3- When a pregnancy occurs as a result of a sinful relationship, which is preferable? To kill the fetus while he does not feel pain or to allow him to be born, never knowing his mother or father and therefore possibly suffering some sort of psychological disorder as a result?

+ Nothing gives us the right to kill the fetus, for God has created him in His Image. Our role is to take care of him and raise him well, not to kill him as if we were trying to prevent him from facing pain. Otherwise God would have allowed us to kill anyone who will feel pain, which would be almost all the people on earth!

+ The fetus feels pain inside the womb and is aware of the emotional and physical states of the mother. If she is quiet, glad, in peace, angry, nervous, or in pain, he feels all these things. His feelings are reflected/manifested in his movements in the womb and by changes in his heart rate. One can observe similar effects on the fetus when he hears people’s voices as well as music and loud noise, which also indicate the fetus’s ability to experience and respond to various stimuli.

+ For those who might want a more detailed illustration of an abortion from the perspective of a fetus as he is being killed, they may want to watch the film, “The Silent Scream.”  Using ultrasound imaging, the film shows the womb of a woman during an abortion, where you can watch as the fetus tries to escape the surgical tool being used to kill it. After several attempts to escape, the fetus is ultimately killed by the tool as he screams with an open mouth of pain, with no one to hear it.

+ The Holy Bible teaches us that the life of the baby in the womb is a real life blessed by God. The life of the baby should not be touched or be harmed. Here are some verses:

- “Why then have You brought me out of the womb? Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!” (Job 10:18).

- “I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God.” (Ps. 22:10).

- “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.” (Ps. 58:3).

- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; she was created with the faithful in their mother’s womb.” (Sirach 1:16).

- “Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you: Fear not, O Jacob My servant.” (Is. 44:2).

- “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been upheld by Me from birth, who have been carried from the womb.” (Is. 46:3).

- “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1:5).

- “Because he did not kill me from the womb, that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb always enlarged with me.” (Jer. 20:17).

Just as God sees the baby in the womb of the mother as a person whom He created this way, so we too have to treat the baby with the same level of respect and honor for his humanity.

+ Concerning the baby’s life after birth, we should surround him with a loving atmosphere so that he grows up as normally as possible, regardless of the absence of his parents. We have examples of great people who succeeded in life despite growing up in the absence of their parents. His holiness late Pope Shenouda III is a good example. He grew up away from his father while his mother died a few days after his birth.

+ It is important in raising the child to deepen the conviction concerning the fatherhood of God and the motherhood of the Church from very young age. This relationship with God and the Church will support and satisfy him through a Father and a Mother at the highest level. When the child grows within this loving and warm spiritual atmosphere, along with involvement in the liturgical worship of the Church and her teaching, he will have a healthy, balanced psychological disposition.

(To be continued)