The primary foundation for this view rests upon the Church's belief in the "inviolable right to life" of every human being and its view of the embryo as an entity that "from conception must be treated as a person" (Abortion, 2008, p. 1). The view of the embryo as a "person," entitled to all moral and legal rights as a living human being, is the foundation of the Church's staunch anti-abortion stance.
Row v. Wade, which permits elective abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, is in contrast to the Church's view of personhood originating at conception. Pro-Choice advocates often argue that the embryo is not protected by legal or moral rights, since it is not viewed as a human entitled to such rights before birth. We see this contrast in the words of Barack Obama, who argues that viewing the embryo at conception as a human being with full rights is tantamount to overturning the legal protection for abortion provided in Roe v. Wade. As the Democratic Presidential candidate argues:
Whenever we define a pre-viable fetus as a person that is protected by the Equal Protection Clause or the other elements in the Constitution, what we're really says is, in fact, that they are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a child, a 9-month-old child that was delivered to term. That determination, if accepted by a court, would forbid abortions to take place.
The Church's view of the embryo as an innocent human being from the moment of conception serves as the basis for its total opposition to abortion at any stage of pregnancy. For by virtue of Christians viewing the embryo as a human being from the moment of conception, Christian belief that human life must be protected and it is sinful to take any other action applies. Ancient Christian doctrine and writings clearly prohibit abortion at any stage of development. Athenagoras condemns the killing of children, even those sti...