Abortion Essay

Warren, Thomson, and Hursthouse would agree that Sister McBride and St Joseph’s Hospital were correct in prescribing and performing the abortion. All three authors have varying views on abortion itself, but all held the common view that if the fetus is killing the mother it can be morally aborted. Warren specifically believes that a fetus is not a person and therefore does not have rights equal to a person, if it has rights at all. This belief allows a mother to undergo an abortion whenever she pleases because she is the only one with rights. Although Thomson agrees with Warren she states that a fetus is a person. She comes to the same conclusion as Warren though, that an abortion can be performed whenever, with a somewhat similar thought

There are many factors that are taken into consideration when determining if abortion is morally permissible, or wrong including; sentience of the fetus, the fetuses right to life, the difference between adult human beings and fetuses, the autonomy of the pregnant woman, and the legality of abortion. Don Marquis argues that abortion is always morally wrong, excluding cases in which the woman is threatened by pregnancy, or abortion after rape, because fetuses have a valuable future. Mary Anne Warren contends that late term abortions are morally permissible because birth is the most significant event for a fetus, and a woman’s autonomy should never be suspended.

Now on a different note, Thomson's main argument is set out to undermine the anti-abortionist argument. The anti-abortionist argument states: Every person has a right to life, the fetus is a person and hence has a right to life. The mother has the right to control her own body, but the fetuses' right to life is stronger than her right to control her body. Therefore, abortion is wrong. How Thomson goes about this is through analogies, and her main argument is through her violinist argument. Thomson asks you imagine that you find yourself hooked up to a famous unconscious violinist. If he can't use your kidneys for nine months, he'll die.

She believes an embryo and early fetus satisfies very few of the criteria. Therefore, she believes that an embryo and fetus is not a person, and the traditional argument against abortion is unsound because permise to (that a human fetus is an innocent person), is false. Mary Anne Warren thinks that abortion is permissible. She believes that there is a stronger case regarding right to life, the more they are like a person. Warren believes that developing right to life depends on the personhood criteria, not the fetus being genetically human.

In the article "A Defense of Abortion" Judith Jarvis Thomson argues that abortion is morally permissible even if the fetus is considered a person. In this paper I will give a fairly detailed description of Thomson main arguments for abortion. In particular I will take a close look at her famous "violinist" argument. Following will be objections to the argumentative story focused on the reasoning that one person's right to life outweighs another person's right to autonomy. Then appropriate responses to these objections. Concluding the paper I will argue that Thomson's "violinist" argument supporting the idea of a mother's right to autonomy outweighing a fetus' right to life does not make abortion permissible.

Thompson proposes a thought experiment to defend the intuition that a woman carrying a child is acting as a Good Samaritan. She asks for her audience to consider this that they awake one morning and are in bed with a comatose violinist, who happens to be famous. He has a fatal kidney condition, and you have the right blood type to solve his health predicament. His fans have kidnapped you and plug you into him, cleansing his blood. The doctors tell you that if you unplug yourself from the violinist, he will die. Instead, you could stay plugged into him for nine months, until he has recovered enough to be unplugged and live. Thompson assumes that you will share her intuition that it is not morally impermissible if you choose to unplug yourself from the violinist (48-49). She argues that this is evidence that it is also not morally impermissible to choose not to carry a fetus to term, and does not violate their right to life.

The topic of abortion and its legality is one that is strongly felt on both sides of the issue. This is one of the most heated arguments you can get into and if I am being fully honest I am a little nervous about publicizing my view point. But here is my research and arguments for whether abortion should be legal or not.

Thomson continues to dissect her scenarios that promote her support of abortion. She ends this essay after explaining that although she supports abortion rights, she does not think that all cases are suitable for abortion.

The argument of abortion has been raging since the Supreme Court case, Roe vs. Wade, in 1973. This court case has divided the country into two factions: pro-choice and pro-life. Pro-life advocates argue that abortions are murder and extreme levels of child abuse. While pro-choice advocates believe abortions are a justifiable means to end pregnancies. The pro-choice argument is that the fetus is not yet a human being and its rights should not override that of the mother’s.

The topic of abortion is a hot subject among the people of America today. Some say yes, women should be able to have abortions no matter if the fetus is in the first trimester or well in to the second trimester of gestation. On the other hand the other people say that it is murder of a child no matter the stage of development. Many of the people that believe that the fertilized ovum is a human and has a soul at the conception are the pro-life people. They believe this because of their religious beliefs and cannot scientifically prove this in any way.

Should abortion be allowed in the United States? If so, then under what circumstances? Abortion has been one of the most heatedly debated topics in the U.S. for more than a century. This paper explores the history and international use of abortion, as well as the empirical and moral claims made by both sides of the issue. We will also examine the key positions taken on abortion and look at those affected by it. Based on extensive research and analysis, this paper will recommend that the government increase abortion funding and availability.

They see the fetus a human being with human being rights, Mary Anne Warren, a liberal who believes that abortion is morally permissible at any point in a pregnancy is out to prove them wrong. Warren’s main argument is that just because a fetus has the potential capacity for rational thought that doesn’t mean they are a human being, it just means they have the potential to become a human being (qtd. in Pojman 801). This she backs by referencing animals and how they are not considered human because they cannot develop rational thoughts. Warren claims that even though the fetus has potential to be a fully functioning human being that does not take away the right of the mother to put herself first and abort the

Abortion may be one of the most ongoing disagreements throughout time, some may consider this act as wrong such as specified in this quote by Mother Teresa: “The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.” Abortion not only murders an unborn child, causes guilt for the mother’s decision to end her pregnancy and may cause problems to the mother’s health; abortion is irreversible that child will not have life. Some women having an abortion can suffer from damage to the uterus, internal bleeding including having pieces of the baby left inside her body causing difficulties. By means of ending the pregnancy, the mother may

     Even though a lot of people use abortion for a way to solve problems, are lives really taken? Everyone has their own opinion about this topic, but to me abortion is your own personal choice if you want to have one or not. I believe that we should keep abortion around because many cases come up where people are in serious need for one. I am not saying that abortion is the greatest thing in the world to have, but I also do not consider it murder. From my point of view I see abortion in two different sides: one is where it is wrong for people to take advantage of it; two some people are just not ready.

Women may have an abortion for a variety of reasons, but in general they choose abortion because a pregnancy at that time is in some way wrong for them. “Abortion is the removal of a fetus from the uterus before it is mature enough to live on its own” (Kuechler 1996). When this happens spontaneously we call it a miscarriage. Induced abortion is brought about deliberately by a medical procedure that ends pregnancy. Legal abortion, carried out by trained medical practitioners, is one of the most common and safest surgical procedures. “About 1.5 million American women choose to have induced abortions each year. Less than 1% of all abortion patients experience a major complication associated with the procedure” (Kuechler 1996).