GCSE RE Revision & Homework Booklet:

GCSE RE Revision & Homework Booklet: Name:.. Topics of study: 1. Religious teaching on the Sanctity of Life 2. Whose choice is it anyway? 3. Is there anything medicine cannot do? 4. Medical Ethics Key Words: Conception: the moment life begins, when a human egg is fertilised, the start of pregnancy. Embryology: experimenting with embryos and early life forms, the science of how living things grow and develop, dealing with embryos and life at its very beginning. Quality of life: the extent to which life is meaningful and pleasant, being free from undue pain, anxiety and stress, when a person feels of value and able of contribute to life. Transplants: To remove a body organ and replace it in a different body, placing an organ from a donor to save another life. 1

Sanctity of life: Life in all forms is sacred, life is precious and priceless, and no one should take or deny life. Search sacred texts (Bible) for references or beliefs about the issue. Analyse intentions and measure them against religious teachings. Seek guidance through prayer. HOW DO BELIEVERS DECIDE WHAT IS RIGHT IN MODERN MEDICAL ETHICS? Think about the main principles of the religion they belong to. Discuss the matter with others e.g. a priest, minister or imam. Consider the effect on themselves and others. Every Life Matters Most people whether they are religious or not would agree that human life is something special. They also agree that human life is unique and special. Great efforts should be made to preserve life not destroy it. What does Christianity and Islam teach about Sanctity of life? Christianity God is involved in every human life Life is sacred and a gift from God Only God should take life away Jesus taught that all life should be valued Islam Every soul has been created by Allah Allah has a plan for each life No-one has the right to take their own or anyone s life 1.) Explain what religious believers mean by the sanctity of life. [2] 2.) Explain how a belief in life being sacred might affect religious believers. [4] Human life must be preserved at all costs 3.) Give two reasons why a religious believer might agree or disagree with this statement. [4] 2

2. Whose choice is it anyway? The Quality of life is about the ability to: To feel valued and capable of contributing to life To find life meaningful and pleasurable Free from pain and undue stress Medical Ethics concerns: A code of conduct in identifying what is good medicine or treatment The process of deciding what is good and acceptable in medicine All doctors make a promise known as the Hippocratic Oath, to use their skills to do their best to preserve a person s life. This can cause problems and dilemma for doctors today. Knowing what drugs and treatment is one thing but deciding whether it is right to use such treatment to prolong life is another matter. If the doctors can do it, then it must be right. 4.) Give two reasons why a religious believer might agree or disagree with this statement. [4] Whose choice is it? What is Abortion? Abortion is the removal of an embryo or foetus from the womb of a woman after conception has taken place. In the UK it is legal for an abortion to take place up to the 24 th week of pregnancy as long as 2 doctors believe it will be in the best interest of the mother. Abortion of a seriously disabled foetus can be carried out past 24 weeks of pregnancy. PRO CHOICE Believe a woman has a right to decide on an abortion. PRO LIFE Believe each life is valuable and should not be aborted under any circumstances. 3

There is no single Christian view on abortion and individual Christians differ in their opinions. Generally they do have concerns regarding the sanctity of life, believing people are made in the image of God, and that all life is precious. ALL CHRISTAINS All life is sacred Humans are created in Gods image. ROMAN CATHOLICS Forbid abortion under any circumstances including the victims of RAPE. Life is GOD GIVEN and therefore SACRED. OTHER CHURCHES Are generally against abortion for social reasons (e.g. just don t want children at the time), but accept in some cases abortion is needed e.g. RAPE or when the life of the mother is threatened. ISLAM: For Muslims, life is scared as Allah create all life and only he can end it. Abortion for social and economic reasons is forbidden in the Qur an. Many Muslims will accept abortion if the mother s life is at stake and some will allow if the child is likely to have disease or be deformed in some way. However, the taking of a life is a sin and in the next life the young children will have a right to know why they were killed. Up to 4 months after conception the mother s rights are greater than those of the child, afterwards they are equal. Ensoulment - Muslims believe that Allah puts the soul into the foetus when it is 120 days old - 17 weeks (4 months) What help is available to those who are finding it difficult to conceive a child? AIH Artificial insemination by husband: When a husband s sperm is injected in to the womb of his wife. IVF In Vitro Fertilisation: The egg of a woman is fertilised outside the womb using the husbands or a donor s sperm. Surrogacy: AID Artificial insemination by donor: An anonymous man donates sperm which is injected in to the womb of the woman. When an egg and sperm are fertilised by IVF and the child is carried by a surrogate mother who is not the biological mother. 4

