They don’t see the fetus as an individual, they think that it’s mother’s decision to stay pregnant or not. Abortion is a topic of conflict where people look at it from many different points of views, some look at it by taking into consideration religion, some look at it from the scientific side and some people look at it as matter of choice. Wendy McElroy’s article “Abortion”, published in 2002, is defending abortion, mainly stating that the fetus isn’t an individual thus the termination of the life of a non individual isn’t wrong. She’s defending her argument with the fact that the fetus has no right and that the mother should have control over her body and do whatever she wants as long as she isn’t harming anyone. She also claims that the antiabortionists are fighting against the rights of women and the ability of free choice.
It focuses on the intrinsic value of the action itself and whether or not it is inherently good or bad, meaning that when applied to abortion there is not much lenience as it directly breaks three of the primary precepts: those of preserving life and the innocent, proliferation of the species, and to a lesser extent, the education of children (by removing the potential for one). This, coupled with the deontological nature of moral law, means that when following it to the letter abortion is wrong. However, this can be challenged by the doctrine of double effect, the concept that an action that is morally bad may be allowed if its effect will outweigh the action in terms of goodness or moral gain. Aquinas observed “Nothing hinders one act from having two effects, only one of which is intended, while the other is beside the intention. Accordingly, the act of self-defence may have two effects: one, the saving of one's life; the other, the slaying of the aggressor.
This could mean in cases where the mother could look after the child comfortably with love and care but chooses not to out of selfishness instead (one of the four functioning principles: pragmatism, would need to be applied to decide). This could result in a disappointed family and/or a depressed husband or boyfriend who wanted to father a child. Allowing abortion societally might not be the most loving thing to do because there is a great need for adoption (2 million
This is understandable through her issues on abortion. I believe abortion is a ‘taboo’ in many religions, Catholic being one of them, and therefore making this issue even more complicated. She goes on to discuss her stance on abortion and why she is prochoice. She explains that, “abortion is not a positive good, it has positive outcomes.” Her perspective implies that there are legitimate concerns abortion carries but the outcome is why she believes it should be done. The interviewer made a remark I believe illustrates the true controversy of this issue in that, “abortion remains more abstract because it is a moment of sadness, grief, and confusion.” This statement underlines the situation and its complexity.
People who are trying to apply this broad, deep, Christian version of the word love/agape. People are flawed, jealous, greedy, have agendas, if all rules can be overridden by giving the excuse that it is done with love, then what is the point of making ethical judgements at all? If you look at case studies and apply a couple of different ethical theories to them as well as analyzing them from a situation ethic's perspective you will see the benefit of it as a theory as it basically states that 'All moral decisions are hypothetical, the only decision is to decide what the most loving thing to do is' and the end always justifies the means. Situational ethics are about real life events, they are applied to the outcomes of each real life acts and judged individually. The only moral compass, as rules can be broken and overridden, is Agape.
Pro-life is the opposing argument to pro-choice, and that abortions should be made illegal like in Northern Ireland unless the mother’s life is at serious risk. Many Religions have the traditional view that abortion is a sin. It is argued that if a teenager becomes pregnant and has an abortion they may come to regret this in later life, because at the time they were only a minor. The argument for Pro-life is a choice by people who feel that it is wrong to take a man life, weather that human has been born or not is irrelevant. Abortion is seen as no different to murder.
Warren beings her argument by acknowledging that abortion “…usually entails the death of a fetus. ( Social and Personal Ethics: The Moral Status Of Abortion, Marry Anne Warren, Page 109)” Shockingly enough, at least to many individuals, Warren still holds firm that safe abortion is both morally permissible and under no circumstance should be illegal. Warren recognizes that it is almost futile to argue with those who believe that abortion is equivalent to murder unless it is argued that fetuses to not have the same right to life as other human beings. She does this by
Moreover children should not come into the world unwanted as this only increases the already high number of orphans. In some cases some parents/peoples simply cannot afford to raise children and this leads to babies being born into poverty. On the other hand people that are anti-legal abortion strongly believe that personhood begins from the moment of conception and claim fetuses have a fundamental right to life which should be protected. Additionally women should use contraceptives and not abortion to prevent unwanted pregnancies as it doesn’t allow the woman to even reach that stage of having to consider abortion. Correspondingly selective abortion based on genetic abnormalities is overt discrimination.
It cannot be held responsible for the deeds of another and should not be punished for those implied deeds. In the prolife view, women who choose, in the face of problematic circumstances, to keep an unwanted pregnancy when abortion is a choice, are "truly" female. (Rose) If a woman is to terminate an unborn fetus’ life society will never know what it could’ve become. He or she could have discovered the cure for cancer or aids, but it would never known, because they never existed. Many Prolifers also believe that abortion goes against the declaration of independence.
"Although the foetus is to be specially respected and protected, nonetheless the life of the foetus is not absolutely sacrosanct if it endangers the life of the mother." Church of England - Board of Social Responsibility Report 1984 The Church of England does not morally agree with abortion, but often accepts it may be the only way forward for someone. They do not condemn someone who has an abortion, but would help a woman get through it, come to terms with it, and