...y of reasons, from experiences in life, to what they grew up with, religion, culture and tradition. One of these reasons has been a major part of the discussion on abortion and is where many Pro-Life activists base their argument. From a religious standpoint, in the Catholic religion, they believe that from the moment of conception is when human life begins. This means that abortion to Catholics would mean killing a human life, which is wrong. As in the Bible, Exodus 20:13 in the Old Testament states that “Thou shall not kill.” (5) This is the sixth commandment out of ten in the Catholic religion. Again, this suggests that abortions are wrong and go against the teachings of God in the Bible. For those who are Catholic and hold this belief, they believe that abortion is wrong and it is a sin against God. This is the view of abortion through a Catholic perspective.
Abortion is defined as a procedure that is done to remove an embryo or fetus from the uterus of its mother in order to prevent its birth (Roth, 2005). Abortion is categorized as a bioethical issue because it relates to the morals of biomedical advances, policies and research. Abortion is a difficult subject that can involve personal morals and beliefs, legality and religious values. The issue is often viewed from either the side of pro-life, which places emphasis on the fetus and its right to life or pro-choice, which emphasizes the rights of the mother to decide the appropriate action (Roth, 2005). This brings the ethical question of should the government have the right to outlaw abortion into debate. The two viewpoints of pro-life and pro-choice explore the two main moral issues concerning abortion (Roth, 2005).
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.”
Even though abortion has been legalized in the United States, the question as to whether abortion is morally wrong or right is still in debate. Abortion is a controversial topic and like any other contentious subject, it faces a great number of support and opposition depending on human perception. It has various advantages and disadvantages and they are mainly based on one deciding whether to criticize it as ethically and morally wrong or right. There are many ways people look at abortion, which make it hard for them to decide whether or not to support it or be against it. There are a number of misconceptions about abortion ...
I believe that the fundamental principles associated with act utilitarianism dictate that abortion is immoral, but should be legal nonetheless. This is a controversial position to take because it divides philosophers, politicians and society as a whole. Act utilitarian’s believe that an action is right if it produces more overall happiness in a given situation. The intention is to only make decisions that result in more happiness, while reducing the element of pain as much as possible.
“A Defense of Abortion” is a philosophy paper by Judith Jarvis Thomson in which the author argues for abortion, using several analogies to illustrate her points. In a move that separates this paper from the bulk of others on the same topic, Thomson grants at the start of the paper that a fetus has the right to life. She then proceeds to argue that although a fetus has a right to life, that right does not trump a woman’s right to her body. She concludes that abortion is an acceptable choice in a variety of circumstances.
When reviewing a number of sensitive issues that challenge our moral and ethical reasoning, the morality and ethics surrounding the concept of abortion are both highly debatable and extremely divisive. The concept of abortion creates a significant moral dilemma since moral justification can be argued from both proponents and detractors of the concept of abortion. In the following analysis, I will provide a view of abortion from three ethical points of view; deontological, consequentialist, and virtue ethics. These points of view will utilize information defining the different aspects and terms associated with the abortion discussion, as well as references to laws and situations. Before analyzing the ethical points of view, it is important to
One ethical theory in utilitarianism, this looks at the overall good of the people involved, it balance the good of keeping the child and the good of having an abortion. If having an abortion is justified by the hedonic calculus, the overall happiness brings about the greatest good, and then the abortion should be done. One example is if a woman gets pregnant and she can’t afford to look after it or it would affect her career, then the best thing for the foetus and the mother would be termination, this would be justified in the hedonic calculus.
Abortions have always been a very controversial topic. Recently, it has even become a very polarizing topic for many Americans. The topic of my research paper will be an in depth discussion of the morality and legality of abortions. The stance I will be taking on this issue is that abortion is morally permissible thus it should be legalized within the United States. In my argument, I will be engaging with Thompson and Marquis’ papers and some other resources.
For the past couple of decades, the issue of abortion has been the most heated topic debated in the United States. When considering this topic, one must look at three things: ethics, emotions and the law; for all of these are important to this issue. Like any debate, there are two sides to this issue: pro-choice and pro-life. The people who are pro- abortion say that the mother is the ultimate person to decide to abort a pregnancy and that the government should not get involved. On the other hand, a person against abortion would state that from the time of conception, the embryo/fetus is considered a human being. By aborting one is committing murder and taking away that human being’s life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as stated in the United States Constitution. When investigating the topic of abortion many questions come up. Can abortion be morally justified? What about in the case of therapeutic abortion or rape?
Abortion is the “act of removing a human embryo or fetus from the uterus of a pregnant woman prior to the completion of the full term of pregnancy.”1 Women may choose abortions for many reasons; some of which are social or economic. Social reasons may include bad timing, not being able to afford a child, not being ready or mature enough to support a baby or having relationship problems with the father. To a person who is pro-choice this is all understandable, however someone who is against abortion, pro-life, probably would not agree with some of these reasons.
Abortion is an issue of competing rights between women and a non-autonomous entity, or babies if you will. Some believe there is never any good reason to have an abortion. Others think there are exceptions that make abortion justifiable such as rape, incest, unhealthy, or high-risk pregnancies in which the woman’s health in on danger. Others think abortion is never justifiable in any situation. This debate on whether the rights of an non-autonomous, unconscious entity outweigh that of a woman is simple, the woman’s rights are always more important since the unborn are not protected under the law. There are a number of reasons that abortion should remain legal. One of those reasons being that denying access to abortion services endangers women’s
According to Kenneth W. Krause, “abortion might be the most inscrutable cultural issue of our time.” As a result of this enduring controversy, two opposing groups emerged: those who feel that abortion should be illegalized, the “pro-life” side, and those who believe that even though it may be an undesirable practice, abortion must remain legal, the “pro-choice” side. With research supported by science and ethics, it is evident that abortion is a “necessary evil” (Williams). The legalization of abortion provides protection of a woman’s right to control her own body, supports the prevention of risky, illegal abortions, and ensures that there will always be a choice concerning the immense, life-long responsibility that accompanies bringing a child into the world.
Abortion is a tough issue for our country to deal with. There are, on both sides of the argument, well-meaning and intelligent people - as well as the opposite. Despite the difficulty of this issue, it must be confronted, as it is simultaneously rooted in and influential towards the moral foundations and political ideals of America. As a concerned American and a pursuant of open-mindedness, I have reached the conclusion that abortion is a such a threat to America's public and private morals that it should be outlawed in all cases except for when the mother's physical health is seriously threatened. In order to support this conclusion, I intend to address and the pro-choice arguments as represented in the Planned Parenthood site Nine Reasons Abortion is Legal and other pro-choice Internet sites. I will refute their arguments as either misguided in their conclusions, inapplicable or insufficient to justify abortion.
Abortion was created to aid in certain situations in which a woman could not or did not want to give birth to a child and to care for the child. Abortion is a method in which the baby still in the mother’s womb or the living embryo/fetus is killed. Abortions will be performed for many reasons if it is an unwanted pregnancy for social and/or financial reasons or if there are medical circumstances with the child and/or the mother. A woman may be unable to carry the child or there may be congenital defects and the child would not be able to live afterbirth. The child may have genetic irregularities, such as Down syndrome. The parents may feel that they would be incapable of caring for the child and often the parents may feel that to have their child would have negative consequences to their lives. However, often, what are not taken into consideration are the negative effects after abortion, psychological and physical. Ultimately, the results may actually be worse than the problems, which were to be solved to begin with. These after-effects should be focused on and dealt with in a better manner.