Is Abortion Morally Right Or Wrong?

By the 1960’s, states began to reconsider the legalization of abortion in response to the high rate of hospital admissions resulting from illegal abortions and a change in public opinion (“Abortion in Law, History, and Religion”). By the early 1970’s, 17 states had altered their abortion laws towards liberalization (“Abortion in Law, History, and Religion”). In 1973, the Supreme Court declared in Roe vs. Wade that most existing state laws were unconstitutional. The case ruled out any legislative interference in the first trimester of pregnancy and put limits on what restrictions could be passed on abortions in later stages of pregnancy (Sauer).

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.

Agreeing to a time-based restriction could protect older fetuses and still safeguard the rights of most of the women seeking abortions, who are usually within 12 weeks of pregnancy. Coming to an agreement as to when the fetus is truly alive, is the next step to coming to a time-based restriction agreement. Medical science has advanced the ability of the fetus to survive outside the womb from about 28 weeks to about 23 to 24 weeks. Since the progression of medical technology is always changing, suggestions for compromise propose a cutoff date for elective abortions at eight to sixteen weeks, which is well before viability (Flanders 25). One of the strictest proposals includes prohibiting abortions after approximately the eighth week when fetal brain waves can be detected. Some say that this is appropriate because this is the same way that doctors determine the end of a person’s life. Some supporters go so far as to say that there should be a sixteen week allowed time period, opposed to the eight week. Pro-choice people argue that this restriction would be less objectionable than the eight-week restriction since ninety percent of all abortions are performed within the twelfth week of pregnancy (Driefus 101). Millions of pro-choicers and pro-lifers believe that any such compromise would be impossible. From different ends of the argument, they criticize any proposal of time limits that would violate the rights of women or violate the rights of fetuses. They all agree

Before women had rights to decide whether they could keep their baby, some states didn’t allow abortion, therefore requiring women to give birth to their child. In today’s current issues, abortion is still a controversial subject with millions of people supporting it or not supporting it. Every woman has the right to make changes to her own physical body, and those rights should not be taken away, according to the constitution. In the very famous case in 1973, “Roe v. Wade”, the United States Supreme Court legalized abortion throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. In the article, “Roe’s Pro-Life Legacy”, it is explained how after this movement, the right to abortion, lives have changed and led to lower abortion rates (Sheilds 2013.)

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.

Regardless of the opinions surrounding abortion, a majority of people are familiar with the Supreme court cases of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. These two cases have played a tremendous role in regard to the abortion debate. In 1973, the Roe v. Wade case was ruled in favour of Roe and stated the stringent criminalization of abortion in Texas was deemed unconstitutional under the fourteenth amendment. The law violated the right of privacy, which implied the privacy of a woman’s decision to an abortion. Although the courts agreed with Roe, they also recognized the rights to an abortion are not absolute. Limitations to the right was based on the trimesters of pregnancy with the first trimester protecting the woman’s choice and the third trimester being acceptable for states to regulate or even ban abortions outside of therapeutic reasons.

FACTS: in 1973 with the passing of Roe v. Wade, women were guaranteed, under a right to privacy in which the woman has the right to choose whether or not to get an abortion, however, this right was not confirmed to be absolute. Nearly 20 years later, in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the “central holdings” of Roe v. Wade were reaffirmed, by providing limits in which federal and state governments can regulate abortion. Unfortunately, conflict arose between Casey and Roe, when trying to ensure the woman still has a right to choose, which lead to allowing a prohibition of late-term abortions, unless the health of the mother was at stake. Next, in 2000, the case of Stenberg v. Carhart forced the court to consider a Nebraska state law that was passed banning late-term abortions and whether the statute was unconstitutional, which it was found to be, because the statute did not include an exception for the health of the mother and that the language used was so broad that it burdened a woman’s right to choose. Then, in 2007, the case of Gonzales v. Carhart raised the issue once again on a federal law that had been passed, the Partial-Birth Ban Act of 2003. The lower courts claimed it to be unconstitutional because of the lack of exception for the health of the mother. This Act however, was found to be constitutional and The Supreme Court decided to look once again at the precedent, under stare decisis

Roe vs. Wade changed the law for abortions, and made women feel more secure if they can’t handle a child. The idea for future laws is to ensure that women maintain power over their bodies, but do not dominate over the law and use exceptions for abortion. The problem is that pro-choice women and pro-life women have many clashing ideas that make it hard to organize one final law. Pro-choice women believe that abortions should be allowed to a certain extent. SOme even believe it can be a form of birth control, and that there should be no limit of uses. Pro-life women do not agree with the idea of abortion, and think it is crossing the line of the law, since it involves a fetus. The facts from articles in use show the contrasting sides of each

In cases where the baby cannot survive outside of the mother and the mother’s health is in danger, the state has the right to protect the health of the mother and may regulate the procedure. The Justices debated over what should be the timeframe of when aborting can happen. Some suggested up till the point of viability, abortions can occur. others said at the end of the first trimester. However, both are ambiguous and arbitrary, so they proposed abandoning frameworks based on the age of the fetus and instead allowing states to regulate the procedure based on its safety for the

Wade decision inspires many types of analyses, solutions, and criticisms. One solution is that the Court could shift its focus in abortion cases and view abortion rights as raising issues of inequality. This would mean to present the issue of a woman’s right to take complete charge of her life and destiny as well as of her position in society in relation to man. This approach is probably the most appropriate solution to the dilemma in Roe because it avoids the trimester analysis and avoids the due process

Wade has come to be known as the case that sanctioned premature birth across the country. At the time the choice was passed on, about all states prohibited fetus removal but to spare a lady's life or for constrained reasons such as protecting the lady's wellbeing, or occurrences of assault, familial lust, or fetal oddity. Roe rendered these laws unlawful, making premature birth benefits tremendously more secure and more open to ladies all through the nation. The choice additionally set a lawful point of reference that influenced more than 30 consequent Supreme Court cases including limitations on access to

This injunction will block the law from taking action until the case is resolved. The next steps would be the case being heard by the District Courts or the United States Court of Appeals. Conclusively, this case will end in the United State Supreme Court. The banning of second-trimester abortion is said to,“ensure more humane treatment of the unborn child.”(Astor) It’s advocated that unborn children should have a say so and be treated like a human being. The process of second-trimester abortion takes away vital human rights. Most medical officials oppose this ban because second-trimester abortion causes “the fewest complications for women compared to alternative procedures.”(The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) In Texas, later-term abortions started to increase because of women having trouble with accessing abortions in a timely manner. There have been many regulations already placed for late actions of abortion, but there are still many complaints about a

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

Would you be able to watch your wife or daughter die in front of you because of a pregnancy that could have been aborted? Would you willingly give birth to a child you know will only suffer and be in pain for the rest of their life, due to a health problem? These are questions the American people need to start asking. Recently the topic of abortion has been debated a lot because of the ban on late term abortion. An abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. It has been a topic that has been debated since the court case Roe v. Wade in Jan. 22, 1973. Even though the case declared it a “fundamental right” there has been a lot of debate regarding abortion. There are two sides to the argument, Pro choice advocated who believe that women should be given the choice to have an abortion. The other side is Pro-life who are against abortion. A lot of people are very narrow minded and know very little about late term abortions and abortions in general. Late-term abortion is drastically different than early abortion, but both should be legal to those women who choose this method.