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Abortion; as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary is, “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus. This is the definition of abortion of which I will be reviewing its ethical status. After Roe vs Wade, the supreme court simultaneously decided that women have the right of privacy under the 14th amendment; making it acceptable to abort a pregnancy within the first trimester (Vaughn 119). The main argument on abortion is really a debate on human life, and whether it has value from the moment of conception. Each and every human life is composed of intrinsic value, and has the right to live. Killing an innocent human being is wrong, and fetuses are innocent human beings;making it morally wrong and impermissible to abort a fetus (Vaughn 143).
In modern day society we are often faced with moral issues (like abortion) that cause disagreement, and frustration between groups of people with opposing values and ideas. Some argue on the basis of pure subjectivity, while others argue from objective principles. Over time, great minds such as Immanuel Kant have illustrated moral principles that govern a person or groups behavior called ethics(Merriam-Webster).
Although there are many different styles of ethics, for this paper I will be taking a Deontological stance.The term “deontology” is derived from the greek word Deon which means “binding duty”(The Free-Dictionary). This means that the essence of deontological approaches to ethical theories is performing duties for duties sake. Kant illustrates what he means by duties in the following quote: “Duty is the necessity of acting from respect for the law”(Kant 88). Kant also defines moral duty as an objective ...
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... to maintain one’s life; and, in addition, everyone has also a direct inclination to do so.”(Kant 87) In this situation there is no inclination to preserve life, but the duty remains.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Vaughn, Lewis. Contemporary Moral Arguments: Readings in Ethical Issues. Second ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.
Vaughn, Lewis, and Immanuel Kant. "Kant:Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals." Contemporary Moral Arguments: Readings in Ethical Issues. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. 85-93. Print.
Moreland, J.P, and William Lane Craig. Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. N.p.: IVP Academic, (March 31, 2003). Print.
"Deontology." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
"Abortion." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
"Ethics." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
The prima facie duties that William David Ross has listed include duties of fidelity, reparation, gratitude, justice, beneficence, self-improvement, and non-maleficence. Duties of fidelity and reparation rest on previous acts that one has performed, and acting on these duties are acts such as promise-keeping (duties of fidelity) and making amends for previous wrongful acts (duties of reparation), while duties of gratitude rest on previous acts that others have performed. There is a duty associated with the distribution of pleasure or good regardless of its recipient, and this is termed as duties of justice. An additional duty rests on the mere fact that there are other beings in this world to whom we can be of assistance to: duties of beneficence. Duties of self-improvement claim that there are intrinsic moral reasons for one to improve oneself and finally, duties of non-maleficence states that there are intrinsic moral reasons to not harm others. Duties are placed on the list only when they have been judged to be basic moral reaso...
Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before birth; it causes the termination of the embryo or fetus inside the women. There are two different types of abortion, a spontaneous abortion, which is also known as a miscarriage, and an induced abortion, where the embryo or fetus is purposely removed from the women’s body. The topic of induced abortion has been widely debated for hundreds of years. The issue of abortion was argued way back in the time of the ancient Hebrews. In the United States it became illegal around the mid 1800’s and not until the 1960’s was the argument for the right to abort brought back to the table. In 1973, the Supreme Court case “Roe vs. Wade” made abortion legal. The case stated that abortion was legal in the first trimester (three months) of pregnancy (O’Brien par. 17). Since that day over 30 years ago, there have been many cases in which abortion has been disputed. Congress has passed many laws restricting abortion rights, including in cases such as Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services and Stenberg v. Carhart (O’Brien par. 18). There are many other cases like these and each time is seems more likely that a woman’s right to choose could be overturned (“Reproductive Rights” 26). There are many different ranges of beliefs about the morality of abortion, whether or not one should have an abortion, and under what conditions the termination of pregnancy is acceptable. Many argue at what point in the process of pregnancy a human person comes into existence. People disagree about whether anything from an ovum to a fetus is a form of human life. No person knows this information, but it is debated among the two major sides on this issue. The first side are those that believe abortion should be forb...
