The Moral Question of Abortion

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Recommended: Federalism and the impact of abortion

Abortion is the termination of the unborn as a result of its physical destruction. The three types of abortion consist of therapeutic abortion, spontaneous abortion and elective abortion. Therapeutic abortion is an abortion done for reasons regarding the health of the mother. A spontaneous abortion is a miscarriage, a fetus being expelled before it is physically able to live under normal conditions outside the uterus on its own. This especially happens between the third and seventh months of pregnancy. Elective abortion a voluntary termination of the unborn before viability at the request of the mother. In an elective abortion, reasons are not related to the concerns of the health of the mother or fetus.
There are many questions regarding abortion. However, all the legal and moral questions can be summed into two simple questions. The legal question asks, at what point should the state get involved? Whereas the moral question asks, does the unborn possess moral consideration? The question of moral status in philosophy is strictly concerned with elective abortion. Moral status is the moral implication of how you treat a particular thing. The question then asked is: What is the moral status of the unborn?
Those who believe the unborn has no moral status believe abortion is morally acceptable at any time, at any place for any reason and any circumstances. Those who believe the unborn has a limited moral status believe abortion is morally acceptable under most conditions and circumstances. Those who believe the unborn has established moral status believe abortion is almost never permissible except under extreme circumstances. Those who believe the unborn has an absolute moral status believe abortion is never morally acceptable unde...

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...than, an abortion done by a ‘doctor’ in a random house. Protect our woman, and give them a choice.

Works Cited

Boss, Judith A. "Abortion." Analyzing Moral Issues. 6th ed. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Pub., 1999. 619-24. Print.

South Eastern CASA. "Pregnancy following Rape." South Eastern CASA. Centre Against Sexual Assault, 18 July 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2014

When Abortion Was Illegal: An Era of Tragedy for Women." SocialistWorker.org. N.p., 21 Oct. 2005. Web. 15 Mar. 2014

Landau, Elizabeth. "How Your Brain Makes Moral Judgments." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.

Web Info on Sexual Assault and Abuse." UIC Campus Advocacy Network. University of Illinois at Chicago, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2014
Luhrmann, Tanya. "The Harvard Crimson." The Pro-Choice Argument |Opinion|. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

Abortion." Gallup. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014

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