An ethical dilemma is a debate between two moral principles, where two sides can dispute about what is wrong or what is right. However, there is no real answer to an ethical dilemma. Is it a “simple” matter of what one believes in? The best answer would be, in ethics, it is not always simple. Ethics have a propensity to engage in moral reasoning, performing critical examination of different beliefs, in order to determine whether they should be accepted or rejected. Abortion is considered an ethical dilemma. It is examined by two different groups, which have two different perspectives; Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice. Abortion is an exceedingly controversial subject that has been continually argued over for hundreds of years, and still is an …show more content…
Mark Timmons, in his book “Conduct and Character,” wrote that philosophers set out to “discover a decision procedure that can be used to guide correct moral reasoning and decision making about matters of moral concern” (5) like abortion. Theories like, Divine Command Theory, Utilitarianism, and Kantian Ethics all share the same goal, which is to provide clear moral aspects about abortion, but have different perspectives. In 1821, Connecticut passed the first law in the United States barring abortion subsequent to the practice of “quickening” which were usually performed by administering poison to the woman after the fourth month of pregnancy (Thiroux 255). At the present time, abortion is legal in the United States. The 1973 Roe v. Wade case was the landmark United States Supreme Court decision that documented abortion as a constitutional right, overturning individual states’ laws not in favor of abortion. In the case of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a woman’s right to an abortion falls within the right of privacy. The Fourteenth and Ninth Amendment clearly stated these rights in the Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.” The Ninth Amendment states, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
The State didn't prohibit abortion until the 19th century, nor did the Church lead in this new repression. The U.S. followed Britain’s anti abortion law. By 1880, most abortions were illegal in the U.S., except those ``necessary to save the life of the woman.'' This changed in 1973.
According to the National Abortion Federation (NAF), abortion has been around for thousands of years and in every society. Our first settlers in America determined it was legal prior to the “quickening” which typically occurs by 13-16 weeks of gestation. Along with the longevity of this issue, it has
No matter who you ask, it is evident that the topic of abortion is very controversial. Many people have been asking themselves the same question for many years now, do you think abortion is ethical? Abortion has been a heated argument amongst citizens, political activists, and several religions all across the world. Those who are against abortion are known as pro-life and argue that abortion is wrong because it kills human life. On the other hand, there are people who are in favor of abortion are known as pro-choice. They believe women are able to do as they wish with their bodies. Abortion has many pros and cons that deserve to be properly discussed and deliberated upon, before someone makes a decision to support or oppose it. In this
What determines what is ethical and what is not? Can someone determine what is right simply relying on what they feel? Or does something drive them to know what is wrong or right? In the case of abortion, one would may ask: Is the fetus a person? At what stage in its development does, it becomes a person? Does any women have the right to decide if she is going to carry the baby to term or not? (Boyle, 2004) This paper will identify the ethical dilemma of abortion, core beliefs of abortion, and possible resolutions, through the eyes of the Christian worldview, and how other worldview may react to abortion.
Abortion is an issue where the law, emotions and moral principles are questioned. There are various points of view when it comes to the issue of abortion, but
Abortion had been the method used for women to seek early termination of pregnancies since ancient times. Relativism theory says that an act is morally acceptable just because I approve of it, and an action is wrong just because I disapprove it. Some people approve abortion, claiming that women have a moral right to decide what to do with their bodies, and they are right. On the contrary, others argue that commit abortion is same of killing an innocent human being, and this point of view is also totally right if applying relativism theory. Examining this two sides of relativism theory we conclude there is no concrete answer of the ethical interpretation if committing abortion is right or wrong. Moreover, killing fetuses is a immoral act which is equal to killing a human being.
Abortion is a highly debated and controversial topic within the United States. Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. When you have an abortion, you decimate the life of a fetus in the womb prior to delivery. There were 5,013 abortions in the state of Oklahoma alone in 2013. In the same year, there were approximately, collectively in the United States, 983,000 total abortions performed. In addition, there have been almost 60 million abortions performed in the United States since Roe vs. Wade court case.
This question, and ultimately the ethical dilemma of abortion will be explored through the theoretical approach of Utilitarianism. In general terms, there are three main aspects of Utilitarianism: teleology, consequentialism and utility. A teleological theory is a theory which operates on the basis that the ‘end justifies the means’, so it is not the action itself that is important, but the intended result of the action. Consequentialism means that whether an action is good or bad can be evaluated by the consequences it produces, so utilitarianism would evaluate an action based on the pleasure it produces, making it a theory based specifically
One of the toughest issues to debate in our world today is abortion. Abortion is the induced termination of pregnancy before the fetus can survive. Nowadays, abortion affects all people, not just the mother and the baby. There are moral, ethical, health-related, political, and religious aspects that affect how people feel towards abortion. By looking at religion and its views, one can see just how hard it would be to argue in the pro-choice position of this debate.
The debate on whether abortion is morally permissible has led to a division of people on two sides of the spectrum. Most of the world’s population has been separated into two main moral standings on the debate on abortion; prolife and prochoice. Some are inclined to be prolife due to religious and moral understandings of the case where as prochoice is considered the more liberal and morally freeing side of the argument.
There truly is not a more controversial or passionate debate as the one on abortion. This issue is completely unique due to the firm line between groups that support or are against it. Whichever side a person finds themselves on, usually for many reasons, it becomes a fierce and firm position that will not waiver. In this case I am glad that people are so passionate, a human life is at stake. This subject should bring great feelings and beliefs up. I would be completely sickened if abortion was just an easy decision and did not spark any emotions in people.
About 56 million women worldwide are estimated to have an induced abortion each year Contrary to popular belief, regions with restrictive abortion laws do not have lower abortion rates than those with liberal law but women in restrictive settings are more likely to experience morbidity and mortality stemming from unsafe abortion The Ethical Dilemma I chose is Abortion there are a lot of people going through ethical dilemmas each day for me this one is close to my heart because I had to go through the same thing almost when I was only 15 I found out I was pregnant with my son and I was told when he is born he will have heart problems and I was also told that I was too young to have him and my aunt keep telling my mother that I was not smart ought to understand how to take care of a child in the case study I chose she had to make a tough decide when she found out she was pregnant with a child with down syndrome though a blood test and her doctor told her she should have an abortion but she felt unconformable about having an abortion so She seeks some
Whilst it has been touched upon earlier, the ethical debate surrounding the status of embryos and fetuses is vast and complicated. A focal point of the ethical debate is the moral status of abortion as well as whether and on what basis it should be available to the public; it is through this topic that the ethical debate shall be considered.
People face ethical dilemmas every day. This brings to light what one’s personal ethics are based on. According to the lecture, “In a CWV ethics are grounded in absolute and universal moral principles that have been given by God. In modern culture, moral standards are subjective and based upon personal preference” (Lecture 16). In this essay a case study will be given and solutions to the dilemma will be given from two different worldviews. The ethical dilemma I have chosen to write about is abortion. I will first give the Christian worldviews opinion for this dilemma then I will give a naturalists worldview opinion.
Abortion is a controversial topic in society today. There are two sides to the fight which are pro-life and pro-choice. People who are pro-life believe that no matter what the circumstance is it is always wrong to abort fetuses, as they are human beings after all. People who are pro-choice believe that no matter what the circumstance, it is always the women’s right to abort fetuses if they choose. Most arguments for both sides of the topic, become situational—where a solution may be permissible in one situation, it is impermissible in another. Two important philosophers who hold strong sides to the arguments are Judith Jarvis Thomson and Don Marquis.