Cultural and Religious Beliefs Regarding Abortion

Inquiry into
professional practice
Cultural and religious beliefs regarding abortion

Introduction
• Abortion remains a hotly contested topic most especially because of its cultural, legal
and ethical considerations. The Australian federal government does not have legal
provisions on abortion. Therefore, the legislation on abortion is defined by the states.
• People however stick to their religious and moral beliefs regarding the topic of
abortion. The general consensus about the public is that abortion is immoral and
irreligious and should only be permitted on certain circumstances otherwise dictated
by moral prejudice and beliefs.
• Abortion however is permitted within states and it sis estimated that there are about
74000 abortions in Australia annually despite cultural and religious constraints.
• Doctors and nurses are allowed to perform an abortion based on the mother's
requests with due regard to law, professional standards of practice and ethical
standards of practice.

Religious perspective
• Majority of people in Australia belong to various religious affiliations. There is a
great percentage of people who belong to Christianity and there is also a great
number of people who don’t subscribe to any religion whatsoever. Other religions
such as Islam and Buddhism only have a small proportion of the population. The
extent to which people conform to religious doctrines is relative however, about
30 percent of people have a staunch belief in their religion.
• For many religions, abortion is prohibited and it is termed as willful termination of
a child's life which is equated to murder. Life is believed to start at conception and
not at birth (Benson, 2018).
• Various controversies however remain unanswered especially regarding conditions
on when it should be permitted such as when a mother’s life is in danger.