Expert: Laurie McLauglin - 5/26/2010

Question
Hi Laurie McLauglin!

I'm currently doing an assignment on Buddhism and Bioethics.

Could you please provide me with your view on 'Euthanasia' and 'Abortion' (i.e. from a Mahayana Buddhist perspective).

So just to elaborate, could you please state whether (or not) you support the abortion/euthanasia and why. (If you could further explain why you are against/for abortion/euthanasia by making links to the 5 (10) precepts, karma or various teachings of Buddha, that would be a great help :) )

Thank you so much! and Thanks for your time :)

-Wendy

Answer
Hello Wendy -

Thank you for letting me answer your question.

My view on abortion and euthanasia follows along the same lines as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's views.

Obviously both are considered killing which goes against Buddhist teaching and against one of the five lay precepts which includes no killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct and no taking intoxicants.

Most Buddhists believe that the "soul" of the baby enters the womb at the moment of conception.

And naturally, if you have an abortion or if you euthanize an animal or elderly patient for example, that is killing and does create negative karma which will ripen at some point later in your life as a negative experience.

However, Buddha and Buddhism tries to approach things logically and not just dogmatically. This is what His Holiness says. It is wrong to have an abortion for example but if by doing so, you are saving the life of the mother, for example, then in cases like that, exceptions can be made.  His Holiness says and I agree that decisions like this should be made on a case by case basis.

Obviously if you have an abortion in order for the mother to live, you are still creating negative karma, but you are also allowing another person to live which creates positive karma. And the mother that remains alive can continue to do things which can benefit other sentient beings instead of her also dying and then that positive karma from her actions would not occur.

Again, from what I understand practicing Buddhism, ethics are not so black and white.  As long as one understands there is karma involved in every action one does, and if one is all right with that, then decisions of an ethical nature must be made with the greatest wisdom and compassion one has at the moment.

One must make decisions of ethics, from what I understand by asking ones self what is the wisest and most compassionate choice in any given circumstance and what will produce the greatest good for the most people while creating the least negative karma.

For something like euthanasia, the choice would depend a lot one ones motivation for ending the person's life. If one ended it for a selfish reason then absolutely that would be wrong.  But if the person is at peace spiritually and is suffering greatly and has asked to be euthanized, for example, and if one does end that person's life with the true motivation of compassion and to help them stop suffering, then although it is still killing, the karma one would receive from that action would not be as severe as if one rejoiced in having someone euthanized.

The same would be true of abortion; if one ended the life of an unborn child simply because they did not want to be bothered having a baby, that is very wrong and the person that made that choice would incur very negative karmic effects. But if someone ended the life of an unborn child out of compassion to save the mother, then although it is wrong the karmic effects will be lessened.

So as you can see, abortion and euthanasia are wrong because they are killing another sentient being, but to draw a black and white line and say it is always wrong and never should happen precludes the use of wisdom and compassion in any particular situation.

I hope this helps.

Don't hesitate to ask if you have any further or follow up questions.

I wish you much success in your assignment -

Namaste - Laurie