The Ethical Issue of Abortion There are many ethical issues that are discussed among society. A major ethical issue in society today is the debate on whether abortion is morally acceptable. Abortion is defined as “the termination of pregnancy before the embryo or fetus is able to live outside the uterus” (Abortion 1). There are two major sides to the debate on abortion. These are pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-life believes that abortion is unethical and is the equivalent of murdering someone. Pro-choice is for abortions and believes that the mother should have to right to decide if they want to have the child or not. Abortion is a big debate in this country, however it is something that many people consider and go through with. “In recent years, there have been around one million abortions performed annually in the United States. There are more than 40 million abortions performed each year around the world” (MacKinnon 226). Most of these women are teenagers or women in their twenties. There are several …show more content…
However, there are many pro-choice arguments that give reason for why abortions are morally right. Women are saved from unsafe, medical abortions by allowing women the choice to abort the fetus. According to Pollitt in her article “Abortion: No More Apologies”, if abortions were still illegal than women would still be hiding and participating in illegal, unsafe abortions (2). By giving women a choice, they are able to make a safe, healthy choice for themselves. “Ancient methods of inducing abortion included shaking women and inserting foreign objects into the vagina in the hope of causing infection”(MacKinnon 226). Also by allowing abortions and birth control people are able to prevent unwanted pregnancies that will cause them to have financial, health, or even mental
In a 2006 study conducted by the CDC, it was reported that 53-56% of abortions were performed on white women between the ages of 20 and 29. Among the 46 states that provided data consistently during 1996--2006, a total of 835,134 abortions (98.7% of the total) were reported; the abortion rate was 16.1 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15--44 years, and the abortion ratio was 236 abortions per 1,000 live births. During the previous decade (1997--2006), reported abortion numbers, rates, and ratios decreased 5.7%, 8.8%, and 14.8%, respectively; most of these declines occurred before 2001. During the previous year (2005--2006), the total number of abortions increased 3.1%, and the abortion rate increased 3.2%; the abortion ratio was stable. (CDC, 2009)
There are thousands of women in the world make the mistake of getting pregnant. Yes, there are forms of contraception but they are not 100% effective in preventing pregnancy. Approximately 1.4 million abortion procedures are done each year in the United States, with 30% of those women being younger than forty-five years old (ProCon). Without abortion, there would be an abundance of children who are brought into the world unwanted and not being able to have the essentials they need to go through life successfully. The most difficult responsibility a woman would have to go through is finances. 85% of women who wish to have an abortion are unmarried and have to support the child alone (“Abortion Procedures”). Abortion can save a woman from going through financial distress when she is aware that she is not financially stable. Teen pregnancy is common in the world and they are not at a point in life where taking care of someone else, other than themselves, is possible to do alone. Thirty-nine states allow minors to go through the abortion procedure with parent consent (“Abortion Procedures”). All fifty states should allow this because if teens could not receive that choice, then they would have to carry an unwanted baby that they could not take care of after giving birth. Most abortion procedures are during the first trimester (Lowen). During the first weeks of pregnancy the development of the fetus is a gather of cells, therefore killing cells is not killing an actual person so abortion should not be considered murder.
Abortion, which is defined as a deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, is one of the most controversial issues in society. Many people believe that abortion is unethical and morally wrong, while others believe that it is a woman’s right to decide what to do with her body. According to www.census.gov, “the number of abortions performed annually in the U.S. has leveled off at 1.2 million a year” (1). This statistic supports how many women are choosing abortion. Although abortion is legal in the United States, many people continue to voice their opinions on how it is a human rights violation and should be illegal everywhere.
How would you feel if someone decided that you should never get a chance at life? That
Abortion is a voluminous topic today all around the world. Differing viewpoints on abortion are recognized in politics, religion, and throughout the general population. There is a small amount of people who are nonchalant on the subject. Women have abortions for many different reasons and according to certain groups these reasons are either justified or not. Everyone tends to have their own articulated opinion, and many vocalize tenaciously what they believe. Pro-life individuals along with religion are sanguine that abortion is ethically and morally erroneous. Whereas those who are pro-choice say that abortion is inconsequential and the mother’s choice is more important than the fetus. Reasons to not get an abortion include risks involved in receiving an abortion. In some cases death can occur. However, there are other alternatives to abortion. For example, raising the child and adoption.
Overtime there has been a debate over whether or not the act of aborting a baby should be a legal option. This controversial issue continues to divide America. Many individuals that are pro-choice believe that choosing to have an abortion is a woman’s right that should not be judged by governmental or religious authorities. Many individuals that are pro-life believe that abortion is the immoral killing of an innocent human being. According to opponents, it is unfair to allow abortions when couples who cannot conceive are willing to adopt a child. There are many pro and con arguments over whether abortions should be legal.
