Thou shalt not kill; one-tenth of what may arguably be the most famous guidelines of morality in the western culture, and also the main driving force for pro-life advocates. The argument supporting their beliefs typically starts with the premises that a fetus is a person, and to destroy or to kill a person is unethical. Therefore abortion, the premeditated destruction of a human being, is murder, and consequently unethical. I deny the fact that the fetus, what I will refer to as an embryo up to 22 weeks old, has the right to live. The opposing argument is invalid because a fetus, although perhaps a part of human species, is not formally a person. This leaves it simply to be a part of the woman?s body, whose fate lies solely in the hands of the pregnant woman alone, no different from a tumor she might have. By proving this, the abortion debate then becomes an issue of women?s rights, something that is most controversial indeed. Furthermore, it is fair to question the credibility of many people against abortion because of obvious contradictions in the logic of their belief systems. The fact that this debate is relevant in modern society is ludicrous since there is a simple and plausible solution to this problem that could potentially end the debate for good, leaving both sides satisfied. In order for the pro-life argument to be valid, it must have both a true premise and true conclusion. It falls short of validity by assuming that a fetus up to 22 weeks old is a person, and has its own rights independent of its host, or what we often refer to as its mother. First we must recognize the subtle, yet extremely important distinction between a human being and a person. It is obvious that a fetus is a member of the human ... ... middle of paper ... ...erty and Human Rights? Ethics & International Affairs, Volume 19, No. 1 Spring 2013. Web 14 April 2014 . ?Total Midyear Population for the World: 1950-2050? U.S. Census Bureau 26 April 2012. Web 8 April 2014 . ?Teen Pregnancy ? So What?? teenpregnancy.org Feb 2014. Web 8 April 2014 . Connolly, Ceci ?As Teen Pregnancy Dropped, So Did Child Poverty? Washington Post 9 Jan 2014. Web 14 April 2014 < http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51337-2005Apr13.html> ?113th Congress Scorecard? WAND Web 14 April 2014 . ?His and Her Demographics: Women and Men 2010? U.S. Census Bureau Web 14 April 2014.
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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
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In her essay, “A Defense of Abortion,” Judith Jarvis Thompson outlines the most common arguments that people defend, and explains her views regarding each of these. She shares numerous examples and situations that she believes will support her views. One of her most prominent arguments is that of whether or not a fetus has moral standing as a “person.” She highlights the so called “battle” between an innocent life, the fetus, and the bodily rights of the mother. Within this argument, Judith outlines for us several situations which can provide people with a different outlook regarding abortion. Throughout Judith’s essay, she does not truly give a clear stance, but rather allows her readers to choose for themselves.
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.
United States. Office of Immigration Statistics. Department of Homeland Security. Population Estimates. Rytina Nancy Hoefer Michael and Baker Bryan C. Office of Immigration Statistics Policy Directorate, 2010. 4.
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.
...the woman's right to make a decision on her own body. This is the fundamental issue of this debate. Although some pro-life argue that the fetus also has a right to life, I mentioned earlier that abortion is a process to remove the fetus from the mother, not to kill the fetus to terminate the pregnancy. Once the fetus has removed form the mother, he/she is an entity life. The fetus's right is based on him/herself, but not the mother. The mother could have both mental and physical harms to give a birth under some circumstances, such as rape, incest or health related problems. I also explained that the mother has more obligations to her family and society than the value of the fetus. If the mother dies during the birth of baby, then the loss is more than the value of the new life. Form the consequential view, it is not worth that sacrifice the mother to save the fetus.
"Teen Pregnancy Statistics - Teen Pregnancy." Teen Help - Advice for Parents and Teens. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
Opponents of the matter, who identify themselves as pro-life, assert that personhood begins at conception, and abortion is therefore the immoral killing of and innocent human being. The staggering numbers and cruel methods are addressed (al...
United States. Bureau of the Census. “Census Current Population Survey 2008”. 4 Jan. 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
“How far along in a pregnancy is it until the unborn child is considered human? At what point does it receive basic rights?” These propositions have been the topic of one the most controversial discussions of the century. Based on the research I have completed on this topic, it has been made indisputable to me that life begins at the moment of conception.
also on its environment where it will develop until birth, the mother’s womb.A woman is lending her body as an environment of growth. Some argue that the decision of whether this fetus should be carried to term or not lies in the decision of the woman carrying the fetus. The term pro-choice suggests that the choice of pregnancy and eventually birth of a child is simply that, a choice. The choice in this case, lies in the hands of the woman, since it is her body that is being subject to the most change. Anyone can have an opinion on the personhood of a fetus but only a woman who is pregnant will be directly affected by their decision to continue the pregnancy or not. Even if we all agreed that a fetus is a person and deserves the right to live,
Pam, and Max. Comparing Population of Countries. Lady Luck Enterprises, 1998-2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Families and Living Arrangements. Us Department of Justice Census Bureau website. U.S. Census Bureau. March 2010.