Abortion Is Morally Permissible?

In Judith Jarvis Thomson’s philosophy paper, A Defense of Abortion, she argues that abortion is permissible because an individual’s right over their own body outweighs a fetus’s right to life. In this paper I will focus on whether or not abortion is always permissible. First, I will present Thomson’s argument which says that abortion is sometimes permissible. I will do so by describing her “famous violinist” thought experiment. Next, I will object to Thomson’s claim and expand the scope of her argument by arguing that abortion is in fact, always permissible. I will do so by presenting a new thought experiment. Finally, I will conclude in saying that Thomson is correct and abortion is in fact only sometimes permissible.

The Oxford Dictionary defines abortion as the expulsion of a fetus, naturally or especially by medical induction, from the womb before it is able to survive independently, especially in the first 28 weeks of a human pregnancy. Today many argue whether abortion should be legal in the United States. Some show religious views while others show civic views. The basis of such a debate should be on medical information. It is evident that abortion is harmful to the mother. Although women feel relief after the operation, they do not perceive at least the physical consequences. The outcome of most abortions is graphic and painful.

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.

The question of whether or not abortion is morally permissible is widely disputed amongst those who are pro-life or pro-choice. While in some societies abortion has been outlawed, others either entirely allow for it or consider abortion permissible on a case-by-case basis. Many pro-lifers classify abortion as immoral, some even considering it murder. Abortion is typically defined as terminating a pregnancy before the fetus is able to survive outside of the womb. A crucial factor in determining whether or not an instance of abortion can be considered morally permissible is the demarcation of the age of the fetus. Various hard cases in certain societies that have been considered permissible cases for abortion such as: threat of health to the mother, pregnancy in result of a crime (i.e. rape), reduced quality of life of the child (i.e. genetic problems and physical or mental defects), disadvantaged social factors (i.e. poverty), etc.

 In my own point of view, abortion is morally justifiable on the basis of health such as: (1) If the pregnancy is a result of a crime such as rape, abuse, or incest, (2) if the pregnancy put the mother’s life in peril, (3) if the fetus would have a serious genetic problem. I opposed abortion when the reasons include: primarily for gender selection, second, for social reasons such as poverty or if the mother is unable to care for the child (being pregnant at an early age). I believe that there are support

The morally permissibility of abortion should depend on the circumstances. For example, in the case of a woman having an unwanted pregnancy by force, I believe then abortion is morally permissible. However, if it was planned pregnancy, I think the woman has an obligation to give birth to the child.

The moral question of abortion, is abortion morally permissible? The question has been a concern for many philosophers in the contemporary world. In general, abortion is a very fragile topic for people all over the world, especially for people who consider themselves to be pro-life and rest on the claim that a fetus is a person and that “every person has a right to life” (48). This is the premise of opposition to abortion that most people rely on. That premise would only work if, and only if, we all can agree on if the fetus is considered a human. If the fetus is considered a human then we can logically say that abortion is impermissible because we would be taking a life; conversely, if the fetus is not a person then abortion would be allowed. Such is not a perfect world where everything is black and white, free thinking gives people strong opinions about when life begins causing two sides of Thomson’s argument. Being open minded like every great philosopher should, Thomson stands in between the fence and claims the conclusion that abortion is permissible under certain circumstances and that there are scenarios in which getting an abortion is considered impermissible. Thomson’s argument does a great job in explaining her reason through the use of eight thought experiments to support her main claim and I will critique her reasoning and create objections to her claim for the purpose of a wholesome critique and to leave the readers to decide where the extension of their morals/ethics lies to pick a side in this controversial topic.

