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I will talk about this subject from the point of view of what I have read and understand about spirituality and also from what I have experienced first hand (references not included). Please feel free to criticise/add comments. This has been an extremely sensitive subject for both religious and non religious people alike. There are many differing laws on abortion and many more differing opinions. I am in no way an expert in this field and don't claim to be but I will 'give it a go' anyway. Lets look at a few points for consideration: From Wiki: Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of a fetus or embryo from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death.[2] An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species. In the context of human pregnancies, an abortion induced to preserve the health of the gravida (pregnant female) is termed a therapeutic abortion, while an abortion induced for any other reason is termed an elective abortion. The term abortion most commonly refers to the induced abortion of a human pregnancy, while spontaneous abortions are usually termed miscarriages. Some Points: 1. Christian mysticism tell us that every human being has an eternal component to them (the soul). After the human being dies, everything that is experienced is not lost but is kept by the soul. After a time, the soul incarnates into another human being and the process goes on [ref]. 2. There is no shortage of spirit souls wanting to incarnate in this world. From what I have read and heard, spirit souls are literally having to queue up in order to incarnate as human beings [ref]. 3. The theosophists/buddhists say that after birth, the spirit-soul is not concerned with the human individual for the first seven years of its life [ref.]. It is also important that, at this early stage, the child is not to overburdened with too many studies or activities which clamp down on its freedom of thought and activity (i.e., more creative activities or things which the child prefers to do is more beneficial) . This allows the formation of a proper connection between the spirit and the child (ref. Rudolf Steiner / Steiner Schools). 4. Another thing I must mention is that children are the one and only greatest gift from GOD to both men and women. There are many gifts from GOD but this one is at the absolute top of the gift list. It takes an enormous (and an unbelievably painful) amount of humility to know this directly [ref. = me]. Even if you lived for 500 years you may never come to this realization. This is how disconnected we are from GOD. Some buddhists say that when a child is conceived it is a miracle [ref]. I call it the 'miracle of miracles'. Not only because of the apparently small chances of fertilization during love-making [ref] but because of all the hidden, unseen forces that must come into play at the time of conception [ref]. Rationally, the odds are heavily stacked against conception. I'd guess by more than 10 million to one [documentary ref.] - yet it still happens and does so consistently. 5. An embryo or foetus has no physical consciousness [ref]. It may have a 'will' to live but it has not yet developed a 'free will'. The embryo / foetus may have an awareness [ref]. 6. There is a large amount of energy expended in conceiving and rearing a child and this taxes the energy from both the mother and father [ref.]. 7. If the child is unwanted, it may develop serious psychological problems both early on and later on in life. 8. One of the 10 Commandments states that 'Thou shall not murder'. Murder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with "malice aforethought", and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide (such as manslaughter). It seems that abortion could fall under a type of homicide such as manslaughter rather than murder. 9. There exist other divine laws which most of humanity may not be aware of. Such as the 'law of one' and the 'law of cause and effect', i.e., there may be serious consequences later on down the track for someone who deliberately sets out to terminate a pregnancy. 10. To have a child/children is a 'command' [ref.]. The shamans 'saw' that one of GOD's 'commands' was to have a child or children. The 'command' did not say that couples must continue having children [ref]. 11. A terminated embryo or foetus may continue to grow and develop in the afterlife [ref.]. This suggest that it will not have the same opportunities and experiences that it would have if it were to grow up in this physical world. It will not develop in the way we do as human beings. 12. There is a difference between a two week old embryo and and 9 month old unborn foetus. This difference is only physiological. Spiritually, the consciousness of a fertilized embryo and and 9 month old foetus are possibly the same [ref.]. 13. According to buddhism, the spirit enters the child when it takes its first breath [ref.]. 14. It is almost certain that an abortion will cause changes in the pregnant woman's personality and in some cases a female will develop serious, difficult to repair, psychological problems such as depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies. In summary: 1. There is an eternal soul which develops by 'acquiring' experiences from an incarnated human being. 2. There are many spirit souls wanting to incarnate in this world. 3. It takes seven years to develop a good human-spirit soul connection. 4. Its the 'miracle of miracles' to conceive a child. 5. An embryo or foetus has no physical consciousness. 6. There is a large amount of energy expended in conceiving a child. 7. If the child is unwanted it may develop serious psychological problems. 8. Abortion is likely to be classed as homicide rather than murder in the eyes of some civil laws. 9. Divine laws may be violated. 10. To have a child or children is one of God's commands. 11. A terminated embryo or foetus may continue to grow and develop in the afterlife. 12. There is only a physiological difference between a embryo and and 9 month old unborn foetus. 13. Spirit enters the child when it takes its first breath. 14. Woman's personality may permanently change for the worse after the termination of a pregnancy. Discussion: Now, if we were to terminate an embryo, we would deny the spirit-soul a chance at development as outlined in point 1. We could argue that the soul can then wait a bit longer and find somewhere else to incarnate as a human being. But remember in point 2. that there are many other souls waiting 'in queue' also. In other words we have denied the spirit-soul the only chance is has to incarnate for what could be a really long time to come. Point 3. would suggest that not much is lost by having an early termination due to the immature nature of the embryo, the lack of connection with the spirit-soul and the absence of any experiences. Point 4. states that a woman is given the 'miracle of miracles' and by termination she throws that gift away. It is unlikely that the embryo suffers during an abortion by point 5. It may have an awareness however, that it is going to be destroyed but this is not in the way in which we would understand it. If the child is unwanted it may develop serious psychological problems and may be detrimental to both the mother, father and child (points 5. and 6.) The child will probably develop psychological problems if it is raised by a mother or father that do not want it. This alone, I would think, does not completely justify terminating a pregnancy. You are not committing murder by terminating a pregnancy according to point 8 however it could be argued that you are killing a living entity and is a form of homicide. Point 9. suggests that there may be karmic consequences for the parents who deliberately terminate a pregnancy. These consequences my be big or small and occur later on in their lives. GOD's command is to have children but this does not mean you have to have a particular child from an unwanted pregnancy as mentioned in point 10. Point 11. suggests that it is better for a child to grow and develop in this world rather than in the after life. This possibly contradicts point 13. where there is no spiritual connection until the foetus takes its first breath. This implies no afterlife for an aborted foetus. The woman's mental health is affected in a permanent way in point 14 which is just one of many consequences from point 9. and point 6.. From a spiritual perspective, it is not a good idea to have an abortion. I'd say you would be in violation of GOD's laws. This, however, has never stopped humanity from violating other divine laws. Which other Divine laws is humanity continually violating ?.... probably all of them [ref.]. From a health perspective, it is not a good idea to have an abortion either. Bringing up an unwanted child is also not a good idea from a health perspective for the child or the mother and father. Should the free will of the host (pregnant woman) be respected, protected and upheld always (without any attempts to apply force to her or coerce her in any way) ? Would Jesus force anyone to do anything against their free will even if they were harming themselves or harming others ? Is breaking one divine law (taking away the free will of a pregnant woman) to fix another (sustain the life of an unborn child) the right way to go (both morally and spiritually) ? Conclusion: Abortion is an improper way of life. GOD is life. Abortion is death. Its the mother/father's choice - they have free will. They must, at least, be made aware of the consequences? ....Anyways, I must also spare a thought for the large number of unwanted children, homeless children, cases of child abuse, divorced parents, murders, senseless killings and horrible wars in this world. Perhaps I should've addressed these issues first eh ?