Kant On Abortion

Abortion has been a heated debate in the United States for decades. Since before the ruling on Roe v. Wade, it is clear that this is an issue that is far from ever being decided upon. Between those who are pro-life and those who are pro-choice, scholars from both sides work on disproving the morality of the other side. With the evolution of abortion laws and regulation through the decades, it is difficult to imagine the United States without conflict pertaining to abortion. Despite pro-life and pro-choice agendas, the country is in ever-changing opinion when it comes to abortion.

Abortion is “never an easy choice to make and is a decision often made when a woman feels she has no other option” (Kerber, 2015, p.1). This statement of Kerber will inspire a Christian nurse to look into a situation deeper, and considering what possible options that she or he can provide to influence a woman’s decision or having a change of heart about the option of abortion for her unborn child. Advocating for a client who is considering an abortion due to an unplanned pregnancy would be challenging for Christian nurses like Emily Kerber. Her words were “I had been focused on abortion instead of on people” (p.21). Her work in a Pregnancy Resource Center across United States is a gift from God because she is

Kant believes that moral law comes from humans’ ability to reason and all immoral behavior is unreasonable or irrational. Kant defines categorical imperative as a law of morality that all humans have a duty to obey and must be able to apply universally. Meaning, to determine if an act is morally good, then you should be able to will that everyone else would act in the same way thus making it a universal law. So in the case of abortion, one would have to ask “Can you will that every woman would have an abortion when she is pregnant?” If you answer “yes,” then abortion is moral. If you say “no,” then it isn’t moral. Kant would also say “that treating persons as mere means, applied to human embryos and fetuses and would to be wrong to either abort them or destroy them” (Manninan,

Abortion has been and still is one of the most controversial topics in American culture. The reason for the controversy is the different viewpoints of this very personal matter. Some believe that abortion is the same as murder. Others believe it’s a personal choice which only they have the right to make. Due to the nature of the procedure and the concerns associated with ending a pregnancy, abortion will continue to top the list of “touchy” subjects in American politics and culture. As a pro-choice advocate, it is important for the right to have an abortion to be established and protected.

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

Statement of Problem: Abortion is defined as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. Today, especially here in the United States of America, there is a growing issue and debate around the idea of abortion. There is a stigma against abortion because of the possibility of negative religious, political, medical, emotional, and mental consequences it may cause. Each year, worldwide there is an estimated 42 billion abortions that take place. This number does not include abortions that are not performed by professionals. The big issue alongside with abortion itself, is the affects it has on the mental health of females who undergo the procedure.

Of all the legal, ethical, and moral issues we Americans continuously fight for or against, abortion may very well be the issue that Americans are most passionate about. The abortion issue is in the forefront of political races. Most recently the “no taxpayer funding for abortion act”, has abortion advocates reeling. Even though abortion has been legal in every state in the United States since the monumental Supreme Court decision, “Roe v Wade”, on January 22, 1973; there are fewer physicians willing to perform abortions today than in 2008. (Kraft) At the heart of the ethical dilemma for many in the medical profession is the viability of the fetus. And just to make this whole dilemma more confusing, according to the United States

Women’s health, specifically abortion, is a pressing health care issue in the nation, as well as globally. I envision my future career as an Obstetrician and Gynecologist (OB/GYN) to be influential in the process of choosing whether or not to have an abortion. Many females making this difficult decision are uninformed and afraid. My part in this process would be to inform the mother-to-be of all her options, encourage, and support her as she makes her decision. As an OB/GYN, I will use my empathy and professionalism to answer difficult questions and put my personal beliefs aside to ensure the welfare of the mother and the child. I want to be able to provide a confidential and comfortable environment for my patient to discuss private and sensitive

5. What do you think Kant’s ethical theory tells us about the morality or immorality of abortion? Is it clear what utilitarianism tells us about abortion or euthanasia?

