Topic: Abortion and Natural Law Theory
The age old question of whether abortion is legal, ethical, and or moral etc., has always been around because there is no clear answer to this question. To me, and to many, this question will not and does not have a clear yes or no answer to it. Although, if we are using Natural Law Theory to answer this question, it is clear that the legalization of abortion violates natural law theory. Natural law theory contends that “one may never directly intend to kill an innocent human being. So, is it morally permissible for a woman to seek an abortion and is it morally permissible for a doctor to perform the procedure?
These are two questions that lead to two different answers. In Natural Law Theory it is
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This means that if it is necessary for her to go through x surgery and it does not harm the fetus then is is morally permissible for her to undergo. If it results in the death of her unborn child and the end result did not derive from her intentionally attempting to terminate her child, then the procedure used was reasonable and morally permissible. However, the directly intended death or termination of an unborn child by means of procured abortion remains morally impermissible. This even applies if it is to save the mother’s life. For example, if the mother is in danger of dying if she continues on with the pregnancy, it would be morally impermissible to terminate the pregnancy because it would be with the intent to terminate the child. No matter what situation the mother is in, intentional termination of the child is impermissible. In addition, a grimmer example of this would be of a woman who is having a child due to a rape. According to Natural Law Theory she would still need to go forward with the pregnancy. This is including if she was raped or if the child is a product of incestual rape. To Natural Law Theorist, a fetus, though still in the womb, is a living human being and this living human being has a right to life. This is true from the first moment of conception. In the chapter of “Why Abortion is Immoral”, Don Marquis explains exactly this. He states that “the future of a standard fetus includes a set of experiences, projects, activities, and such which are identical with the future of human beings and are identical with the futures of young children.” (Russ, page
Abortion has been one of the biggest controversies of all time. According to the Oxford dictionary, the term abortion can be defined as, the deliberate termination of human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. There are two different types of abortion; a spontaneous abortion, which is also known as a miscarriage, and an induced abortion, where the embryo or fetus is purposely removed from the women’s body. The topic of induced abortion has been widely debated for hundreds of years. The issue of abortion was argued way back in the time of the ancient Hebrews. Today many people consider abortion to be murder, but shouldn’t the soon-to-be mother 's right to make such a personal and heartbreaking choice be
A Defense of Abortion In her argument on abortion, Judith Thomson discusses some major points about abortion. She deals with extreme cases and those extreme cases help us to realize a single perspective of abortion. For example, she talks about the violinist attached to you. In that example, you keep everything constant and focus on a single point, violinist being dead if you unattached him.
Many arguments in the abortion debate assume that the morality of abortion depends upon the moral status of the foetus. While I regard the moral status of the foetus as important, it is not the central issue that determines the moral justifiability of abortion. The foetus may be awarded a level of moral status, nevertheless, such status does not result in the prescription of a set moral judgement. As with many morally significant issues, there are competing interests and a variety of possible outcomes that need to be considered when making a moral judgement on abortion. While we need to determine the moral status of the foetus in order to establish the type of entity we are dealing with, it does not, however, exist in a moral vacuum. There are other key issues requiring attention, such as the moral status and interests of the pregnant woman who may desire an abortion, and importantly, the likely consequences of aborting or not aborting a particular foetus. Furthermore, I assert that moral status should be awarded as a matter of degree, based upon the capacities of sentience and self-consciousness an entity possesses. In a bid to reach a coherent conclusion on the issue, the moral status of both foetus and woman, along with the likely results of aborting a particular foetus, must be considered together. Given the multiple facets requiring consideration, I assert that utilitarianism (Mill 1863) offers a coherent framework for weighing and comparing the inputs across a variety of situations, which can determine whether it is ever morally justifiable to have an abortion.
Abortion, or premature termination of pregnancy, can be accidental or intentional, and both types can be legal or illegal. If the ongoing pregnancy becomes a medical threat, abortion is not illegal. Legal developments and healthcare services are intertwined. The American Medical Association stated that abortions were wrong and unsafe, which led the National Abortion Federation to make abortion a "physicians-only" practice that could be performed legally to save a woman's life (National Abortion Federation NAF). It wasn't until 1973 that abortions were made legal in the United States due to the "Supreme Court's decision in Roe vs. Wade, ruling that Americans' right to privacy included the right of a woman to decide whether to have children, and the right of a woman and her doctor to make that decision without state interference" (NAF).
