‘ethics’ prior to watching the clip. You may wish to explore the following:
- What is an ‘ethical issue’?
- What should form the basis of our ‘ethical decisions’?
- What is quality of life?
- What is UK law around abortion and how does this compare with other countries?
- What is Down's Syndrome and how does it impact on the lives of people who are born with the condition?
- Discussion of medical terminology such as embryo and foetus.
During clip:
You may find it beneficial to pause the video in order to check for understanding. The following questions make useful discussion points:
- At 17, was Anna in a position to be a mother?
- At what age are people ready for parenthood? Why might this differ for everyone?
- What factors could be considered when deciding whether to have a baby?
- Does a foetus have rights?
- Does a foetus have a soul?
- How might Anna's life have been different if she had of gone ahead with the pregnancy?
- Is a teenager equipped to make the decision to have an abortion?
- What might be the short-term and long-term emotional effects of abortion?
- What might life have been like for women prior to abortion laws being introduced into the UK?
- Does Maria's daughter have quality of life?
- Why do you think that 90% of pregnancies are terminated if the foetus has a risk of Down's Syndrome?
- How might someone with Down's Syndrome or a parent of someone with Down's Syndrome, feel about these statistics?
- Up to what point of the pregnancy should abortions be permissible?
- Are there any circumstances under which an abortion should not be allowed?
- Who should make the decisions around whether a woman should be allowed an abortion?
- Should the father be given any rights over the foetus and a role within the decision-making process?
- Who has more rights – the mother or the unborn child?
Following on:
You could support students in consolidating their learning, deepening their understanding of the issue and applying exam skills in context. Suggested tasks:
- Lead a class discussion or debate around the question ‘What are the rights and wrongs of abortion?’. This could be informal or more structured. The class could be divided into smaller groups and students could be asked to research arguments to represent a particular viewpoint e.g. Humanist, Hindu, Sikh. Alternatively, students could be asked to do their own independent research with some guidance, in order to participate in a free-flowing debate. This could also be carried out in the form of a ‘silent’ debate, having students write down their responses on large sheets of paper or tables. Students could be encouraged to respond to each other to develop evaluative skills.
- Signpost students to campaign groups supporting both anti-abortion and pro-choice. Explain the difference between the two viewpoints and ask students to research them.
- Present recent statistics in relation to abortion. This is available on the government website. Ask students to evaluate data and explain trends. They could then compare this with other European countries and consider factors which may have an impact on these figures.
- In relation to religious responses, students could be presented with a collection of scripture or religious teachings relating to the religions which they are required to study. This could be in the form or a card sort (separating those arguments for and against) and they could then be asked to explain the rationale behind their choices.
- Organise and deliver a carousel task, allowing students to collate information regarding different religious viewpoints. This could be related to specific questions or they could be asked to fill out a grid which they could use to compare beliefs.
- Facilitate an in-depth study into one religious perspective (individually or in groups) and present this to the class who could take notes.
- Ask students to complete a timeline relating to abortion laws in the UK. Ask them to evaluate key changes with respect to a change in the role of women throughout recent history.
- Consider the implications of abortion being previously illegal in the UK and evaluate the impact of such legislation. They could then compare this to abortion laws globally and use specific countries as case studies. Ask students to analyse whether there is a correlation between abortion laws and women’s rights.
- Complete an in-depth case study into legislation changes in Northern Ireland. This could include a study of Human Rights legislation and consideration of the legal challenges posed in response to the law change.
- Students could be asked to complete a ‘Venn Diagram’ in which they identify similarities and differences between two religious viewpoints.
This short film will be relevant for teaching Religious Studies.
This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC KS4/GCSE in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4/5 in Scotland.
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