1. Abortion and Fertility Treatment
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2. When do you think life begins?
Conception – when the sperm and egg meet and the cells begin to grow and divide?
When the fetus looks human?
When the fetus can feel?
When the brain has developed?
When the fetus is viable (could survive if it was born prematurely)?
When the child is born?
At another time?
Write a few sentences to say when you think life begins and why.

3. Development of a fetus

4. What is abortion?

5. The lesser of two evils
Some people believe that abortion is wrong because the fetus is alive and abortion kills it. However, they may say that, in some circumstances, although abortion is a bad thing it is better than allowing the pregnancy to continue. An example would be if the mother’s life was in danger if she continued with the pregnancy; it might be better to kill the fetus and save the mother rather than allow them both to die. This means that they choose the ‘lesser of two evils’ – neither is good but they choose the one that will cause the least harm.
You may choose to introduce a humanist perspective at this point. The British Humanist Association provides a non religious perspective on abortion at
Write a paragraph to say if you think abortion should be legal. You could either say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or ‘only in certain circumstances’. Explain why you think this.

6. Is abortion legal?
Before 1968 abortion was illegal in Britain. Many women went to ‘back-street abortionists’ who carried out abortions in poor conditions. This was very dangerous and so, in 1967, a law was brought in to legalize abortion and protect vulnerable women. This law came into effect in 1968.
The 1967 Abortion Act said that abortion is legal if:
two doctors agree that it is necessary
the fetus is not viable, i.e. before 24 weeks.
The doctors have to consider the following things:
would the baby be born with a physical or mental handicap?
if the woman continued with the pregnancy would it endanger her life, health or mental health?
if the mother had the baby, might it cause suffering for a member of the family who is already alive?

7. The 1967 Act said that the latest date for an abortion was to be 28 weeks.
In 1990 the date for abortions was reduced to 24 weeks. Some people believe that it should be much lower than this because medical techniques are much more advanced now and it is possible for a baby to survive if born earlier than this if it has the proper medical attention.
There is no limit to the date at which an abortion can be carried out if the baby might be handicapped or if the pregnancy threatens the health of the mother.

8. A doctor or nurse does not have to carry out or help to carry out abortions if they do not want to.
The father has no legal right when it comes to abortion. He cannot object and does not even have to be consulted.
Do you think that the father has as much right as the mother to decide whether or not to abort a baby?
Write a dialogue between a couple – she wants an abortion and he does not – what might they say to justify their points of view?

9. The sanctity of life When does life begin?
Are all lives of equal value?
These are issues that we all have to face when thinking about abortion.
Christians believe that all people are made ‘in the image of God’. They believe that their ‘body is a temple’ which has God’s spirit in it, and that every life was planned by God and so is a gift from him. The term ‘sanctity of life’ means that life is holy and should be respected. Christians believe that they should try to preserve life, not destroy it.

10. Are these Bible quotes for or against abortion?
All quotes are from the New International Version of the holy Bible.

11. Christians and abortion – the balance

12. What the Christian Churches think
More information about the Church of England’s position on abortion can be found at
The Methodist Church described its views at
The Catholic Church explain their view at Click on Catholic Info to find the link.

13. What the Christian Churches think
More information about what Christians believe about abortion can be found at
Students should be aware that although individual churches do have guidelines on abortion you will still find Christians in each denomination who can disagree in certain situations. This exercise should lead to some good discussion of various Christian traditions and the differing emphasis on being told what to do by the church leaders or allowing God to speak to them through the Spirit.
1. I am 15 and studying for my exams
Catholic – no, killing is always wrong
Anglican – no, the mother’s life or health is not in danger
Methodist – no, the mother’s life is not in danger (although some might say it is acceptable if the girl will get no support and so the child will suffer)
2. I was raped and hate the rapist and child
Anglican – yes, but only if she hates the situation so much that it might affect her mental health or make her want to commit suicide, otherwise no
Methodist – yes, but only if she hates the situation so much that it might affect her mental health or make her want to commit suicide, otherwise no
3. My husband has been abroad for six months, I’ll kill myself
Anglican – yes, as her life/mental health is at risk
Methodist – yes, as her life/mental health is at risk
4. We have 3 children in a two bedroom flat
Anglican – no, the life and mental health of the mother are not at risk. Adoption should be an option.
Methodist – yes, some Methodists allow abortions for social reasons like this. Others would say that she should have the baby adopted.
5. My pregnancy might kill me
Anglican – yes, to protect the life of the mother
Methodist – yes, to protect the life of the mother
6. I’ve been offered a good job
Anglican – no, there is no threat to the life and health of the mother, her motives are purely selfish
Methodist - no, there is no threat to the life and health of the mother, her motives are purely selfish

14. What is fertility treatment?
This slide provides students with a brief description of fertility treatment. Students could initially be asked if they can explain any of the terms in circles, before matching each description to a term.

15. What do religious people think about fertility treatment?
This is a cloze sentence exercise. Not all words are used in the text.
The completed text is provided below. You may wish to copy and paste this into a text document, and print copies for students to keep for reference. Alternatively you could delete words and students could complete the gap fill activity individually.
Christians, Jews and Muslims believe that children are a gift from God and sympathize with those who can’t have any. Christians and Muslims will agree with fertility treatment if it doesn’t involve a third party, so AIH would be allowed but AID would not; egg or embryo donation would not be allowed because that would break the sanctity of marriage.
When IVF treatment is used spare embryos are created. Sometimes these are experimented on to try to cure infertility or genetic diseases, at other times they are destroyed. Catholics don’t agree with this because they believe that life begins at conception so it is breaking the commandment ‘thou shalt not kill’.
Christians and Jews think that surrogate motherhood is wrong because it violates the marriage. Muslims say that surrogacy is only acceptable is the man is married to both the woman who gives the egg and the surrogate mother (Muslims are allowed to have more than one wife).
Jews will allow egg donation; many prefer that the egg should come from another Jewess so that the faith is carried on, but others say that this can be done through upbringing. Jews will allow AIH but not AID as it would be seen as a form of adultery, while IVF would be acceptable if the egg and sperm are not donated but come from the husband and wife.