Abortion is wrong because it is the murder of a human being. Abortion continues to be a moral and ethical dilemma for all those involved. The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics states, “nurses have the ethical and moral obligation to promote and protect life.” Still, debates continue, opposing the belief of life against the principle of autonomy and a woman’s right to regulate her body. It is disputable that the right to have an abortion is a right to dominate one’s body, but the death of the fetus is an inevitable result of the termination of that pregnancy (Religious studies online, n.d.). One million two hundred thousand abortions are done yearly in the United States from weeks 9 to 21+ of gestation (Pro Life Action League). Nevertheless, nurses, no matter how caring and compassionate, their individual education, culture, religion, past, gender and even age will influence the care that is given to their patients (British Journal of Nursing, 2015, p. 345). With that, if a nurse assists with the procedure of abortion, is he or she going against the Code of Ethics for Nurses? No matter if the nurse assists with the abortion or not certain rules for privacy must be followed. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Privacy Rule protects the patients’ health information, even those experiencing unwanted pregnancies (Simmonds & Likis, 2011, p. 794).

Abortion is dividing America. Without a common understanding of abortion, this issue will always be divisive in America. Throughout the history of America, abortion has been an issue that has generally separated people into two camps, those in favor of abortion and those against abortion. However, these two groups, more often than not, have not approached their understanding of this issue from the same perspective. Generally speaking, those in favor of abortion see the issue of the personal rights of women. However, those against abortion, view the issue of the rights of the child. As a result, these two perspectives will never gain unity or a common understanding of abortion. The purpose of this paper is to not only give a clear understanding of both sides of the issue, but to argue that this issue will never be a unifying issue in American culture.

For my final paper I have decided to do a on the ethical and controversial issue of abortion. In this report I will cover both sides of the abortion issue. I will summarize the stands of both Pro-Life advocates and Pro-Choice, by presenting arguments from organizations, authors, and journal articles from each side. As well as give a brief history on abortion and a look at the laws that govern this issue not only here at home but around the world. In conclusion of my report I will give my views on the issue and on which side of the fence my beliefs put me on. So lets begin.

xAn abortion is defined as a deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. There are many chemical contraceptives and morning after pills that some would also consider a form of abortion though for the sake of this paper we will only define the two main methods for performing an abortion. An Aspiration is a surgical abortion usually performed within the first month gestation. This 10-15-minute procedure involves the suction of the uterus to remove the fetus and placenta. Recovery time can take as long as a few hours after the procedure. Dilation and Evacuation is a surgical abortion performed beyond the 16-week gestation period. This involves a synthetic dilator the day before, as well as using a shot to guarantee fetal death. After this, removal of the tissue away from the lining will begin. Suctioning completes the process to ensure all contents are completely removed. This procedure usually last between 15-30 minutes. Both Aspiration as well as Dilation and Evacuation procedures can come with the risk of side effects including cramping, nausea, bleeding, sweating and infection.

The modern world today is brought together by many different cultures, beliefs, thoughts, opinions and morals. Which makes life difficult at times and causes people to not get along when differences can not be set aside. There are many issues and topics that are the root of these problems, which may never be solved and more than likely will never be solved based on characteristics of cultures and beliefs. Abortion is a very diverse topic in today’s society for which there may never be a correct answer to live up to everyone’s morals, but both sides present persuasive facts and opinions to justify their beliefs.

The issue of whether or not we should allow abortion, or to grant pro-choice has been widely debated in our community lately. This topic is important for the morality of expectant mothers that are dealing with issues of feticide. In recent elections, abortion has become a main point of interest for democrats and republicans. Democrats are mainly pro-choice, while the republicans are preponderantly pro-life affiliates. Different arguments have been discussed as to why abortion should be legal, however, pro-choice is the accurate view point. Abortions should continue to stay legalized, but only for legitimate reasoning’s. But because of the 19th amendment, expectant mothers have the constitutional rights to decide if she wants to terminate