Utilitarianism, Kantianism, The Divine Command Theory, And The Theory Of Abortion

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When a woman discovers she is pregnant, she has a very important choice to make. A choice that has become a very controversial, publicized issue. In this case the woman needs to choose between having an abortion and continuing her law career, or quitting her law career to have her baby. The choice depends on the person. Looking at three theories-Utilitarianism, Kantianism, and the Divine Command Theory- we will determine whether or not a pregnant woman, who is just starting her career as a lawyer, should have an abortion or not.
The first theory we will look at is the Utilitarian theory. In this theory, it is the desire for “everyone involved, to maximize satisfaction and minimize dissatisfaction” (Pojman & Vaughn, p. 206). In this situation …show more content…

This is the rebuttal to Kant’s theory that says, not every single mother in the world is going to have an abortion, that idea is a fantasy. If all pregnant women had abortions, there would be no life on Earth. Kant was an interesting theorist, who “denied that happiness or well-being is always valuable in its own right, and instead… good will is the only thing that matters” (Shafer-Landau, p.190). Kantianism tries to base moral reasoning on a belief that could never be true, and does not maximize pleasure. For this reason, Kantianism would not be the best method for the pregnant woman to …show more content…

The utilitarian view would evaluate which choice provides the most pleasure to the pregnant woman. The woman must consider how she feels about continuing with her law career, and the fact that she could wait to have another child. The Utilitarianism theory says if the pregnant woman receives more pleasure from having an abortion, than having an abortion is morally right in her case. With the slight doubt of becoming a mother and the idea of abortion in her mind, she is already showing that she values her career very highly. Since the woman knows that she can try to have another child later, the woman feels she is not ready at this moment in time to become a mother. Based on the Utilitarian theory, the pregnant woman would choose to have an abortion, and continue with her promising law

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