Rachels, James, and Stuart Rachels. "7,8,9,10." In The elements of moral philosophy. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2010. 97-145.
Morgan, Michael L., ed. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. 3rd Edition. Indianapolis. Hackett, 2001.
O'Neill, O. (1986). A Simplified Account of Kantian Ethics. Matters of life and death (pp. 44-50). n.a.: McGraw-Hill.
Ethics can be defined as "the conscious reflection on our moral beliefs with the aim of improving, extending or refining those beliefs in some way." (Dodds, Lecture 2) Kantian moral theory and Utilitarianism are two theories that attempt to answer the ethical nature of human beings. This paper will attempt to explain how and why Kantian moral theory and Utilitarianism differ as well as discuss why I believe Kant's theory provides a more plausible account of ethics.
What is ethics? Ethics are the philosophical principles of good verses bad moral behavior. It is a guideline to help people make decisions or make a judgment calls. There are two main types of ethical principles that will be discussed in this paper, and how they are applied to the decision making process. They are Deontological and Utilitarian. Deontological ethics are based on the righteousness or wrongness of the action-taking place. It does not base itself on the bad or good consequences that come from the action. Immanuel Kant introduced deontological ethics in the 18th century. Kant believed that every decision or action made by a person had to be evaluated by his or her moral duty. He stated that humanity shouldn’t side on its
Abortion refers to the termination of one’s pregnancy, resulting in the removal of one’s fetus to prevent it from being born. While the concept is simple enough, the crux of the argument lies in the morality of this procedure and whether or not a woman should be allowed to sacrifice a fetus to better her own life. Abortion must continue to be legalized in order to ensure that women have that choice.
Kant, Immanuel, and Mary J. Gregor. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print.
Deontology is the ethical view that some actions are morally forbidden or permitted regardless of consequences. One of the most influential deontological philosophers in history is Immanuel Kant who developed the idea of the Categorical Imperative. Kant believed that the only thing of intrinsic moral worth is a good will. Kant says in his work Morality and Rationality “The good will is not good because of what it affects or accomplishes or because of it’s adequacy to achieve some proposed end; it is good only because of it’s willing, i.e., it is good of itself”. A maxim is the generalized rule that characterizes the motives for a person’s actions. For Kant, a will that is good is one that is acting by the maxim of doing the right thing because it is right thing to do. The moral worth of an action is determined by whether or not it was acted upon out of respect for the moral law, or the Categorical Imperative. Imperatives in general imply something we ought to do however there is a distinction between categorical imperatives and hypothetical imperatives. Hypothetical imperatives are obligatory so long as we desire X. If we desire X we ought to do Y. However, categorical imperatives are not subject to conditions. The Categorical Imperative is universally binding to all rational creatures because they are rational. Kant proposes three formulations the Categorical Imperative in his Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Moral, the Universal Law formulation, Humanity or End in Itself formulation, and Kingdom of Ends formulation. In this essay, the viablity of the Universal Law formulation is tested by discussing two objections to it, mainly the idea that the moral laws are too absolute and the existence of false positives and false negatives.
In my argumentative coursework I am arguing that abortion is wrong and not to be mistaken with 'Abortion should be made illegal.' I will explain later why I have made this statement. Abortion is the termination of an unborn child in its mother's womb for up to twenty four weeks of the pregnancy or in special circumstances e.g. Disability diagnosis a termination right up until the mother goes in to labour. I think the above definition is an easier and less harsh way of saying that abortion is the murdering of a human being. There are several reasons why abortion is legal and several reasons why it shouldn?t be.
O’Neill, Onora. “Kantian Ethics.” A Companion to Ethics. Ed. Peter Singer. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 1991. 175-185. Print.
Arthur, John, and Scalet, Steven, eds. Morality and Moral Controversies: Readings in Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Eighth Edition, 2009.
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.
Immanuel Kant’s ethical theory is referred to as deontology, which is where one acts according to one’s principle. He believes that the will has ethical priority over the body and soul. The only way a will is a good will is to the extent that the person acts from a sense of duty and functions with reason. By determining what is good, Kant uses categorical imperative in order to help in ethical deliberation.