Abortion - a sin or not and can it be redeemed?
One common belief is that the basis of life lies in conception . However, neither medicine, nor the Bible, nor various religions, nor legal traditions support this position. Some early clergy (for example, Tertullian) showed their negative attitude towards abortion. At the same time, in early Christianity, it seems, abortion was not mistaken for murder.
Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas noted in the 13th century that the soul enters the body of a boy 40 days after conception and 80 days later into the body of girls . This formed the basis of church doctrine that was followed for many centuries - abortion was not considered a mortal sin.
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The decree of Pope Pius IX, issued in 1869, gives rise to a new belief - life begins at conception . It contains a provision that anyone who terminates a pregnancy at any stage will receive punishment - he will be excommunicated from the church.
In English common law, abortions were allowed until "revival", that is, until the first movements of the fetus were detected, this is approximately until the 5th month. Likewise, there was no significant regulation of this issue in the United States until the mid-1800s. Around 1900, the first laws regarding the topic of abortion began to appear, but the main reasons were the possibility of injury and death as a result of the practice of unskilled doctors, as well as the fight between rival factions over who would have the right to control the practice of medicine.
Is abortion considered a sin? Yes . His sin is that an unborn child is killed by its mother. But he is completely defenseless and cannot prevent this in any way. These are terrible pictures when a child dies without ever getting the opportunity to see this world, and will never be able to do this again. Moreover, conceiving a child is a gift from God. Therefore, killing a fetus becomes a sin that can be compared to taking the life of a person who has already been born.
Abortion becomes a heavy burden that falls on women's shoulders. Quite often it is said that their mothers dream of murdered unborn children. Meanwhile, women, after some time, come to the conclusion that if they had the opportunity to act differently at the decisive moment, they would not agree to an abortion.
This sin requires atonement . Children have a pure soul, killing them is a terrible crime. Only sincere repentance will allow you to take the path of redemption.
Abortion of children is a grave sin
According to statistics, only every third pregnancy ends in childbirth. Often young girls are not ready to have a child due to life circumstances - they are not married, they do not have their own home, money, or a career is in the foreground.
In modern times, abortion has become a standard medical service. In past centuries, termination of pregnancy was treated differently throughout the world.
Historical reference
In Ancient Greece and Rome, abortion was legal and not prosecuted unless instigated to harm the family. Women have terminated pregnancies using plant extracts that cause spasms and miscarriage.
Under Emperor Augustus, the demographic situation in the Roman Empire worsened. The country needed warriors. Therefore, restrictions were introduced for single citizens and a ban on abortion.
With the spread of Christian teaching, a negative attitude towards the deliberate removal of a fetus developed under the influence of morality, and not from the point of view of benefit to society. In the Middle Ages, abortion began to be considered a crime. In Europe, the murder of an unborn child was punishable by death, but then the sentence was commuted to hard labor and prison. Doctors and patients were threatened with punishment.
Consequences
Abortion deals a heavy blow to a woman’s body and psyche:
- the menstrual cycle is disrupted, “unscheduled” bleeding occurs more often;
- the risk of developing diseases of the reproductive system and ectopic pregnancies increases;
- Immunity decreases and hormonal balance is disrupted, which leads to depression.
Termination of pregnancy always has consequences, even several years after the operation. The most common is the inability to get pregnant again. It is this “side effect” that becomes retribution for the sins of youth, forcing us to remember that children are a gift from God.
Priest's opinion
The immutable truths that debunk prejudices and false speculations are the first commandment, “Be fruitful and multiply,” and the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” The life of a child begins from the moment of fertilization.
A new soul must come into the world according to the law established by God. But man goes against His Will and destroys the vessel prepared for the new soul.
The rise of material goods over spiritual ones and the cultivation of a consumerist attitude towards life led to the fact that people began to benefit from abortions. In past centuries, peasants had to work hard to feed a large family. Abortion allows you to escape responsibility and continue to live in vice.
