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Philosophical aspects of the abortion debate
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Abortions related to ethical theories
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The Abortion Arguments of Cider House Rules
I am writing this essay on a Saturday evening, not with any real contemplation, or even planning. I am writing this because I was just minutes ago watching the movie Cider House Rules. I won't go into the plot of the movie, but, to explain my motivation for writing this, I will simply describe one portion of the movie.
The scene at issue in my mind right now is one where a fourteen-year-old girl comes to the orphanage which is the setting for part of the movie. This girl came to the orphanage because it was known in the region as a place that performed abortions. She had had a crude abortion performed in such a way that she had been severely injured (her uterus was punctured by a crochet hook, and, not being a sterile instrument, this caused an infection of the uterine lining, eventually killing her). The resident doctor is disgusted by this, and uses the girl's injury as an example explaining why he performs abortions. The doctor's argument is fairly simple. If the girl had come to him, rather than the ignorant abortionist she chose, she would likely have survived. In addition, he claims that potential parents have a right to choose to be parents or to not be parents. The doctor, a seeming proponent of utilitarianism, says that this demonstrates a duty to perform abortions.
The young man to which the doctor is speaking, Homer, has been in essence an apprentice under the doctor, but has refused to perform abortions. His reasoning is this: those individuals seeking an abortion should have been responsible enough to have not conceived an unwanted child. Their lack of sexual responsibility should not be an excuse to take human life.
Homer, while not legally a doctor (having...
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...e that die do so in the commission of a wrongful act, and because of this are to be blamed for their own demise. Perhaps this sounds cold and uncaring to you. My intent is not to make some kind of case for the despising of young pregnant women who seek abortions. I feel a real sense a pity for them, but I cannot circumvent what I believe to be a solid refutation of one of the major arguments for abortion legalization.
This essay, remember is not meant to be a complete argument against abortion, but rather attempts only to address the argument used in Cider House Rules. There are many other areas of discussion which can have a great effect on the ethics of abortion. The point at which a fetus becomes a person with rights is one such area. The question of whether or not a mother is obligated to carry to term a child who is in fact a full-fledged human is another.
In the provocative article, Were the Puritans Puritanical?, Carl Degler seeks to clarify the many misconceptions surrounding the Puritan lifestyle. He reveals his opinions on this seventeenth century living style, arguing that the Puritans were not dull and ultra-conservative, but rather enjoyed things in moderation. They had pleasures, but not in excess. The Puritans could engage in many pleasurable and leisurely activities so long as they did not lead to sin. According to the article, the Puritans believed that too much of anything is a sin. Degler writes about the misconceptions of Puritan dress, saying that it was the “opposite of severe”, and describing it as rather the English Renaissance style. Not all members of Puritan society
In the 1700’s the Puritans left England for the fear of being persecuted. They moved to America for religious freedom. The Puritans lived from God’s laws. They did not depend as much on material things, and they had a simpler and conservative life. More than a hundred years later, the Puritan’s belief toward their church started to fade away. Some Puritans were not able to recognize their religion any longer, they felt that their congregations had grown too self-satisfied. They left their congregations, and their devotion to God gradually faded away. To rekindle the fervor that the early Puritans had, Jonathan Edwards and other Puritan ministers led a religious revival through New England. Edwards preached intense sermons that awakened his congregation to an awareness of their sins. With Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” he persuades the Puritans to convert back to Puritanism, by utilizing rhetorical strategies such as, imagery, loaded diction, and a threatening and fearful tone.
In the 1917 film Cleopatra was played by Theda Bara. Previous to her starring in this film, she had only starred in one film, although between 1915 and 1919 she starred in around 40 films. During those times, and now, she was known as silent films first sex symbol. In her role as Cleopatra, Theda Bara
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.
The standard argument against abortion claims that the fetus is a person and therefore has a right to life. Thomson shows why this standard argument against abortion is a somewhat inadequate account of the morality of abortion.
Over the duration of the last century, abortion in the Western hemisphere has become a largely controversial topic that affects every human being. In the United States, at current rates, one in three women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45. The questions surrounding the laws are of moral, social, and medical dilemmas that rely upon the most fundamental principles of ethics and philosophy. At the center of the argument is the not so clear cut lines dictating what life is, or is not, and where a fetus finds itself amongst its meaning. In an effort to answer the question, lawmakers are establishing public policies dictating what a woman may or may not do with consideration to her reproductive rights. The drawback, however, is that there is no agreement upon when life begins and at which point one crosses the line from unalienable rights to murder.
