Worldwide 42 million abortions are estimated to take place annually. Abortion means the deliberate ending of a pregnancy at an early stage. It is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo, resulting in or caused by its death.S. Dhammika thera said that abortion was a form of birth control where the fetuses was killed to prevent it form developing fully and being born. However abortion means the destruction of life.(S. Dhammika;2008:02)
In the time of Buddha the act of abortion defined as a intentionally taking the life of a fetus(gabbapata)regarded as a heinous crime. The jataka stories, petavatthu, some suttas give information of this. There are two methodologies as Anti-natal and post- natal or before conception and after conception and what Buddha disagrees is the destruction of life after its conception in the womb.
According to the teachings of Buddha, five conditions must be present to constitute an act of killing.
* the thing killed must be a living being
* you, the killer, must know or be aware that it is a living being
* you must have the intention to kill it
* there must be an effort to kill
* the being must be killed as the result
Here's an example of how an abortion might constitute an act of killing:
* When a baby is conceived, a living being is created and that satisfies the first condition. Although Buddhists believe that beings live in a cycle of birth death and rebirth, they regard the moment of conception as the beginning of the life of an embodied individual.
* After a few weeks the woman becomes aware of its existence and that meets the second condition.
* If she decides she wants an abortion that provides an intention to kill.
* When she seeks an abortion that meets the fourth condition of making an effort to kill.
* Finally the being is killed because of that action.
Therefore the First Precept of Buddhism - not to kill - is violated and this is tantamount to killing a human being.(WWW.BBC.COM)
According to Dalai Lama abortion would be approved or disapproved according to each circumstance. Some time it is necessary abortion to save mother and living mother is value than non born child. In such cases the moral status of an abortion will depend on the intentions of those curring it out.
According to Buddhism ordinary people can not completely control the accepted by the society. Buddhism always emphasis the importance of self-restrain in the sexual activities and advice is given to confine the activity to one1s selected partner.It could avoid the unnecessary pregnancy that leads to abortion.
