From a non-biblical standpoint, it is based on whether a woman finds it ethically right to terminate a pregnancy and what effect it would ultimately have on her happiness. Therefore, abortion is not philosophically incorrect. In this paper, we will discuss how natural law, utilitarianism and ethical relativism cause opposition to these theories. Abortion is defined as: “The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy." However, if only the debate over the abortion issue was as simple as the definition provided.
Many of the arguments made by the pro-life team take a moral, ethical, or religious standpoint in their persuasion of others. In order for us to gain a more objective look at the debate with real-world pros and cons, the moral, ethical, and/or religious arguments will not be covered. Abortion has been a topic of controversy in America for almost two hundred years. The earliest known instance of conflict occurred in 1821 when Connecticut outlawed the selling of poisons used to induce abortion in women (Abortion ProCon.org). In 1845, New York began the trend of slapping legal consequences for women who have abortions.
It is a topic that can be vastly argued, but when considering what is best for society as a whole, it is possible to narrow down the possible outcomes. Although it is not best for society to make abortion completely illegal, there is a fine line between abortion and murder which needs to be dealt with. It is commonly agreed that murder is unethical, however, what needs to be clarified is the definition of life. The “New Oxford American Dictionary,” partly defines life as “...functional activity...” The question then is how this relates to a human fetas and abortion. In order to meet this require of life, a fetas would need both a heart beat and brain activity.
This dichotomy of the one and the many presents itself in the premises of the two opponents as follows: Anti-abortionist has the outlook that fetuses are people, and abortion equates to murder. While, on the other hand, the pro-choicer are proponents of the ideal of fetuses not being people, thus abortion doesn’t
The Dilemma An ethical dilemma is a situation in which no solution is entirely satisfactory to either party (Foundations of nursing care, 2004). The historical 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade ruled in favor of the plaintiff, considering abortion an essential right granted to women under the Constitution of the United States (McBride, 2006). Jane Roe was a woman that was pregnant who wanted to obtain an abortion. She was prosecuted on behalf of women in a similar situation that wanted to avoid the implementation of Texas laws banning all abortions except those deemed necessary to save the life of the mother. The court decided in her favor that a woman’s right to abortion fell within the right to privacy, and was protected by the fourteenth amendment (McBride, 2006).
Despite the fact that both she and the fetus has the equal right to life, opponents of abortion would still consider it wrong to preform an abortion with reasons ranging from killing an innocent person is always wrong and is murder to one must always prefer letting a person die to killing a person. J.J. Thomson would respond to say that these reasons are all false if we consider that the mother is only preforming an abortion in order to save her own life and not for personal interests. Hence abortion should be considered morally permissible in such situations when the life of the mother is threatened by the fetus. In order to determine whether abortion is permissible in cases where the mother’s life is not in immediate danger, we should analyse whether the fetus truly has the right to live. Take for example, rape.
Problem: Abortion is philosophically divisive, separating people into three viewpoints; the conservatives, the liberals and the moderates. This is mainly due to the fact that humanity as a whole cannot decide if or when a fetus has the right to live. Is the fetus a person? Does it have a moral standing and a right to life? Does this right to life begin at conception, the stage of viability, birth or some other point in time?
Pro-choice believes- that abortion is the belief that women have the right to choose to abort a baby from their body. Arguments for Pro-Life 1. Since life begins at conception, abortion is the same to murder as it is the act of taking human life. Abortion is in direct defiance of the commonly accepted idea of the sanctity of human life 2. No civilized society lets one human to intentionally harm or take the life of another human without punishment, and abortion is no different.
One controversial issue is the topic of abortion. Democrats who are “ Pro- Choice” strongly stand behind Roe v. Wade (a decision made by the Supreme Court ruling that a woman has the right to choose abortion defended by her right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth amendment). Democrats object to any attempt that takes away that right from a woman regardless of her ability to pay for it. Democrats place confidence behind their opinion that “abortion is an intensely personal decision between a woman, her family, her doctor, and her clergy; there is no place for politicians or government to get in the way”. Granting democrats certainty that women have the choice to abort an unwanted pregnancy, in the event that the woman does choose to continue with the pregnancy Democrats advocate belief in the access of availability to programs such as WIC, pregnancy Medicaid, CHIP, etc.
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.