It is a fact that there is evidence of direct opposition in some Catholic and Christian texts, for example the Clement of Alexandria (Jones, D 2011). Most of these points of view are based on reference to the Christian Bible. The Catholic Church holds the position that life=life. What this means is all human beings are created in the image of God and, since conception the zygote is considered life. Pope John Paul II said in Washington that from conception, everything is considered human life since the earliest moment of fertilization (Paul, J 1979). Christians often cite Psalm 51:6 which states, "Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Old Testament, Psalm 51:6). Luke 1:15 states, “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth or from his mother 's womb (King James Version, Luke 1:15). This suggests that some religions such as Christianity, believe that life starts at fertilization and teaches that God inserts a soul into the zygote as soon as conception happens. Hence, abortion should be considered to be close to the murder of an innocent life qualified as an unborn baby in its first stage of development. Murder is considered the killing of a person or individual without justification or valid excuse; then if a zygote or a fetus is considered as a human being, abortion=murder. Olden expressed that anything that can lead to disrespect of human life must be punished because everyone deserves the right to life even if the individual is not born yet (Olen, J et al, 2005). The Catholic Church states: “From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1992). The Church condemns abortion as a sin and explains that it carries with it a penalty
It is a fact that there is evidence of direct opposition in some Catholic and Christian texts, for example the Clement of Alexandria (Jones, D 2011). Most of these points of view are based on reference to the Christian Bible. The Catholic Church holds the position that life=life. What this means is all human beings are created in the image of God and, since conception the zygote is considered life. Pope John Paul II said in Washington that from conception, everything is considered human life since the earliest moment of fertilization (Paul, J 1979). Christians often cite Psalm 51:6 which states, "Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Old Testament, Psalm 51:6). Luke 1:15 states, “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth or from his mother 's womb (King James Version, Luke 1:15). This suggests that some religions such as Christianity, believe that life starts at fertilization and teaches that God inserts a soul into the zygote as soon as conception happens. Hence, abortion should be considered to be close to the murder of an innocent life qualified as an unborn baby in its first stage of development. Murder is considered the killing of a person or individual without justification or valid excuse; then if a zygote or a fetus is considered as a human being, abortion=murder. Olden expressed that anything that can lead to disrespect of human life must be punished because everyone deserves the right to life even if the individual is not born yet (Olen, J et al, 2005). The Catholic Church states: “From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1992). The Church condemns abortion as a sin and explains that it carries with it a penalty