Abortion : The Moral And Legal Status Of Abortion

One of the most frequently debated topics in bioethics is the morality of abortion, or the ending of a pregnancy without physically giving birth to an infant. Often times abortions are categorized into either spontaneous, a natural miscarriage; induced or intentional, which is premeditated and for any reason; or therapeutic, which albeit intentional, its sole purpose is to save the mother’s life. It seems however that moral conflicts on issue mainly arise when discussing induced abortions. In general, people universally agree it is morally wrong to kill an innocent person and in some people’s eyes induced abortions are the intentional killings of innocent persons, thus making them immoral. However not all individuals view fetuses as persons and consequentially argue it is not morally wrong to kill them.

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 issue of abortion is one of the most sensitive and controversial issues faced by modern societies. This issue leads to topics of whether abortion is right or wrong, if it is the actual killing of a person, and what actually defines the moral status of a fetus. In this paper, I will be arguing against Bonnie Steinbock, who believes that abortions are morally acceptable. So I will be supporting the view that abortions are not morally acceptable.

The history of 'abortion ' in the United States is more complex than most people imagine. Abortion and issues surrounding abortion are involved in intense political and public debate in the United States, law varies from state to state with regards to state legislature of abortion. 'Until 1973, the control of abortion, was almost entirely in the hands of the government of the state. ' (Vile. M. J. C, 1999, P203) The focal legal debate surrounding the issue of abortion is whether a foetus has a basic legal right to live, which turns on to the question on when a foetus is potentially a person (when it becomes 'viable ') and therefore should be ultimately protected from this point. 'Pollitt identifies that to have the legal right to have an abortion, was a transformative event for women’s liberation: it saved women from death and injury; and enabled them to commit to education and work. It also changed how women saw themselves; as mothers by choice not by fate.’ (Kennedy. S, 2014, P56) This essay will critically discuss the role and variety of actors involved in the discussion of abortion in the United States, and the impact they have politically, socially and economically, by critically exploring relevant theory.

There are many arguments surrounding the controversial topic of abortion, which for the purpose of this paper is taken to mean the intentional killing of a human fetus. On the one hand, I and many others argue that a fetus has the same right to life as an adult human and therefore abortion is immoral. On the other hand, others argue that this is not the case and that the fetus either doesn’t have the same right to life as an adult or that this right is of secondary importance to the rights of the mother. They therefore argue that abortion is not immoral.

The moral permissibility of abortion other than if necessary to save the life of the mother does not depend on whether the fetus is a person. This essay examines the argument to why abortion is morally permissible and defends this notion using three central impressions, to which the essay is organized by the following: first, abortion does not depend on whether the fetus is a person, because the fetus is not a person. Second, the moral permissibility of abortion cannot be exclusively contingent in defining a fetus as a person since this concept is not conclusive enough for finding a solution. Third, the permissibility of abortion depends mostly on the mother’s agency to keep the fetus alive. And lastly, I include major objections against the permissibility of abortion and relevant counterarguments that go against them.

Abortion has been a debating issue for many decades. Most of the countries, permit abortion, however, some religions and countries consider abortion to be morally and ethically impermissible. In Canada, the abortion was legalized in 1988 based on the fact that the law should not force a women to carry a fetus beyond her priorities as it would interfere with her body and her own securities towards life. Many would argue against this view by stating that a fetus does have a right to live and thus, abortion is morally wrong. I believe that abortion is morally and ethically permissible as long as it does not violate significant rights of others.

The issue of abortion has always been rising throughout the years. Is it power to the fetus or to the women? The famous Roe v. Wade trial, which was supposed to settle the idea and was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court that was supposed to decide the issue of abortion. It was ruled in 1973, that the right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, extended to a woman’s decision to have an abortion, but that the right to privacy must be balanced between the woman’s and the state’s interests in regulating abortions: which is to protect prenatal life and protecting the woman’s health. Roe v. Wade reshaped the nation’s politics and divided the country into pro-choice and pro-life sides, while at the same time, it also created hostile states toward abortion clinics and creates the challenge of getting an abortion more difficult.

Abortion has impacted society and statics show that the split is almost even, however the pro-choice is the majority. The important cause of this controversy is the point at which a fetus is considered human is debated. It is far-fetched that an answer for this questionable ethical and moral issue can be found. With 47% of U.S. adults describing their views as "pro-choice" and 46% as "pro-life," which continues showing a pattern seen since 2010 (“Abortion”). While 80% of women in the United States are pro-choice, only 60% of men join them in their support of the legal right to an abortion (Urao.) A compromise is impossible with stakes so high.

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.

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.

This paper will explore the opinions of older and younger American adults regarding abortion. Abortion has long been a topic of strong debate and gray areas. There are many laws put into place stipulating aspects of the legality of abortion. It is often assumed that those of the younger generation identify as pro-choice, meaning they agree with the legality of abortion. On the other end of the spectrum, it is speculated that older adults lean more toward being pro-life, meaning they do not agree with the legality of abortion. I predict that older adults (40 years of age and older) will identify as pro-life more than younger adults (18-25). I will analyze previous research that has been done, as well as interpret surveys conducted by myself.

“On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion”, an essay written by Mary Anne Warren, defend abortion in any stage of a woman’s pregnancy (pg 468). Warren argues that the potential to become a human being is not the same as being human and deserving the same right to life (pg. 468-472). This essay asserts that in order to be human, one must possess five particular traits (pg. 470). These trait are consciousness, reasoning, self-motivated activity, the ability to communicate, and awareness of oneself (pg. 470). Warren claims that since a fetus has not yet acquired all of the traits, then that fetus is not human and therefore does not have the right to life (pg. 470).

When it comes to the debate on abortion, many people look at the different morally relevant issues at hand. Some philosophers can argue about the personhood of a fetus and whether or not the fetus is granted the right to life. Others may agree that a fetus is a person, but disagree on how moral an abortion is. In this paper, I will argue that the fetus is a person, but not all abortions are unjust killings; in my view, it is morally permissible to terminate a fetus if the woman has taken the proper precautions against pregnancy, if the woman became pregnant as a result of non-consensual sex/rape, or if the woman’s life is at risk. I will present the reasons for my view, support my view with the normative ethical theories learned in this

Due to the issues on abortion, prenatal screening have become a very controversial problem in the society, this has caused both legal and bioethical problems. Different disclose have provided in both developed technology over time, and social relations of prenatal screening and also ways in which it might be advanced in the future by providing different proposals.