Introduction
Christians have been the radicals at the forefront of the abortion debate that has undoubtedly raged on in a sea of opinions for ages. People are differently opinioned when it comes to the sensitive subject that ignites a lot of medical, moral, and legal debates. The Christians still maintain a negative force towards abortion, which they identify as being against the doctrines of biblical teachings and morality. Christians maintain that an abortion amounts to the murder of an innocent person, and cite this together with other immorality arguments. In a country like the USA today, half of the pregnancies formed, especially among young people, are unwanted. Much to the annoyance and dismay of Christians, 21% of such pregnancies end up being terminated. The Christians have a list of moral arguments that they continually hope will end the vice in the society. The case remains centered on whether abortion is morally wrong.
The movie title Bella that was put together by director Alejandro Gómez Monteverde talks about the issue of religion as it relates to life. It uses the explicit character of Nina to do so. Nina is a young lady who works in in restaurant with Jose. She arrives late at the restaurant one day and is subsequently fired by Jose’s brother Manny who owns the restaurant. Not knowing what to so, abortion was the only solution that she deemed physically fit. Jose takes her to his parents’ house and tells her the story of how hitting and consequentially killing a young girl led to his prison term. Nina is welcome to stay at the house and encouraged against the abortion. The family is viewed as the ultimate symbol of life. The character of Nina is used to display how much life is valued in the religious circles. The family of Jose are religious and do not condor anti-life acts.
The first and most common debate is that one on whether abortion amounts to murder. The birth of a child begins at the conception stage, and they are given life when a mother conceives. Taking such life can, therefore, be identified as a murder. Christian doctrines, premised upon the Ten Commandments are undeniably against the killing of a human being. The argument is this view has been when life begins, and medical perceptions have pointed towards conception. Christians view life as being sacred and a gift from God. The doctrines that found the faith establish that it is only God, because of the position he holds, who has the right to take the said life. Humans are not mandated to do so, and that is why the sixth commandment forbids it. Therefore, because life begins at conception, Christians encourage people not to kill because it would be against the sixth commandment. Therefore, the killing of Nina’s child because of her situation would have been viewed as against the Christian principles that Jose’s family advocates. Their love of life is showcased when they adopt Manny.
Even though the movie has been criticized among Christian circles as having no actual representation or condemnation of the issue on abortion, the director used an indirect script to rebuke it. For instance, Jose adopt Nina’s child so that she does not have to abort her. Jose is the symbol of the value of life to which Christians usually base their arguments. The life of Bella was the most important thing and Jose felt a religious and moral obligation to protect that life. He uses his history of how he accidentally killed a young child to justify his need to adopt Nina’s child, which showcases the depth of how much life was valued in his circles. He goes to prison for the act. Clearly, the story is on how he murdered the little girl is meant to invoke some questions on murder and abortion. For instance, an audience might wonder on how hitting a child with a car, albeit accidentally, is murder and killing a living being through abortion is not.
Additionally, when talking about immorality, the issue of abstinence comes to mind. Naturally, the majority of the individuals who want to have an abortion did not practice abstinence. There are very few married people who opt for abortions, according to statistics. When abortion is taken lightly, more people continue to seek for the procedure. The morality of the concept of abstinence, therefore, loses meaning. According to Christians, abstinence is something that should be practiced because it compounds the doctrines of the bible. The issue of abortion undermines the concept and encourages the young people to engage in sex, which subsequently leads to unwanted pregnancies. With this in mind, Christians often cringe at the rising numbers of abortion cases because it limits the idea of abstinence. The issue of morality is highlighted through the character of Nina who obviously has something against conventional setups. She does not see the anything wrong with or about abortion. She is one of the people who could be highlighted as using abortion as a contraceptive. Her character is given the carefree person attribute where she is showcased as somebody who is not tied down by rules. Her continuous lateness to work and attitude are evidence of her carefree nature. Jose changes her view about many things and ignites her critical thinking on the value of life and morality of family conventions.
. A substantial amount of cases of abortions has had bad aftermaths to the mother. Christianity is against a person harming themselves or others in the society. It is for the same idea that a suicide is considered to be a crime. Furthermore, killing of a harmless being is an outright sin. Christians tend to believe that a child is a blessing and there is, therefore, no such thing as an unwanted pregnancy. The idea of a child being unwanted cannot justify the immoral and despicable act of aborting. The family of Jose is in support of this notion. There are so many people who would want babies and children in need of families that killing is not an option. The adoption of Manny and Bella is the ultimate example of that.
Conclusion
The above form a small portion of why Christians do not encourage abortions. The movie highlights so by concerning itself with exploiting the theme of the value of life. It is, of course, a vice in the society that needs to be cut off. Christians are aware of the immoral issues and are involved in warfare to turn society back on track in relation to abortion. However, there are some instances in which abortion is allowed. Such are cases with a strong medical background, where the life of the carrier is threatened. It is apparent that the effects of abortion surpasses any good reasons, of at all any exist, for its execution.
Bibliography
Davis, John Jefferson. 1984. Abortion and the Christian: what every believer should know. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co.
Lowen, Linda. "10 Abortion Arguments: 10 Arguments For Abortion, 10 Arguments Against Abortion." About News. January 1, 2014. http://womensissues.about.com/od/reproductiverights/a/AbortionArgumen.htm