Our world today is full of unsolved, divisive and controversial issues. Most of them relate to our morals, ethics, and religion, thus creating a very strong, “good” and “bad” side. One of the most controversial moral problems would be abortion and whether or not it should be banned. Similar to the Chinese Yin and Yang sign, abortion has a very prominent black and white side but also contains traces of each in the alternating colour. This shows that if you were to come to any kind of conclusion on abortion, there would still be a downside to it, and that is primarily why the world cannot agree if this sensitive and emotional issue should be prohibited. I do not believe abortion is morally wrong. It is a woman’s personal

Abortion is morally permissible in all cases; regardless of how the pregnancy came about. The question of whether the fetus is granted personhood at conception or anytime during its development is entirely irrelevant. The right to control your own body often trumps someone’s right to life. Even if you declare personhood to the fetus, it does not determine the morality of abortion. Whether it is “killing an innocent child” or not does not take away the fact that this country has time and time again proven that the right to control our property nevertheless our body is much more weighted on the scale of what has more value when put up against an individual’s right to life. Just like how you can not be forced to donate a kidney to save

The permissibility of abortion is not dependent on whether a human fetus is considered a person, but whether the rights of the mother obtain more moral significance than the fetus. This is as there is ambiguity around the conclusive stage at which a fetus becomes a person, thus alternative methods must be utilized to determine the morality of abortion other than the concept of personhood. Alternative criteria outlined by philosophers such as Warren, Marquis and Thomson(Warren,1997,pp94-96; Marquis,1989, pp.183-202; Thomson, 1971,47-66), demonstrates that the permissibility of abortion reposes with the concept of rights and conferred moral significance. Once determining that personhood cannot be defined, it is integral to this argument that

Is it ethical and moral to have an abortion? The definition of abortion is “deliberate removal or deliberate action to cause the expulsion of a fetus from the womb of a human female, at the request of or through the agency of the mother, so as in fact to result in the death of the fetus” (Merriam-Webster, 2016). What about the morality of un-coerced, human abortion for our purposes abortions are voluntary, deliberate removals of a human fetus (Objections to Warren, 2016).

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.

That baby feels the pain of the abortion. That human being is having it’s limbs tore off its own body and can feel every bit of it. The baby feels both psychological and real physical, organic pain. Let that sink in. Whether or not abortion is a painful experience to the unborn child being aborted, the child is left no less dead as a result of the carrier 's choice. Poverty, rape, disabilities, or “unwantedness” does not justify abortion! If someone 's right to life truly were established or removed based simply on their "wantedness," what would that mean for those in foster care or for the homeless? When it comes to abortion, there is no shortage of "What if...? 's." Just when it seems the injustice of abortion has been firmly established, you 'll hear things like: "What if the woman was raped?", "What if she can 't afford a child?", or "What if the baby is deformed?" Even if the biological parents want nothing to do with their offspring, there are families all over the nation waiting desperately to adopt a baby, families

I strongly believe that abortion is wrong. I believe that it is murder. I am appalled and disgusted at the methods to abortion. With the suction and aspiration method, a vacuum rips apart the baby and sucks the pieces into a

Abortion is defined as the intentional termination of a human pregnancy. An abortion is often done so that the birth of a child doesn’t happen. Some say abortion is wrong and sinful while others say it’s a good idea since it won’t bring an unwanted child into the world. Abortion is also considered morally wrong since its killing a growing baby or fetus as it is often referred as. Abortion can also be seen as murder since the process of abortion kills the baby. Some argue that it should be the woman’s decision, but what about the baby? Doesn’t he/she get the right to live? It might not be moral, but is it legal to have an abortion procedure in the U.S? Does the government stand by this heinous act? Now, when women make these kind of decisions do they look at what it could possibly do to their health, how is it affected? Don’t they feel any remorse for this horrible deed? How can people continue living a perfectly normal life knowing that they agreed to kill a defenseless baby? Not all the reasons to get and abortion are wrong some might be life threatening cases like the child might not make it to birth or the mother is not strong enough and both lives are at risk. Possibly the woman got raped and doesn’t want the baby to be the constant reminder of that incident. But is that a good enough reason to take someone’s life? For the foreseeable future abortion will be an extremely hot topic for discussion.