Abortion has long been a controversial debate affecting most societies, religion, and especially women. Anti-abortionists and pro-abortionists both propose many arguments against and for abortion. However, the most prominent argument comes from anti-abortionists who believe that “a fetus is a human being, and therefore abortion is murder.” However I agree with both Mary Anne Warren and Judith Jarvis Thompson in that women should have the choice of whether they wish to keep the baby or not. Although the traditional anti-abortion argument is strong, the arguments that both Thompson and Warren provide in their texts have convinced me that abortion is not murder.
...ther’s sovereignty over her body outweigh the right of an unborn child to live. The answers to these questions are very diverse as a result of the diversity of the American society. With the issue of abortion, one’s attitude toward it is going to be based on many things such as religious background and personal morals. There is no black and white answer to the abortion issue. Luckily we live in a country where we are able to decide for ourselves whether something is morally right or wrong. Thus, ultimately, the choice is ours. As with the many other ethical issues which we are faced with in our society, it is hard to come to a concrete answer until we are personally faced with that issue. All we can do is make an effort to know all of the aspects which are involved so that we may be able to make a sound decision if we were faced with this problem in our own lives.
The permissibility of abortion has been a crucial topic for debates for many years. People have yet to agree upon a stance on whether abortion is morally just. This country is divided into two groups, believers in a woman’s choice to have an abortion and those who stand for the fetus’s right to live. More commonly these stances are labeled as pro-choice and pro-life. The traditional argument for each side is based upon whether a fetus has a right to life. Complications occur because the qualifications of what gives something a right to life is not agreed upon. The pro-choice argument asserts that only people, not fetuses, have a right to life. The pro-life argument claims that fetuses are human beings and therefore they have a right to life. Philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thomson, rejects this traditional reasoning because the right of the mother is not brought into consideration. Thomson prepares two theses to explain her reasoning for being pro-choice; “A right to life does not entail the right to use your body to stay alive” and “In the majority of cases it is not morally required that you carry a fetus to term.”
...No matter the life of the mother who carries a fetus is in danger, Aristotle would not see an abortion permissible.
Doctors have to go through many years of studying and many more hours of practicing on people. These qualities make any doctor seem god-like to the eyes of everyday people. Doctors are trusted blindly and people are led to believe that doctors are always honest. In the story, The Use of Force by William Carlos Williams, the parents of Matilda question the tactics the doctor is using to properly diagnose the girl but trust that the doctor knows what he is doing and lets him use force anyway. These cases are seen all over the world as well. There have been many reported cases of doctors using force to allow patients to get treated. Some patients however, do not wish to be treated because of things like religion or preference or other reasons but doctors still treat them in order to save them from themselves. The power struggle creates anger and resentment from both parties and blurs the line between personal rights and saving lives. In an article written by Jessica Grose, doctors force a woman to have a C-Section because they believe it was in the baby’s best interest. However, the woman did not want to have the surgery performed. This led to the doctors threatening to sue the woman for possible child endangerment. The woman, in fear of possibly killing her child, sided with the health care providers even though personally she did not want to have the surgery performed. This
It is not uncommon in the writing world to use poetic form to reflect inner meaning. Bradstreet did an exemplary job at showing the reader poetic content that was doubtful and a form that solidified her faith. During the time this poem was written, having doubts in one’s faith was considered taboo to talk about. Bradstreet showed her courageous and brave attitude when she decided to write about questioning her own beliefs. Even though she wrote this poem for herself, the courageous act of acknowledging her own doubts spoke for those Puritans who did not have the courage to. Since she had the strong poetic form reflecting her faith, this enabled her to write about her doubts in a better light. The poem shows that even in times of external peril, internal strength is what helps a person prevail.
Both forms of ADR have several common characteristics. However, one must consider that a neutral side in both procedures fulfils distinct from one another duties. Mediators do not have the objective to make decision, whereas arbitrators determine an outcome of the case. Upon the termination of the procedure, an arbiter renders a binding award that cannot be later avoided by disputants. During mediation, parties are not contingent upon the third side and enjoy freedom of actions needed for dispute resolution. In contrast, in case of failure to reach an agreement, parties are not legally bound for actions afterwards. By considering the true qualities of arbitration and mediation taken individually, legislation and scientists suggest that in single arbitration, arbitrators may use mediators’ functions to promote amicable settlement and functions of both arbitrators and mediators have incongruous
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.
The International arbitration is a private and effective method to resolve disputes. And it is an alternative dispute resolution method (ADR), in general, voluntarily chosen by the parties. Nowadays, it tends to be the preferred means for settling disputes within the international business community.