There are many limitations valued when it comes to the right of abortion. The news media still outlines the pros and cons of anti-abortion rights in certain-states-to soon, the entire country. My perspectives on the issue of abortion have been entitled from it to never be banned among citizen’s rights. The reproduction of pregnancy has been emphasized heavily on a mother’s decision to abort their child, but the father of the child plays an active role since he considers to that particular title. Through this current issue, majority of the people against abortion do not seem to have an open mind to how much it primarily affects the decision of the mother amongst her own views of considering abortion.
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.
Did you know that in the United States an abortion occurs every 25 seconds? This equates to 137 abortions per hour or 3,300 abortions every day, which is more that 1.3 million abortions every year! Abortion has always been a controversial topic and even more so since the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling. Most people have very strong opinions about abortion and inadvertently form their opinions without knowing all of the facts. Abortion should be abolished because it is killing innocent human beings, causes health risks in women, and defies the religious and ethical standards of our country.
Being pro-choice advocates a womans right to control her own body, especially her right to an induced abortion (The Free Dictionary). Every person has the right to do what they wish to their own bodies. Before taking the pill, the patient must sign a patient agreement; agreeing that they have been informed of all risks, side effects, emergency contact information, instructions, and promising to return for the second and third follow-up visits. Since the patient has read and signed the patient agreement, they’re aware of what they’re doing to themselves. Different women have different reasons as to why they want an abortion. Having an abortion, either the medical or surgical way, a woman has the rights to do ...
It is almost unanimously agreed upon that the right to life is the most important and sacred right possessed by human beings. With this being said, it comes as no surprise that there are few issues that are more contentious than abortion. Some consider the process of abortion as immoral and consisting of the deprivation of one’s right to life. Others, on the opposite end of the spectrum, see abortion as a liberty and a simple exercise of the right to the freedom of choice.
Abortion may appear ethical or unethical depending on various viewpoints and circumstances. The fetus is considered a person and bringing it to term may be unethical as the act is considered as murder. In some situations, the mother may require to terminate a pregnancy for her bodily autonomy (Johnston, 2003). In such positions, the resolution to terminate a pregnancy may be argued as the most ethical choice. The mother is also considered to having a reasonable level of ethical responsibility to the fetus, because she did not take enough precaution to ensure avoiding conception (Cline, 2014). The mother’s ethical responsibility to the fetus may not be enough to deprive her choice of abortion; it...
Abortion is one of America’s most controversial subjects. The participants in this debate have fixed beliefs on the matter at hand. On one side of the debate are people who believe in pro- choice. They argue that choice of a woman is more important than an unborn fetus. They point out that an unborn child is not on the same level of importance as the mother. Also, the pro-life group declares that choice is the sole purpose behind their argument. They believe that if a woman cannot chose to abolish a pregnancy, then she looses one of her basic human rights. The other side of the debate is the pro-life group. Their main concern is that the fetus is a person; therefore, having the same human rights as the mother. As a result, when states pass laws that enable abortions, these states are legalizing murder. When considering an individual’s ethics and values, killing is morally wrong. Therefore, the termination of unborn children is wrong, as well. Abortion, the unethical expulsion of an embryo or fetus, in order to purposely end a pregnancy, should be forbidden because human life begins at conception, economics is not a justification for abortion, and an unwanted child does not justify abortion.
An ethical issue has conflict that brings systems of principles and morality, this issues are open to opinions and interpretation and are more subjective than most conflicts. Abortion is an ethical issue as the different viewpoints on its thoughts of it being right to wrong, as the ethical debate is usually around the issues of whether or not a fetus has rights, in particular the right to life and so whether or not the mother’s rights over her body justify abortion even if a fetus has the right to life. The main issue of the abortion debate is the question of when the fetus then becomes a person and then requires the rights that will protect it from harm. As people in society have rights, therefore if a fetus is a person then it too has rights; the right to
Abortion is an extremely controversial issue and one that is continually on the forefront of debates. Those who oppose the idea (Pro-lifers), thinks it is an act of woman playing “God” who live from who dies. Yet, whether an unborn baby constitutes a normal person is questionable; a pregnant woman, on the other hand, has the undeniable right to choose whether she wants to have a child or not. Therefore, the decision to have an abortion is the personal choice and responsibility of the woman, because prohibiting abortion impedes freedom of choice and endangers the physical and mental health of women.