Is Abortion Immoral Or Morally Permissible?

There are many controversial issues being debated in today’s society; however, one of the more heated issues is abortion. Abortion has been around at almost every point in American history. Consequently, since the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade there have been approximately 57,762,169 abortions in America (“Are You”). This raises the question of should abortion be legal or illegal, and is this immoral or moral to do? The decision to have an abortion can be a difficult time in a woman’s life, but is not a moral way to end a pregnancy. Abortion in the United States should be illegal because of the effects it has on women, the immorality of killing a baby, and how it affects society.

In Judith Jarvis Thomson’s philosophy paper, A Defense of Abortion, she argues that abortion is permissible because an individual’s right over their own body outweighs a fetus’s right to life. In this paper I will focus on whether or not abortion is always permissible. First, I will present Thomson’s argument which says that abortion is sometimes permissible. I will do so by describing her “famous violinist” thought experiment. Next, I will object to Thomson’s claim and expand the scope of her argument by arguing that abortion is in fact, always permissible. I will do so by presenting a new thought experiment. Finally, I will conclude in saying that Thomson is correct and abortion is in fact only sometimes permissible.

I believe abortions are morally permissible. It is a procedure that will occur whether legal or not and I have no moral or legal imperative to prevent a woman from receiving safe medical intervention if she makes that decision. There are no comparable medical procedures where people feel they have a right to prevent a competent adult from exercising their options. Individuals that believe that abortion is immoral have no authority to offer opinions on medical treatment for anyone but themselves. If they are offended by abortion they should not have one.

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.

Abortion is immoral. The statement "a woman has a right to her body" has two weak points. First, unlike her

The question of whether or not abortion is morally permissible is widely disputed amongst those who are pro-life or pro-choice. While in some societies abortion has been outlawed, others either entirely allow for it or consider abortion permissible on a case-by-case basis. Many pro-lifers classify abortion as immoral, some even considering it murder. Abortion is typically defined as terminating a pregnancy before the fetus is able to survive outside of the womb. A crucial factor in determining whether or not an instance of abortion can be considered morally permissible is the demarcation of the age of the fetus. Various hard cases in certain societies that have been considered permissible cases for abortion such as: threat of health to the mother, pregnancy in result of a crime (i.e. rape), reduced quality of life of the child (i.e. genetic problems and physical or mental defects), disadvantaged social factors (i.e. poverty), etc.

The topic of abortion has consistently maintained its controversy throughout the last century. It is widely believed to be morally wrong in the scope of religion and various political parties. The powerful combination of church and state has the potential to cause deadly results as women can be negatively impacted by the physical strain of labor. The aim of Pro-choice, in contrast, encourages safe medical procedures for women, quality of life for children, and ultimately, the right to

The moral question of abortion, is abortion morally permissible? The question has been a concern for many philosophers in the contemporary world. In general, abortion is a very fragile topic for people all over the world, especially for people who consider themselves to be pro-life and rest on the claim that a fetus is a person and that “every person has a right to life” (48). This is the premise of opposition to abortion that most people rely on. That premise would only work if, and only if, we all can agree on if the fetus is considered a human. If the fetus is considered a human then we can logically say that abortion is impermissible because we would be taking a life; conversely, if the fetus is not a person then abortion would be allowed. Such is not a perfect world where everything is black and white, free thinking gives people strong opinions about when life begins causing two sides of Thomson’s argument. Being open minded like every great philosopher should, Thomson stands in between the fence and claims the conclusion that abortion is permissible under certain circumstances and that there are scenarios in which getting an abortion is considered impermissible. Thomson’s argument does a great job in explaining her reason through the use of eight thought experiments to support her main claim and I will critique her reasoning and create objections to her claim for the purpose of a wholesome critique and to leave the readers to decide where the extension of their morals/ethics lies to pick a side in this controversial topic.

The topic of abortion remains one of the most contentious issue in today’s society. It is undoubtedly a complex issue that merits discussion and discourse. Abortion can generally be defined as the deliberate termination of an unborn human embryo or foetus. Between 2010 and 2014, an estimated 56 million induced abortions occurred each year worldwide (Sedgh et al., 2016). While some might see abortion as morally defensible for the doctor to perform, there are nonetheless some who think otherwise; that it is morally indefensible. Due to this major disagreement, an attempt will be made to provide a case for why it is morally indefensible for a doctor to perform an abortion for a woman. This will be defended by the following syllogism: it is wrong to kill

When is come to the topic of abortion everyone has to morally decide if abortion is morally acceptable or not to them. It starts with deciding if you believe that a fetus can morally be aborted. There are many reasons to have an abortion and many reasons not

Abortion is morally permissible in all cases; regardless of how the pregnancy came about. The question of whether the fetus is granted personhood at conception or anytime during its development is entirely irrelevant. The right to control your own body often trumps someone’s right to life. Even if you declare personhood to the fetus, it does not determine the morality of abortion. Whether it is “killing an innocent child” or not does not take away the fact that this country has time and time again proven that the right to control our property nevertheless our body is much more weighted on the scale of what has more value when put up against an individual’s right to life. Just like how you can not be forced to donate a kidney to save

Faye Wattleton, the longest reigning president of the largest abortion provider in the world - Planned Parenthood- argued as far back as 1997 that everyone already knows that abortion kills. She proclaims the following in an interview with Ms. Magazine:

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

All around the world, unborn babies are being killed everyday. Abortion has become one of the most common operations in the US today. People that are “pro-choice” believe that it is acceptable for a woman to have the choice to abort her baby or not. They say that it is the legal right of a woman. They believe that a baby is not yet alive until it has been born. It is argued that a woman should be able to do what is best for her future, health, and body. On the other side of the spectrum lies people that are “pro-life”. They believe that human life begins at the time of conception and that killing what is unborn is murder. They defend this with arguments from science, as well as scripture. Pro-choice believes in abortion because it will benefit the majority of women and possibly families. They are looking out for themselves and their best interests. It is Utilitarianism as well as egoism. They believe it is morally acceptable to end the life of the unborn. It will provide the majority with an unwanted pregnancy and a way out of a tough situation. Pro-life is against abortion because of a religious authority and because it will benefit a majority (unborn babies). They believe it is morally unacceptable to end the life of the unborn.

One day, Socrates went to the park to train for a 5k run he had signed up for. After running two miles, he decided to stop for a short break. As he was sitting on a bench, a young woman sat angrily down next to him to receive a phone call.