Abortion As A Human Right

During the 20th century, there were a great number of high profile, controversial Supreme Court cases. From Brown v. Board of Education to Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, no case stands out as much as Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade covered grounds that have never been dealt with before, bringing new issues and debates to the table, such as the right to privacy.

There are many common pregnancy alternatives, but most often the resulting decision is abortion because it is effortless. Abortion is endings a women’s pregnancy by removing or forcing a fetus or embryo from the mother’s womb before it is able to survive on its own. Not all abortions are purposely done some are spontaneous like when a women that has a miscarriage. Rather abortion is done purposely or naturally it is a worldwide complication as to it being wrong or right. Abortion is an ethical issue that will be analyzed according to a personal worldview and Christian worldview. Ethical thinking will be examined by value-based decisions that address abortion from the perspective of a Christian worldview and comparing it to a personal assumption by addressing ethical dilemma, core beliefs, resolution, evaluation, and comparison.

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.

Women’s reproductive rights have been endangered from early history. A woman’s job included housework and child birth. Around 1920, women started receiving their choices and rights. In the 21st century, women are looked at with fairness and receive equal opportunities, but there is one right being stripped from women: the choice of using birth control and aborting pregnancy. Society frowns upon aborting a fetus in the womb, but it fails to realize the circumstantial standing each woman is placed in and should accept the decision a woman decides for her future whether it is to use birth control or abort her pregnancy.

Abortion and the morality of it has been a hot topic for years in the United States although it has been carried out for centuries in different cultures. Abortion is a medical procedure deliberately terminating a pregnancy. Abortions usually happen within the first 28 weeks of pregnancy and are considered an outpatient procedure. The first abortion laws were passed by Britain in 1803 and by 1880 most abortions in the U.S. were illegal, except for those that were performed to save the life of a woman. This exception to the rule gives insight into the battle that exists today and the ethical debate of abortion.

Abortion is one of the most controversial topics in the world today. There are many reasons and debates as to when, why or if a woman should have an abortion. One of the most controversial debates on this is when a woman finds out that their unborn child may have a deformity of some sort. In this paper, I will talk about abortion due to a woman carrying a child with Downs Syndrome and how this can be an immoral decision.

“The 27-year-old Salvadoran garment worker and single mother had miscarried without ever knowing she was pregnant….hospital staff had suspected her of inducing an abortion and reported her to the police.. A judge sentenced her to the maximum punishment for murder: 40 years in prison” (Albaladejo, A Witch Hunt Against Poor Women,27). This tragic story is sadly not the only one that has happened in countries where abortion laws are not as free as those of the United States, which since the Roe vs. Wade has confirmed women’s rights to abortion. Domestically, the United States seems to be progressive compared to other countries such as Nicaragua, Chile, and Haiti who according to Albaladejo “Have complete bans on abortion” (A Witch Hunt Against

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.

In history, women have demanded for women’s rights on numerous occasions whether it was for their voting rights, fair treatment in the workplace and more. Reproductive freedom is talked about in “How It All Began: I Have Had an Abortion” and “What is Reproductive Justice?” by Loretta Ross. These articles discuss abortion as a choice and a part of reproductive justice. “How It All Began: I Have Had an Abortion” talks about abortion in a direct way by talking about anti-abortion law and Project 218 being one of many responses to the law. Loretta Ross states what reproductive justice is and how the right to abortion falls into the framework for fighting reproductive oppression. However, they are linked together by their points of being able to have abortions as a woman’s right.

Although the function of a hospital is to treat and care for patients of necessary needs, the hospital runs on the basis of businesses, inputting medical interventions to make more available room and profit. One commentator describes the the medical interventions as like a domino effect, as the cascade of series rumble down, when the intervention was not even necessary in the first place (The Business of Being Born 12:42). Physicians may use EPM readings to bolster their assertions that women refusing cesareans are endangering their fetuses and must therefore be ordered to undergo the procedure (Fried 259). To increase the cases of cesarean birth deliveries, hospitals will attempt to speed up the process of labors by using the doses of epidural

1) I like how they are not just fighting for abortion. They realize that there are many things that go along with reproductive justice. It includes extremely important issues like access to birth control, STI prevention, pregnancy care, comprehensive sex education, and safe homes. I am sure a lot individuals think that reproductive rights only focus on being able to have an abortion or not. People need to realize it is much more than that. Individuals should and need to have access to resources like contraception and pregnancy care. It is a right that should not be ignored.

Abortion is a highly controversial topic around the globe, mostly because of the moral issues it brings forward based on people’s philosophies and religion. A significant part of the population, called pro-life, consider abortion as murdering a living child and hence, are against abortion. Another group of people, called pro-choice, believe that the parents, particularly women, have the choice to do anything with their body and have the right to decide whether or not to keep the child. They may not necessarily be against abortion, but they believe that abortion is an equally morally right option for women.

The controversy surrounding abortion is usually characterized by ethical, moral, and religious views, which are different from one group to another. Abortion has become an important issue, and has become part of an ideological element when discussing about politics and the establishment of laws across the world. The question of whether abortion is considered murder, or as part of contraception, can be examined through the definition of when life is really formed. While many religions condemn the act of abortion in its entirety, other groups, such as pro-choice, advocate for the power of a woman to make a decision on whether they would like to carry out the abortion or not. Therefore, there is a need to consider this phenomenon from a human rights perspective.

Warren is right in her analysis of Thomson’s argument that women have power over her own body. People that are not involved of being threatened and threatening shouldn’t decide what she does with her body. The examples, given by Thomson of the violinist is a great example that interprets how a pregnancy is seen and the reason behind having the option for abortion.

Abortion is a constitutional right of a woman in the United States and therefore should not be outlawed. Certain instances prove an abortion justified and blanket legislature against such useless, such as rape and incest and the health of the mother, and a simple fact that the practice would continue, only less safely and with more casualties. In 2012, 346,830 women were raped. According to medical reports, the incidence of pregnancy for one-time unprotected sexual intercourse is five percent. By applying the pregnancy rate to 346,830 female survivors, The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network estimates that there were 17,342 pregnancies as a result of rape in 2012 (Rainn.org/statistics).