The Natural Law Theory for Abortion
Explain how a follower of Natural Law theory might approach the issues surrounding Abortion
The Natural Law theory takes a deontological approach to ethical issues like Abortion which is based on Thomas Aquinas’ view of Natural Law. Aquinas says that God creates human beings to fulfil their purpose to serve Him and our neighbour to bring us heaven and eternal life. In this aspect Natural Law followers would therefore say that a baby must be able to fulfil its life the way God planned it and this cannot be taken away from the child due to lifestyle reasons. Roman Catholicism is one of the main groups of followers of Natural Law and they believe that life is the most valuable gift from God to give us as humans and therefore we cannot destroy a life that is precious to God. It is not our decision to kill a life as Natural Law says that we are effectively playing God. Natural Law splits into Primary and Secondary precepts according to Aquinas. The Primary precepts are: Preservation of Life, Reproduction, Nurture and Education of the Young, Living peacefully in society and Worshipping God, Aquinas says that these precepts are a direct reflection of God's Eternal Law. These primary precepts outline the purpose of humans in the world. As Reproduction is a primary precept it is immediately obvious that destroying reproduction is wrong and is going against humanity’s purpose. You can also look at Natural Law in terms of Secondary Precepts. These precepts are dependent on what one actually need to do in a given situation and are open to faulty reasoning. These precepts should guide humanity towards flourishing. According to Natural there is a life from the moment of conception, therefore Natural would not look at the status of the embryo as every embryo is important as another for every one is a gift from God. This also does not take into account when does personhood occur and they would not look at potentiality. Therefore there is a person also from the moment of
The Natural Law theory takes a deontological approach to ethical issues like Abortion which is based on Thomas Aquinas’ view of Natural Law. Aquinas says that God creates human beings to fulfil their purpose to serve Him and our neighbour to bring us heaven and eternal life. In this aspect Natural Law followers would therefore say that a baby must be able to fulfil its life the way God planned it and this cannot be taken away from the child due to lifestyle reasons. Roman Catholicism is one of the main groups of followers of Natural Law and they believe that life is the most valuable gift from God to give us as humans and therefore we cannot destroy a life that is precious to God. It is not our decision to kill a life as Natural Law says that we are effectively playing God. Natural Law splits into Primary and Secondary precepts according to Aquinas. The Primary precepts are: Preservation of Life, Reproduction, Nurture and Education of the Young, Living peacefully in society and Worshipping God, Aquinas says that these precepts are a direct reflection of God's Eternal Law. These primary precepts outline the purpose of humans in the world. As Reproduction is a primary precept it is immediately obvious that destroying reproduction is wrong and is going against humanity’s purpose. You can also look at Natural Law in terms of Secondary Precepts. These precepts are dependent on what one actually need to do in a given situation and are open to faulty reasoning. These precepts should guide humanity towards flourishing. According to Natural there is a life from the moment of conception, therefore Natural would not look at the status of the embryo as every embryo is important as another for every one is a gift from God. This also does not take into account when does personhood occur and they would not look at potentiality. Therefore there is a person also from the moment of