There are situations when pregnancy threatens a woman’s health or it ends in a premature involuntary miscarriage. Some priests oppose abortion even in this case. In other parishes, it is practiced to assign a penitential prayer rule without excommunication from the Eucharist. But this is how things stand if a woman is a church member and has consulted with her confessor.
The decision to have an abortion seems simple and logical to a person far from religious and social debates. This possibility is even associated with the progress of science and technology. But after the procedure, it is not relief that comes, but emptiness and a feeling of guilt.
The surging depression can be attributed to those same physiological consequences, hormonal imbalance. But it is so difficult to fight it that even non-believing women go to church and confess.
Public opinion
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Along with the position of the church, some activists who proclaim the ability to choose have a different opinion. They accept a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy as part of her right to make her own choice, free from any legal restrictions. In addition, abortion does not have any fundamental differences in comparison with other forms of birth control.
If abortion is allowed at the legislative level, then this is not coercion to resort to it, activists say. At the same time, their position does not take into account the fact that most of the adopted legislative acts arose as a result of moral problems, and there is a fairly long history of how moral opposition to abortion and regulation of its practice at the legislative level.
You can light candles for the repose of aborted children, but in an informal manner
Orthodox publicist Sergei Khudiev speaks about it this way:
“Our relationship with God is personal, not formal.
In prayer, you can ask him for anything - in the Holy Scriptures, God calls himself the Father, the one to whom you can turn with deep trust.
As the Holy Apostle Paul says, “Because you did not receive the spirit of slavery [to] again [live] in fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry: “Abba, Father!” (Rom.8:15).
Sergey Khudiev
journalist
The word “Abba”, which the Apostle uses here, means a very close, family appeal of a native child to the Father, like the Russian “papa” or even “father”.
God is not a formalist; if you turn to Him with a heartfelt request, He will hear it. Therefore, if you are concerned about the eternal fate of the baby, you, of course, can pray to God for him.”
Attitude of Christianity today
The first argument of Christianity's position on abortion:
- regarding rape situations;
- incest.
A baby who was conceived due to the above reasons can be given up for adoption to a loving family that cannot have a child themselves . Also, a child can be raised by his mother. After all, in fact, nothing is his fault, so why should he be held responsible for the bad actions of his male parent?
The second argument follows from a frequently asked question regarding the risk to the mother’s life and the possibility of having an abortion procedure to save her. It is quite difficult to answer this question. First, you need to remember that this situation happens quite rarely (less than 0.1% of cases). At the same time, most women resort to abortion not to save themselves, but to create convenience for themselves.
Secondly, God will be able to save the life of a woman and her child, regardless of medical diagnoses . Ultimately, the solution to the problem depends on the man, the woman and the Lord. A couple facing this difficulty should pray to God for wisdom (James 1:5) regarding what He wanted them to do.
About the author About the book
More than 95% of abortions are performed by those representatives of the fair sex who simply do not want to have children. Less than 5% are cases based on rape, miscegenation or poor maternal health. However, even for such reasons, you should not put termination of pregnancy in the first place, you should not consider this as the only way out of the situation. A person already lives in the womb, and it is worth it to give him the opportunity to be born.
Christian believers, along with society, do not have a clear position. There is no single decision in which cases abortion is permissible.
Surveys of the population were conducted regarding their attitude towards abortion. The results look like this:
- 28% support the legalization of abortion, regardless of the reasons that led to it;
- 17% support the position that abortion is illegal regardless of the circumstances;
- 54% say that abortion should be allowed for a certain list of reasons.
Causes of great trouble
There are several reasons for this exorbitant increase in the number of abortions. These are the disasters that our people have experienced and are experiencing over the past more than 100 years. But, of course, there is also a direct informational and psychological impact on our people in order to prevent these atrocities from decreasing. I remember that not so long ago in the State Duma of the Russian Federation some lady deputies foamed at the mouth and defended, in their words, “a woman’s freedom to dispose of the fruit of her womb.”