Attitudes towards IVF Christianity Some believe that a child is a gift from God and humans have no right to interfere with God s plan Others argue that if God gave us the medical knowledge and ability to help infertile couples, we should use it. There are Bible stories of God brining happiness to an infertile woman by giving her a baby so IVF is acceptable Some accept IVF if the husbands sperm and wife s egg are used, but not donor egg or donor sperm because this classed as adultery Some do not accept IVF because spare embryo s are destroyed and no human life should ever be destroyed Some think that the cost of IVF is not justified when so many children in the world are starving Islam IVF acceptable to many Muslims only the egg and sperm from the married couple are used. Anything else is considered to be adultery, and the Qur an states that sperm should not be wasted. Most Muslims accept the destruction of spare embryo s created by IVF because Islam teaches that an embryo can only be fully human after ensoulement as taken place. God should decide if people should have a baby, not a doctor. 5.) Give two reasons why a religious believer might agree or disagree with this statement. [4] Organ Transplant is where body organ is removed and replaced in a different body. Placing an organ from a donor to save another life; replacing a worn out or diseased body part. What is Euthanasia? Euthanasia means gentile and painless death. It is when a person is terminally ill and takes active steps to end their life when they feel their quality of life is very poor or non-existent. Some class this as Mercy killing. Helping someone to die painlessly. An example of this is; Switching off a life support machine when there is / appear to be no independent life possible, taking an over dose of medication when usually when someone is terminally ill. Euthanasia the Law. Euthanasia is almost totally illegal in the UK. There are three types of euthanasia. Voluntary a sick person decides when they want to die and asks for help (ACTIVE euthanasia) Involuntary a third party decides to end a person s life without their consent. (ACTIVE euthanasia) Passive life support is removed by medical staff and with consent of the family where a person is brain dead or in a persistent vegetative state. (PVS e.g. Tony Bland after Hillsborough) This is the only ;legal form of euthanasia in the UK Voluntary euthanasia is legal in Holland if performed by doctors. People assisting with voluntary or involuntary euthanasia in this country face being charged with murder. 5

In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. [Job 112:10] What do Christians understand by this statement? 6.) What do Christians understand by the above statement with regards to Euthanasia? Remember that Christians are compassionate, not every act of euthanasia carries equal blame. No one can know what is going through the mind of a person who is driven to take their own life. God will consider the pressure which leads someone to take their own life. Euthanasia: Generally opposed To take life is to play at being God. Life is a scared gift from God To ask for / or assist in euthanasia is to become party to murder Only God should take life away Final stage of life is important to individual, family, and others (though pain and discomfort should be suitably controlled or eased. The hospice movement and care of the dying and their families is preferred Hospices are an alternative to the suffering. With PALLITIVE CARE nobody needs to suffer. Allowing death to occur / switching off life support machine when there is no possibility of independent existence is no the same as deliberately causing death It is not always appropriate to prolong life at all costs non-treatment is an option in some circumstances, and this is not the same as deliberately taking life. Is always wrong in the Roman Catholic Christian teaching because it is murder, or suicide and both are mortal suns. (You can t go to heaven) The funeral service states the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. You shall not Kill Honour your parents. May be acceptable, if the law was changed, within the Church of England as long as it was voluntary. 6.) What do Muslims teach about Euthanasia? Euthanasia (Islam) For Muslims Euthanasia is always a sin. It causes suffering to those who are left behind. Allah knows the appointed time of death. Muslims caring for the terminally ill, showing compassion for the suffering is very important to Muslims. So the second issue for a Muslim caring for a terminally ill patient person is to deal with practical problems that might arise. LIFE SUPPORT: CHRISTIANITY: Many Church of England Christians argue that whilst they believe in the sanctity of life and the idea that only God has the right to preserve life, if the patient is on long term life support with 6

little or no hope of recovery then it is ok to switch that support off. Similarly the Catholic Church argue that if there is no hope of recovery then the doctor does not have to continue to administer treatment that is of no use to the patient. These decisions must not be taken lightly as the Sanctity of Life is so important. ISLAM: Many Muslims also hold the view that whilst they believe that all life is a gift from Allah and only Allah decides when it is a persons time to die, they argue that if there is no hope of recovery then the doctor does not have to continue to administer treatment that is of no use to the patient CLONING: Cloning means making a living thing from another living thing such as a plant or animal. The process uses the genes of the first so they both have identical DNA. An announcement by an American company that it has created a human embryo clone is being viewed as both an incredible scientific achievement and a dangerous step. In 2005, British scientists announced they had successfully cloned the country's first human embryo. The only thing they plan to do with this research is to use cells from the embryos to help treat disease in the future. It was made illegal to clone embryos to make babies in 2001. Opponents of cloning say cloning humans is very wrong. Why do you think this is? REVISION TASK: In the table below add as many ethical questions as you can think of that a religious believer may consider when looking at medical issues such as abortion, organ transplants, cloning etc. Five have been completed for you to get you started: Is this interfering with God s plan? Can it ever be justified to use an organ from a dead person to preserve another person s life? Is the quality of life as important as the maintaining of life? Is it sacrilege to use human tissues or organs in other human beings? Should anyone have responsibility for switching off life support machines? 7

