Abortion: The Rights of the Underdeveloped Foetus

The topic of abortion is heavily debated. One of the major controversies surrounding abortion is whether or not the embryo is a human life and able to receive the same rights as any other human. Is the embryo mentally developed enough to be considered as a human life? It is medically proven that after conception, the human brain takes many months to develop, so the “personhood” of a fetus cannot begin until about the seventh month.

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.

When considering abortion, the autonomy and dignity of the pregnant woman should be concerned. By taking into consideration the rights

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.

Abortion has been a controversial subject for centuries across the globe. Although the fetus may not be scientifically a human being, there is budding humanity within it; and hence trying to terminate fetus must be considered as criminal offense of killing a human being. Not many of the world’s population have realized the effects caused by the abortion and its impacts on the society. Abortion is considered to be immoral crime affecting not only the mother but also the family, the community, and most significantly the fetus.

Every year, as many as a million lives are aborted; lives that could potentially have been your neighbor, your friend, or even your son or daughter. Abortion is the surgical process of killing a baby by various means; and has been in effect since the Supreme Court ruling on Roe V. Wade in 1973 which legalized it nationwide. It was, at first, endorsed as being a woman’s right, but has more recently been viewed by most as the murder of an innocent child. Besides this shift in views, abortion has caused diverse effects on our culture and nation, as well as the death of upwards of 56 million children according to Life News. Our society has been deeply impacted by the effects of abortion and the loss of millions of innocent lives, and Christian

The population that is skeptical of the approval of abortion is primarily concerned about the fetus. Fetal rights are primarily used to argue against the fact that while women have the right to abort, fetuses also have the right to life. The term originated after Roe v. Wade as a defense for fetal life, following the Court rule that a fetus is not a person under the fourteenth amendment (Fetal Rights 1). However, some pro-choice activists argue that fetal rights should not even exist. According to the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law, “Historically, under both English common law and U.S. law, the fetus has not been recognized as a person with full rights. Instead, legal rights have centered on the mother, with the fetus treated as a part of

“Abortion is the spontaneous or artificially induced expulsion of an embryo or fetus” (Abortion, 2002). An artificially induced abortion is the type referred to in the legal context. Abortions happen in different situations. The question comes when is it the right or wrong choice. The root question becomes the moment a fetus becomes a person and entitled to rights. The fetus could be a person at conception, during the pregnancy, or at birth. The deciding moment differs from the Pro-life group and Pro-choice group. After critically analyzing four different arguments about the pros and cons of abortion, one will be able to understand the ethical, moral, and

Abortion is a legal medical method to stop the premature delivery that is adopted in most countries of the world. It was legalized many years ago but nowadays we live in the civilized society where the human life is the most precious treasure and the question about the appropriateness of abortions is of current importance. Nowadays there are two opposing camps who present their arguments. People who support abortion insist that prohibition of it will deprive people of their rights to have free choice. On the contrary, people who stand for banning abortion claim that abortion deprive a human being from the right to live. Every person must decide for himself what is more important: deprivation of choice or deprivation of life. Another point

This author has chosen to discuss the ethical issues of abortion. This is a highly debated topic that will exist amongst women. It is happening at high rates. “In 2013, 664,435 legal induced abortions

“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).

According to the Australian Government, abortion is “the termination (end) of a pregnancy” (Australian Government, 2015). In Australia, each state and territory have differing laws regarding abortion. In Queensland, under sections 224, 225 and 226 of legislation, abortion is illegal under the criminal code, however, it may be regarded as lawful if performed to prevent serious danger to the woman’s physical or mental health (does not include economic or social pressure) (CCAI, 2015). 65% of Australians are strongly opposed to abortion (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013) on the basis that it is murder. However, there is much divergence of opinion surrounding the issue. Reproductive Choice Australia supports women’s choice of abortion as a “right to bodily and psychological integrity, which includes the right… to make decisions concerning reproduction” (RCA, 2015). This means that women should be and are able to make decisions surrounding their own body and needs. Additionally, they state that abortion is not murder as “"personhood" is an epiphenomenon of the human brain, it should be clear that if there is no fully functional brain, and then there is no personhood” (RCA, 2015), implying that abortion cannot be viewed as murder because the foetus has no functioning brain. Hence, abortion is a debated topic throughout Australia, however; there is much divergence of opinion surrounding the

Abortion is always argued with different cases and play a main role in medical ethics (blackwell.,p291).It is evidently reasonable for some to argue that in moral situation, abortion is a murder and it should be illegal, while others may claim that abortion is woman’s right when concerning on autonomy ( The abortion debate in Australia). Opponents of making abortion legal claim that abortion is a kind of murder on extend of moral situation. It is always regarded as a sin to kill a person who is no aggressor in most moral communities (new ethics 1). Fetus is a biologically human as it is not just a part of the mothers, such as a lung or a kidney. On the contrary, it is obvious that fetus is human due to he or she has genetic code of human and human parents as well (abortion myth p5). Moreover, it has potentiality to be a person with primary moral worth (text book p210-211). As Gillion (new ethics) pointed out, every person has his right to life, especially he is not an aggressor. This point is also been pointed by (Rebecca and john,Blackwell p204), “embryos has a right to life” .The fetus is innocent and

In the beginning, when a male’s sperm penetrates the egg of a woman, a zygote is formed, which is the earliest stage in the development of an embryo. This zygote is made of human DNA and molecules, which proves that it is, in fact, a human and not some foreign species. It is clear that at the moment the zygote is formed there is a new being in existence, therefore a new citizen to our country. Unborn babies are not yet accounted for in censuses, but this could just be for the uncertainty of miscarriage or complication during pregnancy. Furthermore, the baby’s cardiovascular system is formed only about 22 days after conception, in which a heart beat is detected and it is able to circulate its own blood rather than its mothers. At this point, the baby is acting independently from its mother showing how legitimately alive the baby is after only 3 weeks. To take away legal acknowledgement from a self-regulating human life is unjust. Recently, fetal surgery has also become common with babies who accumulate health issues in the womb. Medicinal technology, such as ultrasounds, recognizes unborn babies as human beings, worthy of proper individual care separate from the mother. If this widespread health recognition is shown to the fetus, then they should be declared citizens long before they are born. All in all, the science behind

Abortion is a deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. There are series of legal, moral and ethical issues which may arise about abortion. Most arguments about abortion are often focused on political insinuations and the legal aspect of such actions. Some frequently asked questions’ regarding the issue is if the practice should be outlawed and regarded as murder or should women have the right to practice it. For example, prior to becoming pregnant, some women feel that they would be able to choose the abortion option without trouble. However, even with reasons why having an abortion would be the best option, some women feel that this decision would not be right for them. On the other hand, some women have a strong belief that abortion is unethical prior to becoming pregnant.