Three Works Cited Many people believe abortion is only a moral issue, but it is also a constitutional issue. It is a woman's right to choose what she does with her body, and it should not be altered or influenced by anyone else. This right is guaranteed by the ninth amendment, which contains the right to privacy. The ninth amendment states: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." This right guarantees the right to women, if they so choose, to have an abortion, up to the end of the first trimester.
...ther’s sovereignty over her body outweigh the right of an unborn child to live. The answers to these questions are very diverse as a result of the diversity of the American society. With the issue of abortion, one’s attitude toward it is going to be based on many things such as religious background and personal morals. There is no black and white answer to the abortion issue. Luckily we live in a country where we are able to decide for ourselves whether something is morally right or wrong. Thus, ultimately, the choice is ours. As with the many other ethical issues which we are faced with in our society, it is hard to come to a concrete answer until we are personally faced with that issue. All we can do is make an effort to know all of the aspects which are involved so that we may be able to make a sound decision if we were faced with this problem in our own lives.
Abortion is not as harmful as its opponents claim it to be. Instead of viewing abortion as "murder," society as a whole must consider abortion as a necessary alternative. Abortion can save a woman's life, physically, mentally, and emotionally. In today's society, the following reasons clearly impact the abortion dilemma. First, the definition of "life" the anti-abortionists provide us with is self-contradictory. Second, abortions are safer than ever in the past. Third, abortions help society avoid the challenges caused by unwanted children. Fourth, abortions benefit the mother's emotional life. Finally, abortion has its consent from the Bible. Therefore, abortion in the United States of America should remain legal.
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.”
Is an egg chicken or an egg? How many of you had asked this question when you were little?
For years, abortion has been an extremely controversial subject. One important aspect of the controversy is whether a woman should be permitted by law to have an abortion and under what circumstances. Another is whether laws should protect the unborn. History has shown that whenever abortion had been prohibited, women still attempted and succeeded in obtaining illegal abortions. Unfortunately, they have suffered serious health reasons or died in the process.
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...
Abortion is defined as a procedure that is done to remove an embryo or fetus from the uterus of its mother in order to prevent its birth (Roth, 2005). Abortion is categorized as a bioethical issue because it relates to the morals of biomedical advances, policies and research. Abortion is a difficult subject that can involve personal morals and beliefs, legality and religious values. The issue is often viewed from either the side of pro-life, which places emphasis on the fetus and its right to life or pro-choice, which emphasizes the rights of the mother to decide the appropriate action (Roth, 2005). This brings the ethical question of should the government have the right to outlaw abortion into debate. The two viewpoints of pro-life and pro-choice explore the two main moral issues concerning abortion (Roth, 2005).
Abortion “is an issue that raises questions about life and death, about what a person is and when one becomes a person, about the meaning of life, about the rights of women, and about the duties of men”(Velasquez 485). Abortion is an unresolved ethical issue that has been in doubt for many years because one can argue that you are killing an innocent person/fetus but many argue that is not person because they don’t have a conscious or the characteristics that defines a “person”. John Stuart Mill in a way justifies abortion, Mill is known to be openly speak about women’s rights and about human rights. Although, it might be immortal to end someone’s life one might argued that the individual has the right to choose and have the option. But in
Abortion is a controversial topic all around the world. Many people believe that abortion is a woman’s right because it is her body and she should be able to make her own choice whether she wants to keep the baby. Whereas, many other people believe that it is inhumane to end the life of an unborn child and they also see it as violating human rights. I personally do not believe that abortion should be legal. To me, it is not morally and religiously right.
There are so many different viewpoints on abortion, it isn’t even funny. Someone could say that abortion is morally acceptable because a woman was raped or the pregnancy could interfere with her health. Other people might say that it is murder and immorally unacceptable because the child obviously does not have a say in the abortion. The problem with abortions is that there is no real conclusion to the problem, whether it is legal or illegal. And this argument is only getting worse and worse.