Benchmark Assignment: Ethical Dilemmas Of Abortion

Benchmark Assignment: Ethical Dilemmas
Abortion has been a political, social, and personal topic for many years now. The woman’s right to choose has become a law that is still debated, argued and fought over, even though it has been passed. This paper will examine a specific example where abortion is encouraged, identify the Christian world views beliefs and resolution as well as the consequences of such, and compare them with another option.
Ethical Dilemma
Susan has a successful career, but she wants to have a family also and balance the two. She finally becomes pregnant after trying for a long time, but tests show that the baby will be born with Down syndrome. She has been trying for so long, and now the doctor is recommending an abortion.

This means waiting longer, or possibly never, to start her family. She does get to keep her career, and if she is able to get pregnant again then hopefully the next baby won’t have any defects so she can have the family she is wanting. This also goes along with the advice she is getting from her doctor as well as her friends, however this has consequences that aren’t often discussed by those in favor of abortion. Whether or not they believe it, killing a baby does not sit well with one’s conscience. “A 1987 study of women who suffered from post-abortion trauma found that 60 percent had experienced suicidal ideation, 28 percent had attempted suicide, and 18 percent had attempted suicide more than once, often several years after the event.3” (Reardon D.C. 2005) Killing anyone will have psychological effects on a person, but killing their own child could prove unbearable. In addition to psychological effects there is also evidence of physical effects “Brind concludes, "Induced abortion is indeed a risk factor for breast cancer, despite the strong and pervasive bias in the recent literature in the direction of viewing abortion as safe for women."” (2006) A persons actions have consequences and God does punish us for our sins. God has given Susan a special gift in this child. Choosing to reject God’s gift would have consequences much worse than choosing to accept it, or better embrace it and thank God for it. Susan has a very difficult choice because changing the plans for her life to plans that she sees as undesirable is a tough call to make. When God changes someone’s plans from theirs to His, He is doing them a favor. He knows what is best and if Susan allows Him to make the necessary changes from her life’s plans to His plans for her life she will be better off in the