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Ethics And Abortion : Abortion Essay

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Ethics And Abortion According to the authors of a medical dictionary called; the free dictionary, online version, “abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy before the fetus is viable.” Viability for a fetus is usually greater than 500 grams, or prior to 20 weeks gestation as noted by those same authors. An abortion may be spontaneous, commonly referred to as a miscarriage, or induced which describes the deliberate interruption of a pregnancy. Those authors assert that it is the viability of the fetus that is the determinate criteria when deciding the legality and morality of induced abortion. Undoubtedly, there is no public consensus on the matter of abortions, not only in this country but worldwide. Declarations by those authors are that, there are those who believe that the fetus is a human being at the moment of conception and morally oppose on the grounds that destruction of a human body is tantamount to murder. On the other hand, others declare that a woman 's right to choose what happens to her body is of utmost significance. Before continuing on with the ethics of abortion I would like to briefly discuss the history of abortion in the United States. According to the National Abortion Federation (NAF), abortion has been around for thousands of years and in every society. Our first settlers in America determined it was legal prior to the “quickening” which typically occurs by 13-16 weeks of gestation. Along with the longevity of this issue, it has

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