As to any argument, there are two opposing sides when it comes to the matter of abortions. These two opposers usually refer to themselves as “pro-life” and “pro choice”. Pro-life supporters maintain that abortion is wrong and pro-choice believe that it is a woman’s freedom to choose her pregnancy decisions. When it comes to the topic of abortions, most of us will readily agree that it’s a woman’s choice to decide what her reproductive decisions are, i.e. pro-choice. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is in the question of whether or not abortion is a fundamental right granted to women by the Constitution. Whereas some are convinced that a fetus is considered alive at conception, usually citing the word of God, others maintain that
Opposing views on abortion divide America today. The debates have sparked nationwide controversy and sometimes violent acts. Government laws allow abortion and permit the medical procedure. However, though abortion is legalized throughout the nation, pro-life advocates still believe it is considered an act of murder unlike pro-choice supporters who contend that it is a woman’s right to decide her parental fate. Two political and religious views about abortion are the pro-life and pro-choice.
The ethics of abortion is a topic that establishes arguments that attempt to argue if abortion is morally justified or not. Philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson wrote a pro- choice piece called “A Defense of Abortion.” In this paper, she presents various arguments that attempt to defend abortion by relating it to the woman carrying the fetus and her right in controlling her body. On the other side of the spectrum, philosopher Don Marquis wrote a pro- life paper called “Why Abortion Is Immoral.” Ultimately, Marquis argues that abortion is immoral with rare exceptions because it is resulting in the deprivation of the fetus’s valuable future. He supports his paper by creating the future-like-ours argument that compares the future of a fetus to the
The 1973 Supreme Court decision in the case of Roe vs. Wade is the foundation for our current abortion policy as well as the cause of so much controversy today. Though always an issue, nothing prior can compare to the momentum that it has now. In the span of 30 years since the ruling, the combination of science, morals and religion have spun off numerous sub-issues to the effect that people have been left either aligned to one side of the argument, or caught in the middle, unable to choose. The key issue at hand is whether the 1973 ruling of Roe vs. Wade should be upheld or should all abortions be illegal. The issue is so divisive because abortion brings up closely related but unresolved moral issues, and tries to bring a legal answer to them. The consequences would be monumental for those who have a stake in a resulting decision. Women’s rights, first and foremost, would be affected because many women in the pro-choice movement believe this decision is a reflection of the amount of power the government should have over the individual, women in particular. They would take the results as a major setback in the women’s rights movement should abortion become illegal. Pro-life groups see this as a moral debate over life, with the elimination of abortion meaning that the fetus has been recognized as a living human being with rights like any other. Religious advocates, particularly those siding with the pro-life movement see the attitude towards abortion as a reflection of sexual permissiveness in the American people. As for the American people themselves, while having strong feelings about abortion, are not ready or willing to get rid of it. Though both sides push for common things like better sex education for th...
There will always be a debate over whether or not abortion should be a legal option. It continues to divide Americans very long after the US Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade. People, identifying themselves as pro-choice, say that choosing abortion is a right that should not be limited by the government or religious authority, and it outweighs any right claimed for a fetus or an embryo. It is said that pregnant women will resort to unsafe, illegal abortions if they do not get the option to do it the safer way, legally. Their opponents, identifying themselves as pro-life, say that a life begins at conception, and so abortion is the immoral killing of an innocent, helpless human being. They say
Abortion is probably one of the most controversial issues in the United States today. The laws and ideas behind abortion are argued by both sides. Someone who is pro-life believes it is all up to the mother when it comes to making the decision if the baby is going to die or not. People who are pro-choice believe that under certain circumstances abortion is permissible, which I would have to agree with. In these next few paragraphs I will explain the different laws that the government has put in place for both pro-life and choice. I will also give my personal opinion on why I believe that abortion should be left up to the mother to decide whether or not she should have an abortion.
When analyzing both sides of the abortion issues, it is evident that both sides provide both strong and weak arguments. Abortion will always be a controversial issue in society and there will always be disputing sides to the matter. Each person must make their own decisions based on their beliefs and factual evidence. Both sides must learn to be open-minded to the other side and learn to respect the fact that they have different thoughts and views.
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.”
One of the biggest issue of abortion goes back to the controversial question of when human life actually begins. Many people will often argue that a fetus is a living being from the moment of conception and feel that it deserves the same legal protections as an adult, therefore making it immoral to kill it. Just like in our court system, we would not put an innocent person on death penalty. The fetus has done nothing wrong and has the right to live. As the editor of Christianity Today wrote, "abortion is one of those monumental issues of justice that comes along once in a lifetime. It is violence against children, a hideous act of poisoning or dismembering tiny bodies, then dumping them in a landfill or garbage disposal." On the other hand, those who are for abortion say that a fetus is only a "potential human being." The advocates for legal abortions want the mother to choose whether she keeps the baby or kills it, and the rights of a mother supersede the rights of a baby. John M. Sw...
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.
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,
There are many factors that are taken into consideration when determining if abortion is morally permissible, or wrong including; sentience of the fetus, the fetuses right to life, the difference between adult human beings and fetuses, the autonomy of the pregnant woman, and the legality of abortion. Don Marquis argues that abortion is always morally wrong, excluding cases in which the woman is threatened by pregnancy, or abortion after rape, because fetuses have a valuable future. Mary Anne Warren contends that late term abortions are morally permissible because birth is the most significant event for a fetus, and a woman’s autonomy should never be suspended.
Abortion may be one of the most controversial topics in America today. Abortion is defined as “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus” (cite dictionary). There are really only two sides on people’s opinion on abortion; pro-life which means abortion should be outlawed and pro-choice which means a woman should be able to decide whether she wants to keep her baby. Thousands of protests and riots have begun due to the fact pro-life activists believe abortion should become illegal. Both sides bring valid points to support their decision that could sway any person’s thoughts. The Roe v. Wade law has allowed abortion to be legal in the U.S since 1973 (Chittom & Newton, 2015). The law “gives women total control over first trimester abortions and grants state legislative control over second and third trimester abortions” (Chittom & Newton, 2015). Ever since the law was put in place, millions of people have tried to overturn it and still
The murder of innocents or, a woman’s right to choose; the Pro-Life/ Pro-Choice Debate, Which side are you on? The issue of abortion has been a topic of interest not only in the medical world but also in the political and religious worlds as well. The pro-life argument states that at conception the fetus is a baby and terminating it is taking a life. The pro-choice argument states that the unborn fetus, not baby, is just a blob of tissue and your terminating a pregnancy not a child. Both sides of the argument will be discussed in this essay along with the views of the church, politicians, women who have had abortion, and even a women who use to worked for Planned Parenthood.