Is Abortion Good Or Bad?

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.

When the beginning of life actually occurs is clearly not a topic to be taken lightly in today’s modern world. Majority of the population’s answers to this question are based on each individuals opinion and is supported by what they believe. In general, there are two sides of the argument. One is that life begins at the time of conception. The other belief is that life doesn’t begin until the drawing of the first breath. The true dilemma here is not the accurate pinpointing of life’s beginning, but the questions that accompany this topic and each individuals desire to do the right thing, the moral thing. While one point of view allows for abortion the other does not. The issue raises many questions of morality. Is abortion moral? When does it become murder? When is it permissible? (Life of the mother at stake / A product of rape). Should it be the mother’s choice? Many arguments for both sides pull from scripture and scientific articulations.

Societies frequently regard the term “good” as whatever is pleasurable or moral and “bad” as whatever causes unpleasant outcomes. Therefore it makes sense that we should seek out the good in life and avoid the bad. In cases of abortion, though, where a potential life is considered “bad”, is it justified to remove it? Life is viewed as the highest intrinsic good, thus any act of deliberately taking it away becomes a serious moral issue. Pro-life arguments, or arguments opposing abortion, claim that each human has a right to life, a person is a human at the moment of conception, and each human possesses the obligation to protect human lives. Pro-choice arguments, or arguments supporting abortion, argue that a child’s life begins at birth, a woman has the leading right over her body, and abortion promotes autonomy. I will attempt to refute the leading pro-choice arguments while holding my claim that abortion to end a life is always immoral because it is an act of murder.

The topic of abortion is very controversial. Many believe that an abortion is morally wrong while others think that everyone should have a choice whether to keep the baby or not. Shafer-Landau states in the introduction of The Ethical Life, “morality is the code that we should live by” (Shafer-Landau 1). Many different religions have different point of views whether abortion is morally right or wrong. Many different people have questions about how we ought to live and what we should believe (Shafer-Landau 1). I personally sit on the fence whether abortion is right or wrong because I can agree with certain points from both pro-life and pro-choice but, for this paper, I’m going to support the pro-choice side of abortion. I believe everyone who is having a baby should have a choice to abort it if that is what they want.

Abortion is one of the most controversial topics of all times. The definition most people associate with abortion is the termination of unwanted pregnancy. In their essay, “The Wrong of Abortion”, Patrick Lee and Robert P. George argue that intentional abortion is unjust and therefore objectively immoral no matter the circumstances. Also, they argue that “the burden of carrying the baby is significantly less than the harm the baby would suffer by being killed; the mother and father have a special responsibility to the child; it follows that intentional abortion (even in few cases where the baby’s death is an unintended but foreseen side effect) is unjust ” (24).

They are many opinions about abortion and whether it is moral or not. Many of the moral judgments come from religious views that stems from that all life is sacred and that life begins at conception. While, abortion is a controversial topic not all of the arguments about abortion comes down to what is the moral right for the fetus. Throughout this essay I plan to prove that along with whether it is morally right to have an abortion that there is more to consider then just the fetus.

"[Murder] is a universal moral wrong that applies to all people, in all cultures, and in every age in human history" ("Abortion," 2017). Murder is unlawful because it is taking someone's life away. Ending the life of something that cannot defend itself, like a child, is immoral and unjust. "Abortion is the willful and unjustified killing of an unborn child" ("Abortion," 2017). Abortion can be considered murder because it is ending a new life of an organism. Once that life is formed, it is wrong to take it away. "It is seriously wrong to kill the unconscious, the sleeping" (Marquis, 2015). It is wrong to kill the innocent, the people who aren't fully aware of their surroundings. When a child is in the womb it is unaware of its surroundings, but it has to potential to become fully awake and fully living. Abortion is viewed differently. Some people view it as right, and some as wrong. It should be viewed as wrong because it is the willful killing of an unborn child that deserves the right to

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

Societies frequently regard the terms “good” as whatever is pleasurable or moral and “bad” as whatever causes unpleasant outcomes. Therefore it makes sense that we should seek out the good in life and avoid the bad. In cases of abortion, though, where a potential life is considered “bad”, is it justified to remove it? Life is viewed as the highest intrinsic good, thus any act of deliberately taking it away becomes a serious moral issue. Pro-life arguments, or arguments opposing abortion, claim that each human has a right to life, a person is a human at the moment of conception, and each human possesses the obligation to protect human lives. Pro-choice arguments, or arguments supporting abortion, argue that a child’s life begins at birth, a woman has the leading right over her body, and abortion promotes autonomy. I will attempt to refute the leading pro-choice arguments while holding my claim that abortion to end a life is always immoral because it is an act of murder.

Prior to legal abortions woman had suffered from abortions by feeling shame, fear, and taking a heavy toll over their health and lives.“When I was 15 and pregnant, abortion was legal. ¨I was denied any choice—I had a baby that I gave up for adoption. This experience has been a driving force in my life. I became an OB/GYN; I do abortions because I am totally committed to making sure that other women have the options that I didn’t have.(History of Abortion)¨ Abortion is a controversial issue that many people have strong opinions about it. With this being said abortion is moral because that person has the right to do what they think is best for them.

Is abortion right? Every abortion kills an innocent human being. Life starts at conception, all unborn babies feel the pain the doctors who abort them are causing. Sutcliffe, Paula who worked in a clinic that does abortions stated that

The question that arises is as to whether or not abortion is morally justifiable. It cannot be wrong by definition, since sometimes there is moral justification for forcibly putting to death another human being, in such cases as self-defense, just war, or capital

Abortion is defined as “The removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus in order to end the pregnancy” (dictionary.com). However, if only the debate over the abortion issue was as easy as the definition listed above. However, similar to most things in life, a statement or opinion is never right nor wrong, but simply left open for clarification. Those who are against abortion believe that abortion is the murder of innocent human beings who aren’t given a chance at life and the ability to function as a normal individual. However, those who are for abortion believe that it is a women’s right to choose what she does to not only her baby but

There are two types of abortion: one is spontaneous abortion and the other is induced abortion. Although these two are all abortion, the meaning between them is highly different. Spontaneous abortion is the abortion because of embryo or fetus itself or the health condition of the mother. However, unlike spontaneous abortion, induced abortion is the abortion because of the human factor, and it has been a huge ethical issue in today’s society. While there are lots of debates about whether abortion is doable, in the Buddhist view, abortion is a bad thing.

In this paper, I will investigate the question: Can abortion be morally justified only when it is a matter of life or death for the mother? This is not to be confused with, “can abortion be morally justified if the mother is ill?”. That being said, the question I will discuss in this paper is, can abortion be morally justified only when it is a matter of life or death for the mother? This is an important question to be deliberated, because many people will take a position to either agree or disagree with this question; although, they may need more information about the topic to make an educated decision. In addition, this is one of the greatest controversial topics in American culture currently, and it is significant to educate people on the material before aimlessly determining if abortion can be morally justified. The question remains, what is abortion? Abortion is when a person intentionally and deliberately ends a human pregnancy. While there are many various deliberations to be addressed, the emphasis will be on, is the fetus a living being in the mother’s womb and can pregnancy resulting from rape be morally justified? The position I will take on the matter is that abortion can be morally justified only when it is a matter of life or death for the mother.