1. Explain what religious believers mean by the Sanctity of Life [2] 2 Describe two ways science can help to save lives. [2] 3. Explain what religious believers mean by the Quality of Life [2] 4. Explain how having a religious faith influences someone s choices in matters of life and death. [4] 5. Explain how having a religious faith might influence a person s attitude towards abortion. [4] Abortion is wrong because it is playing God with someone s life. 6.) Give two reasons why a religious believer might agree or disagree with this statement. [4] 8

7. Explain the attitude of two different religious traditions towards abortion. [6] Name of Religious Tradition Name of Religious Tradition 8. It s the quality of life that matters not how long you live. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer showing you have thought about more than one point of view. You must include reference to religious beliefs in your answer. [8] 9

9. Transplants offer the gift of life. Do you agree? Give reasons for you answer showing you have thought about mote than one point of view. You must include reference to religious beliefs in your answer. [8] 10. Euthanasia is just another name for murder. Do you agree? Give reasons for you answer showing you have thought about mote than one point of view. You must include reference to religious beliefs in your answer. [8] Now complete three of these tasks. 1. Create a leaflet to advise Christian couples on what they can do if they are expecting an unwanted baby. completed 2. Create a poster that illustrates the key words of the topic. completed 3. Design a revision mind map ready for your assessment. completed 4. Look in the papers or on the internet for 3 stories about the use of embryo technology. Briefly explain the story and decide if you agree with the outcome. completed 5. In your own words explain the meaning of Human cloning. Give your opinion. Do you agree or disagree with it? Explain why. completed 10

Complete the following sheets. Religion & Medicine U W Q N P R O S N H B G N N Q Y F K O A S R Y O M S L I F Y S Y I A B P F B I K T X R U H R T S Q O V Y J T C H S A X J Z X U T R A N S P L A N T G Y S C I G T W G H E N G N X G B G U O F I U D V C S Q E O Z S Y J R M O L J T N L D L N X C S T J R N J I O O M O I H E M R Y I G O T F S C Y D F R Z S O L K L Y G C H R I B E V N L T T D S A I A B L A C I D E M C N W A H U M C P T W Y C N V O Q T T R E Q E Y L A F Y F X D G E C L O N E Y F D A L M F WORDS TO FIND: ABORTION CONCEPTION EMBRYOLOGY ETHICS LIFE MEDICAL QUALITY SANCTITY SURROGACY TRANSPLANTS GENES DOCTORS CLONE Can you answer these questions? 1. Up until what week of pregnancy is abortion legal in England? 2. What does the Catholic Church say about abortion? Why. 3. What is AIH? 4. What is AID? 5. In Britain, what happens to spare embryos from IVF treatment? 11

6. 'Religious people should never have abortions'. Do you agree? Give reasons for you answer showing you have considered more than one point of view. You should include reference to religious beliefs in your answer. [8] Select Specialist language Choose the key terms that you need to use in your answer What do you think and why? Apply religious teaching or What is this statement saying - what do you think about it? Wrote down your own ideas and thoughts about the statement. Show how religious teaching affects what you think or give an example from a religion that affects the answer you have offered Read it carefully Write out your own thinking clearly Make links between religious beliefs, teachings and practice What s another point of view? Include other ideas not just the opposite. Comment on them sensitively, show you understand the other view point Make sure you include other view points or ideas Offer religious/moral teaching for the other point of view Suggest how your response might impact. Make it clear how religious teaching and beliefs affect the other view point. Show that view points are based on what people believe and value. On the individual and society when making your judgement Show clearly that religious beliefs and teachings affect the different views that people have on the issue. End with a clear conclusion - summing up Use the following framework for your answer: I agree/disagree with the statement that. The first reason for my view is.. The second reason for my view is.. However, other people disagree with me because. Christians would say.. because Muslims would say. Because So to sum up.. 12

Make mind maps on key issues. e.g. Christian view Your own thoughts and ideas Islamic view If life is sacred or holy, then what would many Christians and Muslims think about the following? CHRISTIANS MUSLIMS MUSLIMS CHRISTIANS 13