Abortion- A Woman’s Divine Right Tameka A. Severson SOC 120 Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility Instructor: Theodore Framan April 16, 2012 The topic of abortion is one of the most controversial of our times. The fight between pro-life and pro-choice supporters has been long and brutal. This is because individuals can be a bit “close minded” and refuse to view any other beliefs or ideas other than their own. Although I support the act of abortion, when it all boils down, it is a right and the circumstance at hand really depends on the particular individual. Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability.
Nevertheless, this is not the right term to justify this action, since there is no valid self-defense against someone who is innocent and unwilling to cause any harm. So, who are we to decide who has more right to life, the mother or the fetus? The answer can’t be taken by a game of chance and it will not be morally right to punish with dead an innocent person who has the same rights as the mother. In the same way, Thomson explores the notion of autonomy and the ability for women to decide what happens in and out their body. In other words, the idea of trespassing and violating is used as a metaphor for an unwanted pregnancy, which can also be morally permissible.
Thomson creates three hypothetical analogies that further explain why an abortion is permissible for each case. For the sake of argument, Thomson’s initial premise for all cases is that a fetus is a person. The debate with Thomson’s claim is whether or not her hypothetical analogies work to conclude that abortions are permissible in certain cases. Thomson argues abortions are permissible in rape cases by using a hypothetical situation where an individual has been kidnapped against their will and awakens medically attached to a famous violinist, allowing him to survive only through the use of your kidneys. If you detached yourself from the violinist, he will certainly die; therefore, to continue the analogy, you have to lie there for the nine months it will take to rehabilitate his kidneys.
Abortion Abortion is a very debatable topic in the United States and there is no clear answer if it’s permissible or not. Abortion can be defined as, the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy at any stage of the pregnancy. Many people believe that abortion should be outlawed, others believe it should be an option, and last view being a mix between both. The mixed view population believe that in cases of rape the mother can have an option to abort or not, or if the fetus reaches a certain age it is not permissible to abort it. Thomson stakes her claim by focusing on three circumstances where she believes abortions to be permissible.
In my conclusion I don’t really know where I stand on this issue, I feel the mother has the right to make her own decision but at the same time at what time are you granted your rights, at birth or conception? And what about privacy rights? For example, Justice Harry Blackmun’s opinion in Roe v. Wade case was based on a constitutional right to privacy that is not found in the words of the constitution. The Roe v. Wade case was Roe (P), a pregnant single woman, brought a class action suit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas abortion laws. These laws made it a crime to obtain or
Defense Issue #4- It is Constitutional to Ban “Partial-Birth” Abortions Without Providing for an Exception to Protect the Health of the Mother? Today I _____here on behalf for the defense, stand before the court to ask you to stay with the decision and majority opinion of Anthony Kennedy v. Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the case Gonzales v. Carhart, U.S. Supreme Court (April 18.2007). In an age where women are fully capable of being on a birth control or controlling the ability to get pregnant it is Constitutional to ban “partial-birth” Abortions for the health of the women and the fact it is not something to be taken lightly. In the case Planned Parenthood v. Casey (505 U.S. 833, 1992) it was said that the government has a “legitimate interest”
“The term, "back-alley abortion," became slang for illegal abortions.” ( 1.Focus on the Family Issue Analysts). Over time states were given the right to legalize abortion for special purposes. It was referred to as the ALI model, the right to have or perform an abortion due to special purposes such as rape impairment of child or harm to mother. “Mississippi added an exception for rape in 1966, but the first
Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 (2007), is a United States Supreme Court case that upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. The case reached the high court after U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appealed a ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in favor of LeRoy Carhart that struck down the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Also before the Supreme Court was the consolidated appeal of Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which had struck down the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The thing that stir debate is “partial-birth abortion”, in medicine it also called “dilation & extraction” (D&X) or “intact dilation and evacuation” (intact D&E). The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (Pub.L.
12 Apr. 2012 Many people do not want to hear the word abortion, but when it comes to rape victims that get pregnant, it is often brought up. Even pro-life advocates agree that an innocent child shouldn’t perish for the sins of their father (1). Harvard students give their opinions and come to the conclusion that no rape victim shall be frowned upon when deciding to get an abortion. “Abortion is not some magical surgery which turns back time to make a woman ‘un-pregnant’ – or, for the matter, ‘un-raped’” (1).
An abortion is a procedure, either surgical or medical; to terminate pregnancy (mediLexicon International). Abortion has been around the globe for thousands of years in every inhabited corner of the world. The practice of abortion was widespread in ancient times as a method of birth control by the use of herbs, application of abdominal pressure and use of sharpened implements. Abortion laws and their implements have fluctuated through different eras. In 20th century many western countries were successful in getting abortion bans repealed, but this legality is regularly challenged by anti-abortionist groups.