general, relaxed approach to abortion. This is mainly because Buddha tried to get away from making rules about anything. He told his followers not to believe anything either he or any other religious authority said simply on trust. The emphasis in his teaching was on investigating the teachings – testing them against personal experience to see if within yourself you find them to be true. Buddha’s First Precept states ‘I will not harm any living creature.’ Note that this doesn’t apply only to humans, so the question of whether or not a fetus is human doesn’t arise. If it accepted that a fetus is alive, it should not be harmed. The whole Buddhist approach to ethics in general can be summed up in one word – compassion. This is more important in Buddhism than any rules or doctrines. Compassion for the fetus is necessary, but also for the mother. Researching the issue leads me to believe that if a Buddhist felt a woman had made a wrong decision in having an abortion, they should extend compassion to her and not be judgmental. Most Buddhists feel that in principle abortion is wrong, or at least regrettable. However Buddhists believe one should always examine the circumstances and allow for exceptions, and not be condemning of those who arrive at a different conclusion. All of these religious views have had a great impact on society. For example, most of the United States population claims to be Catholic (Dombrowski 185). It would be hard to say that religious factors are insignificant considering Roman Catholicism is the leading opponent of abortion (Abernethy 15). When a woman in the United States decides to take upon herself the demanding task of receiving an abortion, it is quite serious. Of course the medical aspect has become easier and less painful over the years, but there is nothing that has reduced the emotional trauma that ensues. This trauma is experienced mainly by the wo...