It turns out from these verbiage that the freedom of a Russian woman does not consist in having wealth, a loving, caring husband, a large family, also consisting of several wonderful little ones. And to kill your own children before they are born!!!
Useful materials
The entire way of life of today's people makes a special contribution to the increase in the number of abortions. When the desire to achieve certain earthly benefits and a corresponding position significantly prevails over the desire to have children.
For example, this is how our system of education and subsequent employment is structured. When young people at the age most convenient for conception and childbearing are forced to study for a long time, and then achieve something else, endlessly postponing the conception and birth of a child that prevents them from doing so, even if they want to have children. Well, unwanted pregnancies are often terminated through abortion.
The general propaganda of fornication and debauchery also contributes to this infanticide. When corrupted youth, and others too, love to “ride” in this dirty business, but then do not like to “drive the sled” in the form of inevitable consequences. Koi are also eliminated in the same way as in the previous case.
This state of affairs is the greatest problem, which is the most terrible danger for our people! Because if this problem is not solved, then after a while he will simply disappear.
The dangers of abortion for women's health
Unfortunately, the awareness of the female population about abortion is quite low. As a rule, it is limited to the knowledge that termination of pregnancy is based on suction or curettage of the fetus. However, not everyone is aware that abortion is one of the common causes of female death.
Termination of pregnancy has a strong negative impact on a woman’s health, since from the first days of pregnancy the body begins to undergo restructuring, in particular this applies to both the nervous and hormonal systems. As a result, abortion entails severe hormonal imbalances and nervous breakdowns that affect the entire body. In turn, hormonal imbalances can lead to disturbances in reproductive function and the menstrual cycle. With each abortion, the chances of conceiving and carrying a child drop rapidly . In addition, there is a risk that inflammatory processes in the genital organs will worsen.
Menstrual irregularities may consist in the fact that menstrual flow begins to occur less and less often and be scanty, or, conversely, to come more often and abundantly. Also, menstruation may stop altogether or cause uterine bleeding. The period of menstrual bleeding can become much more painful . Approximately 12% of women who had an abortion experienced such negative consequences. Most often they are the result of curettage.
The negative consequences of abortion also affect the development of thyroid diseases, which also affects the entire body.
The adrenal glands also suffer from abortions - metabolism is disrupted, the production of male hormones begins in larger quantities, which can be seen both at the external and psychological levels (in particular, the woman will become unstable to stress) levels.
The pituitary gland is also susceptible to the negative influence of abortion, and this can lead to disruption of the reproductive system and infertility.
A greater degree of dangerous consequences of termination of pregnancy is typical for women who do not have children . Since with the onset of pregnancy the female body begins to rebuild, the reverse process may not follow immediately. If an abortion is performed by a woman who has already given birth, the reversal may take three to four months. At the same time, a woman who has not given birth will need a year, or even more.
Also, in 25 out of 100 cases, abortion during the first pregnancy results in infertility . With this in mind, it is very important to carefully select the clinic where the abortion will take place.
Spiritual aspects
However, let's talk about the spiritual component of this sin. In this regard, it is burdened by several circumstances at once. Firstly, a mother kills her own child, which, of course, is extremely disgusting and inhumane! Secondly, the soul of this unborn child, as if it was not baptized, goes to hell to be tortured.
Let us dwell in more detail on this part of church teaching. In the Russian Orthodox Church there are those who think wrongly and falsely teach that, supposedly, the souls of unbaptized infants, as those who have not done evil, go to heaven. It is impossible to agree with this, since this false teaching clearly contradicts Orthodoxy.
According to which we are all conceived and born, although without personal sins, but with original sin.
As the prophet and psalmist David says about this: “Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins” (Ps. 50: 7).
