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Abortion philosophy essays
Abortions related to ethical theories
Ethical delimmas on abortions
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According to Judith Thomson in her book “A Defense of Abortion”, a human embryo is a person who has a right to life. But, just because the human fetus has the right to life does not mean that the mother will be forced to carry it (Thomson, 48). Naturally, abortion may be seen as the deliberate termination of a pregnancy before the fetal viability. Though people have understood this, the topic of abortion has remained a controversial issue in the world. Individuals are divided into “Pro-choice” and “Pro-life” debaters depending on their opinion on the morality of the action. "Pro-life," the non-consequentialist side, is the belief that abortion is wrong, generally because it equates to killing. "Pro-choice," the consequentialist view, however, …show more content…
He argues that an issue is deemed moral if it has the greatest pleasure to the involved individual. That is, an issue is considered morally right if it promotes happiness but considered morally inappropriate if it produces a reverse of happiness (Baird & Stuart, 38). Consequentialists defend both positions with claims that abortions have different impacts on the mother’s life. According to the consequentialist group that supports abortion, termination should be allowed because denial may lead to disastrous consequences. Their argument is based on population control and social welfare of the women. They argue that abortion is good as it controls population that would affect future social systems and sustainability of biological systems (Baird & Stuart, 34). In essence, they claim that unwanted pregnancies lead to distress and depression to the community, and therefore abortion should be the primary …show more content…
For example, a mother who opts to abort lives a life full of misery and guilt following her unethical action. The same issue is explored by Kant, where he argues that frequent abortions would make the human race extinct. Therefore, not irrational or good to the society. Lastly, they argue that abortion denies the fetus the right to life which is granted by the Human Rights Commission. Judith Thomson argument that a human embryo is a person indicates that he or she has the right to life, and no one has a right to terminate it (Baird & Stuart, 78). Therefore, abortion is unacceptable, irrational and immoral action to
There are many factors that are taken into consideration when determining if abortion is morally permissible, or wrong including; sentience of the fetus, the fetuses right to life, the difference between adult human beings and fetuses, the autonomy of the pregnant woman, and the legality of abortion. Don Marquis argues that abortion is always morally wrong, excluding cases in which the woman is threatened by pregnancy, or abortion after rape, because fetuses have a valuable future. Mary Anne Warren contends that late term abortions are morally permissible because birth is the most significant event for a fetus, and a woman’s autonomy should never be suspended.
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
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.
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.
Abortion, which is defined as a deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, is one of the most controversial issues in society. Many people believe that abortion is unethical and morally wrong, while others believe that it is a woman’s right to decide what to do with her body. According to www.census.gov, “the number of abortions performed annually in the U.S. has leveled off at 1.2 million a year” (1). This statistic supports how many women are choosing abortion. Although abortion is legal in the United States, many people continue to voice their opinions on how it is a human rights violation and should be illegal everywhere. The practice of abortion should be banned in society because it terminates the life of an innocent unborn child, causes long-term emotional effects, as well as major health risks for women who opt for abortion.
This essay examines and critiques Judith Jarvis Thomson’s, A Defense of Abortion (1971). Thomson sets out to show that the foetus does not have a right to the mother’s body and that it would not be unjust to perform an abortion when the mother’s life is not threatened. For the sake of the argument, Thomson adopts the conservative view that the foetus is a person from the moment of conception. The conservative argument asserts that every person has a right to life. The foetus has a right to life.
Anger and heated debate have long fueled the controversy over abortion. Whether pro-life or pro-choice, both sides of the argument are convinced of the righteousness of their beliefs. There is, however, some confusion surrounding the term “pro-choice” – it does not directly pertain to the spread and use of abortion, but rather, “pro-choicers” advocate the continued legalization of abortion in order to make the choice available and to ensure that women’s fundamental rights are not subjugated. The stance that abortion should be available has its roots in economic concerns, psychological evidence, moral dilemmas, and the Constitution.
One of the most controversial issues in society today is abortion, and as of now, it is morally acceptable because of Roe vs Wade. However, when a study conducted by Minnesota reveals that women who have had an abortion have 10 times the risk of committing suicide than women who have not had an abortion, it’s time to seriously think about whether or not abortion should be acknowledged as morally right. Considered by some to be a form of murder, anti-abortion laws should apply to all women in order to prevent any emotional mishaps of the abortion victim and to save the lives of the innocent human beings not yet born. Pro-Choice advocates believe that abortion should be legalized because they feel it is necessary to empower women with choice. They have strong opinions that women are not subordinate, so they ought to be allowed to make moral decisions and should not be forced to have a child, but why should the child have to suffer for the wrongdoings of his mother?
