educate yourself

Posted on: May 9, 2022 at 12:24:26 CT

Buddhists believe that life should not be destroyed, but they regard causing death as morally wrong only if the death is caused deliberately or by negligence.

Traditional Buddhism rejects abortion because it involves the deliberate destroying of a life.

Buddhists regard life as starting at conception.

"Buddhism believes in rebirth and teaches that individual human life begins at conception. The new being, bearing the karmic identity of a recently deceased individual, is therefore as entitled to the same moral respect as an adult human being."

- Damien Keown, Science and Theology News, April 2004

Buddhists are expected to take full personal responsibility for everything they do and for the consequences that follow.

The decision to abort is therefore a highly personal one, and one that requires careful and compassionate exploration of the ethical issues involved, and a willingness to carry the burden of whatever happens as a result of the decision.

The ethical consequences of the decision will also depend on the motive and intention behind the decision, and the level of mindfulness with which it was taken.

Buddhism and killing
According to the teachings of Buddha, five conditions must be present to constitute an act of killing.

1. the thing killed must be a living being
2. you, the killer, must know or be aware that it is a living being
3. you must have the intention to kill it
4. there must be an effort to kill
5. the being must be killed as the result

Here's an example of how an abortion might constitute an act of killing:

• When a baby is conceived, a living being is created and that satisfies the first condition. Although Buddhists believe that beings live in a cycle of birth death and rebirth, they regard the moment of conception as the beginning of the life of an embodied individual.
• After a few weeks the woman becomes aware of its existence and that meets the second condition.
• If she decides she wants an abortion that provides an intention to kill.
• When she seeks an abortion that meets the fourth condition of making an effort to kill.
• Finally the being is killed because of that action.
Therefore the First Precept of Buddhism - not to kill - is violated and this is tantamount to killing a human being.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/buddhistethics/abortion.shtml#:~:text=Buddhists%20regard%20life%20as%20starting,as%20an%20adult%20human%20being.

Edited by Spanky at 12:27:11 on 05/09/22