David was conceived and born from legally married parents. What kind of lawlessness and sin is he talking about? And about the firstborn, in which we are all born, and which is washed only in the Sacrament of Baptism. If he is not washed by this Sacrament, then unbaptized infants, as having this sin, go to hell.
Prayer before abortion
The conspiracy can relieve psychological stress, ensure a successful abortion, and free one from negative karma.
Forgive me, Lord, for my actions. Forgive me and, my fruit, that you will not become a man. You will not have your own destiny and your soul will not be able to incarnate in you.
Lord, be my witness during this medical act and save me from severe moral and physical complications and consequences after this. Protect me from the judgment of people and the discontent of loved ones and give me the opportunity to become a mother another time, when I am ready for this and when circumstances are favorable to me. And now I am going for an abortion and doing it consciously, so as not to cripple the life of either myself or my potential child, since now is not the time for me to give birth.
Take this guilt away from me, Lord, and spare the one who caused my pregnancy and abortion. Make it so, Lord, that he and I will feel good and calm in the future, so that over time we can afford to give birth to a healthy and strong baby. Our destinies and the threads of time are in your hands. Save us from illnesses, troubles, mistakes and evil. Make us happy and forgive...
Khantaa ular.
Prayer of a girl who had an abortion
There are several prayers that women can recite after an abortion.
A woman’s prayer for the souls lost in her womb:
Remember, O Lord who loves mankind, the souls of Your departed servants, the infants who in the womb of Orthodox mothers died accidentally from unknown actions, or from a difficult birth, or from some carelessness, or who were deliberately ruined and therefore did not receive Holy Baptism. Baptize them, O Lord, in the sea of Thy bounty and save with Thy ineffable grace, and forgive me, a sinner (name), who committed the murder of the baby in my womb and do not deprive Thy mercy. Amen.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary:
Open the doors of mercy to us, Blessed Mother of God, who hope in You, so that we may not perish, but may we be delivered from troubles by You, for You are the salvation of the Christian race. Rejoice, One Most Pure Mother of the One Creator, Lord, God and Savior of ours, Jesus Christ! Be my Intercessor on the day of the terrible trial, when I appear before the Throne of the Unfeigned Judge, so that I may be delivered from the fiery punishment of torment through Your prayers, O Blessed One. Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
Appeals to the Lord:
O Master, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God! Much of Your goodness, for our sake and for our salvation, man was clothed in flesh, and crucified, and buried, and with Your Blood renewing our corrupted nature, accept my repentance for sins and hear my words: I have sinned, O Lord, in Heaven and before You, in a word , deed, soul and body, and thoughts of my mind. I transgressed Your commandments, did not listen to Your commandment, angered Your goodness, my God, but as Your creation exists, I do not despair of salvation, but boldly come to Your immeasurable Compassion and pray to You: Lord! in repentance, give me a contrite heart and accept me as I pray and give me a good thought, give me tears of tenderness, Lord, let me, by Thy grace, make a good beginning. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me who has fallen, and remember me, Thy sinful servant, in Thy Kingdom, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
- Prayer for murdered babies;
- Read here a prayer for the birth of a healthy child;
- The 10 commandments of God and the 7 deadly sins - https://bogolub.info/10-zapovedej-i-7-grexov/.
The rule of Schema-nun Antonia is not Orthodox practice
Literature on how to pray for aborted children, baptize them and give them a name has become popular on the Internet. These tips have nothing in common with the Orthodox tradition. Priest Maxim Obukhov sharply criticized the ideas set out in the “Rule”.
He reminds how to atone for sin for aborted children - to confess and perform penance. But the schema-nun’s formulations like “Lord, have mercy on my children who died in my womb,” from his point of view, are doubtful.
As Priest Obukhov notes, a sinner guilty of terminating a pregnancy should seek mercy and think about how to atone for the sin for aborted children, but not beg for babies.
That is, formally this is a Christian prayer, but not accepted by the Orthodox tradition.
Opinion of an Orthodox priest on the Rule of Schema-nun Anthony
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