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The ethical dilemma of abortion
Kant's theory and abortion
Examples of human rights to abortion
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Abortion; as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary is, “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus. This is the definition of abortion of which I will be reviewing its ethical status. After Roe vs Wade, the supreme court simultaneously decided that women have the right of privacy under the 14th amendment; making it acceptable to abort a pregnancy within the first trimester (Vaughn 119). The main argument on abortion is really a debate on human life, and whether it has value from the moment of conception. Each and every human life is composed of intrinsic value, and has the right to live. Killing an innocent human being is wrong, and fetuses are innocent human beings;making it morally wrong and impermissible to abort a fetus (Vaughn 143).
In modern day society we are often faced with moral issues (like abortion) that cause disagreement, and frustration between groups of people with opposing values and ideas. Some argue on the basis of pure subjectivity, while others argue from objective principles. Over time, great minds such as Immanuel Kant have illustrated moral principles that govern a person or groups behavior called ethics(Merriam-Webster).
Although there are many different styles of ethics, for this paper I will be taking a Deontological stance.The term “deontology” is derived from the greek word Deon which means “binding duty”(The Free-Dictionary). This means that the essence of deontological approaches to ethical theories is performing duties for duties sake. Kant illustrates what he means by duties in the following quote: “Duty is the necessity of acting from respect for the law”(Kant 88). Kant also defines moral duty as an objective ...
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... to maintain one’s life; and, in addition, everyone has also a direct inclination to do so.”(Kant 87) In this situation there is no inclination to preserve life, but the duty remains.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Vaughn, Lewis. Contemporary Moral Arguments: Readings in Ethical Issues. Second ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.
Vaughn, Lewis, and Immanuel Kant. "Kant:Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals." Contemporary Moral Arguments: Readings in Ethical Issues. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. 85-93. Print.
Moreland, J.P, and William Lane Craig. Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. N.p.: IVP Academic, (March 31, 2003). Print.
"Deontology." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
"Abortion." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
"Ethics." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Abortion refers to the termination of one’s pregnancy, resulting in the removal of one’s fetus to prevent it from being born. While the concept is simple enough, the crux of the argument lies in the morality of this procedure and whether or not a woman should be allowed to sacrifice a fetus to better her own life. Abortion must continue to be legalized in order to ensure that women have that choice.
Deontology is an ethical theory concerned with duties and rights. The founder of deontological ethics was a German philosopher named Immanuel Kant. Kant’s deontological perspective implies people are sensitive to moral duties that require or prohibit certain behaviors, irrespective of the consequences (Tanner, Medin, & Iliev, 2008). The main focus of deontology is duty: deontology is derived from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. A duty is morally mandated action, for instance, the duty never to lie and always to keep your word. Based on Kant, even when individuals do not want to act on duty they are ethically obligated to do so (Rich, 2008).
The prima facie duties that William David Ross has listed include duties of fidelity, reparation, gratitude, justice, beneficence, self-improvement, and non-maleficence. Duties of fidelity and reparation rest on previous acts that one has performed, and acting on these duties are acts such as promise-keeping (duties of fidelity) and making amends for previous wrongful acts (duties of reparation), while duties of gratitude rest on previous acts that others have performed. There is a duty associated with the distribution of pleasure or good regardless of its recipient, and this is termed as duties of justice. An additional duty rests on the mere fact that there are other beings in this world to whom we can be of assistance to: duties of beneficence. Duties of self-improvement claim that there are intrinsic moral reasons for one to improve oneself and finally, duties of non-maleficence states that there are intrinsic moral reasons to not harm others. Duties are placed on the list only when they have been judged to be basic moral reaso...
Johnson, R 2014, ‘Kant's Moral Philosophy,’ The Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy (Spring Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), .
Morgan, Michael L., ed. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. 3rd Edition. Indianapolis. Hackett, 2001.
Normative ethics have received much praise and criticism from well-respected philosophers for many years. Structured by Immanuel Kant, arguably one of the greatest minds in history, Kantian ethics have changed the way people look at what truly makes an action “right.” Kant believed that developing a moral system that was consistent and based entirely on reason was achievable. He urged ethics that are knowable without reference to sense experience, or as he calls “a priori” claims, because they are universal and binding. Kant argued that it is impossible to ground ethics on religion. Instead, he turned to a vague sense of natural law and states that rules exist to rational beings, whether on this universe or any other, simply because they are rational beings.
Morgan, Michael L., ed. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. 5th ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2011.
Kant, Immanuel, translated by Wood, Allen W. Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002. http://www.inp.uw.edu.pl/mdsie/Political_Thought/Kant%20-%20groundwork%20for%20the%20metaphysics%20of%20morals%20with%20essays.pdf
Abortion by definition means the way of ending pregnancy by removing fetus from the womb before it is able to survive independently. Abortion is an extremely debatable issue because while some people are completely against it, others believe that a woman should have the right to choose. Abortion decision is like killing own child or killing an innocent human life before coming out from uterus. I will explain how a human life is being destroyed, the process in which they destroy the fetus, and how to avoid this situation all together I believe that abortion is morally impermissible.
O'Neill, O. (1986). A Simplified Account of Kantian Ethics. Matters of life and death (pp. 44-50). n.a.: McGraw-Hill.
The. Pettit, Philip. The. “Consequentialism.” A Companion to Ethics. Ed. Peter Singer.
Morgan, Michael L., ed. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. 5th ed. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2011. Print.
In my argumentative coursework I am arguing that abortion is wrong and not to be mistaken with 'Abortion should be made illegal.' I will explain later why I have made this statement. Abortion is the termination of an unborn child in its mother's womb for up to twenty four weeks of the pregnancy or in special circumstances e.g. Disability diagnosis a termination right up until the mother goes in to labour. I think the above definition is an easier and less harsh way of saying that abortion is the murdering of a human being. There are several reasons why abortion is legal and several reasons why it shouldn?t be.
Fred Feldman, 'Kant's Ethics Theory: Exposition and Critique' from H. J. Curzer, ed Ethical Theory and Moral Problems, Belmont, Ca: Wadsworth Publishing Co. 1999.
‘Kantian Ethics’ in [EBQ] James P Sterba (ed) Ethics: the Big Questions, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1998, 185-198. 2) Kant, Immanuel. ‘Morality and Rationality’ in [MPS] 410-429. 3) Rachel, James. The Elements of Moral Philosophy, fourth edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.