Abortion has become a highly polarised and toxic issue in our society. It seems as though those who argue for and against abortion lob verbal grenades at one another, without any kind of genuine dialogue or understanding. Very often there is no real engagement, or meeting of minds. But I believe that when we try to enter this battleground, our Christian task is first to listen and to understand, to empathise. Only in this way are we going to be able to speak with integrity, with authenticity and with compassion.
To start exploring this important topic, you can read my short introductions to some of the key themes:
- Abortion and infanticide in the ancient world
- Abortion in the modern world
- Contemporary secular philosophers on abortion and infanticide
- When is a person? Christian perspectives on the beginning of life
- Ethical dilemmas and compassionate responses to abortion
To go deeper into some of these issues, please take a look at some of the resources I have uploaded to the website:
- Sermon from All Souls Church on how Christians should face this issue
- Debate on abortion from the 2012 Battle of Ideas festival
- Academic article on ‘Medical paternalism and the fetus’
- Talk on the Christian approach to abortion from the 2009 New Wine conference
- Article on rights of conscientious objection for doctors asked to perform abortions
- Debate on ‘My conscience, your health, whose right to refuse’ on conscientious objection
- Talk on how to respond to a diagnosis of a life-limiting condition in a fetus
- Talk on ‘Caring for the weakest’: a paediatrician’s perspective on abortion
There is also plenty of more material on abortion in my book Matters of Life and Death, in particular chapter six.