Church in society |
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LIFE EVENTS ETHICS
Through the course of its work and reflection, the
Church of Scotland considers a range of ethical life
issues, from abortion to gambling.
As a presbyterian organisation, one of the strengths
of the Church of Scotland is that it welcomes a range
of views on these topics with each view valid in its
own right. It is therefore difficult to provide one
view of the Church. However, where these issues have
been the subject of debate or deliverances to the General
Assembly, these are available below to download in Word
[.doc], rich text [.rtf] and text only [.txt] formats.
Abortion
The following statement on abortion was taken from the
General Assembly in 1996 which reaffirmed the Assembly's
view on abortions.
Download the summary of the Assembly's
view:
[top of page]
Adoption
Putting Children First
is the theme of the Church of Scotland's response to the
Scottish Executive’s 2005 proposals to reform adoption
and fostering in Scotland. The Church and Society Council
reaffirms the Church's view that: "the stable environment
of care which children need is best provided in the context
of marriage."
Download the summary of the Assembly's view:
[top of page]
Civil
partnerships
The Legal Questions report to the General Assembly 2006
asks the General Assembly to agree that a minister or
deacon who conducts any service marking a civil partnership
does not commit a disciplinary offence. It also asks the
Assembly to agree that no minister or deacon will be obliged
to conduct such a service against his or her conscience
and that civil partners may ask another minister or deacon
who is willing to conduct the service to do so if the
parish minister has declined.
Download the press release about this report:
[top of page]
Euthanasia
The following is the Church's view on euthanasia as at
February 2006: "The Church of Scotland is opposed
to all forms of euthanasia. Doctor-assisted dying may
currently be seen as one option for the terminally ill,
but we are concerned that it may come to be regarded as
a duty in future.
"The situation must never arise where the terminally-ill
or the very elderly feel pressurised by society to end
their lives."
[top of page]
Gambling
The following statement was produced by the former Board
of Social Responsibility in response to the government's
proposed Gambling Bill in 2004.
Download the press release about this Bill:
[top of page]
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