Consequentialism Vs Abortion

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According to Judith Thomson in her book “A Defense of Abortion”, a human embryo is a person who has a right to life. But, just because the human fetus has the right to life does not mean that the mother will be forced to carry it (Thomson, 48). Naturally, abortion may be seen as the deliberate termination of a pregnancy before the fetal viability. Though people have understood this, the topic of abortion has remained a controversial issue in the world. Individuals are divided into “Pro-choice” and “Pro-life” debaters depending on their opinion on the morality of the action. "Pro-life," the non-consequentialist side, is the belief that abortion is wrong, generally because it equates to killing. "Pro-choice," the consequentialist view, however, …show more content…

He argues that an issue is deemed moral if it has the greatest pleasure to the involved individual. That is, an issue is considered morally right if it promotes happiness but considered morally inappropriate if it produces a reverse of happiness (Baird & Stuart, 38). Consequentialists defend both positions with claims that abortions have different impacts on the mother’s life. According to the consequentialist group that supports abortion, termination should be allowed because denial may lead to disastrous consequences. Their argument is based on population control and social welfare of the women. They argue that abortion is good as it controls population that would affect future social systems and sustainability of biological systems (Baird & Stuart, 34). In essence, they claim that unwanted pregnancies lead to distress and depression to the community, and therefore abortion should be the primary …show more content…

For example, a mother who opts to abort lives a life full of misery and guilt following her unethical action. The same issue is explored by Kant, where he argues that frequent abortions would make the human race extinct. Therefore, not irrational or good to the society. Lastly, they argue that abortion denies the fetus the right to life which is granted by the Human Rights Commission. Judith Thomson argument that a human embryo is a person indicates that he or she has the right to life, and no one has a right to terminate it (Baird & Stuart, 78). Therefore, abortion is unacceptable, irrational and immoral action to

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