The permissibility of abortion has been a crucial topic for debates for many years. People have yet to agree upon a stance on whether abortion is morally just. This country is divided into two groups, believers in a woman’s choice to have an abortion and those who stand for the fetus’s right to live. More commonly these stances are labeled as pro-choice and pro-life. The traditional argument for each side is based upon whether a fetus has a right to life. Complications occur because the qualifications of what gives something a right to life is not agreed upon. The pro-choice argument asserts that only people, not fetuses, have a right to life. The pro-life argument claims that fetuses are human beings and therefore they have a right to life. Philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thomson, rejects this traditional reasoning because the right of the mother is not brought into consideration. Thomson prepares two theses to explain her reasoning for being pro-choice; “A right to life does not entail the right to use your body to stay alive” and “In the majority of cases it is not morally required that you carry a fetus to term.”
The murder of innocents or, a woman’s right to choose; the Pro-Life/ Pro-Choice Debate, Which side are you on? The issue of abortion has been a topic of interest not only in the medical world but also in the political and religious worlds as well. The pro-life argument states that at conception the fetus is a baby and terminating it is taking a life. The pro-choice argument states that the unborn fetus, not baby, is just a blob of tissue and your terminating a pregnancy not a child. Both sides of the argument will be discussed in this essay along with the views of the church, politicians, women who have had abortion, and even a women who use to worked for Planned Parenthood.
Abortion may appear ethical or unethical depending on various viewpoints and circumstances. The fetus is considered a person and bringing it to term may be unethical as the act is considered as murder. In some situations, the mother may require to terminate a pregnancy for her bodily autonomy (Johnston, 2003). In such positions, the resolution to terminate a pregnancy may be argued as the most ethical choice. The mother is also considered to having a reasonable level of ethical responsibility to the fetus, because she did not take enough precaution to ensure avoiding conception (Cline, 2014). The mother’s ethical responsibility to the fetus may not be enough to deprive her choice of abortion; it...
One of the most controversial issues in this day and age is the stance people take on abortion. The two main positions that people take are either of pro-choice or pro-life; both sides, although polar opposites, tend to refer to both the issue of morality and logical rationale. The pro-life side of the debate believes that abortion is an utterly immoral practice that should be abolished. On the contrary, abortion should remain a legal procedure because it is a reproductive right; its eradication would not only take away the pregnant person’s autonomy, but would also put more children in financially unstable homes and the adoption system, and would cause an increase in potentially fatal, unsafe abortions.
Whether it is ethically acceptable to get an abortion has always been a heated debate with a heavy list of pros and cons. Pro-life and Pro-choice enthusiasts have come up with every possible comeback, argumentative position and sob story as to why one should despise the other. Though the situation of which why one would need or want an abortion is usually sad in general; do women’s situations that change once they learn that they have conceived also take the title of heartbreaking? If the pregnancy is terminated and the progressing life is ended - that’s sad. If the pregnancy is continutes and the progressing life flourishes but the woman is against raising that child for a variety of reasons - that’s sad. Abortions are known as negative by most, even pro-lifers; for they should not be used for regular birth control. I believe that abortion should be a legal choice available to all women because women who want to terminate their pregnancy will do so in alternate unsafe ways, adoption is not always the better choice for a child, and a woman's choice to abort a fetus has no direct impact on anybody else’s life except the people who’ve conceived.
Consequentialism is a theory of regulating morals. It holds that a demonstration is just good or moral on the off chance that it brings about a decent conclusion. For example, “What do are actions tell us about what we want. “This is instead of the hypothesis or examination of good obligation, which demonstrates huge quality is in light of obligation; uprightness ethics, which holds that discriminating quality is in setting of a respectable character.
Abortions have always been a very controversial topic. Over the years we continue to fight for or against it. One can say that is one of the most talked and argued topic in the United States. An abortion is when a woman terminates her pregnancy before the fetus is viable using various of methods. Some argue that abortions should be illegal and considered murder, while others, from a religious point of view, say that no one has the right to take away the life of a person, in this case the fetus. However, others insist, that abortions are a basic women’s right.