Patricia Heaton Abortion

Bertha, M. (2014). Pro-Life, Pro-Choice : Shared Values in the Abortion Debate. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. https://fortlewis.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search- ebscohost-com.fortlewis.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edspmu&AN=edspmu.9780826519924&site=eds-live&scope=site Throughout this book, Bertha claims that she is for pro choice, but at the end of the reading, she states that she has changed her beliefs to pro life. This specific author performed studies, exams, courses, and clinicals and discovered the facts about the harm that takes place to your body after having an abortion. Bertha discusses the hard, mental griefs and traumas that follow the procedure, as well as the uneasy argument about the virtuous worth of the human fetus. The author brings experience to the discussion through the psychological department, being an Associate Professor of Philosophy in the School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies at Arizona State University, as well as having written many informative and knowledgeable articles.

It is worth mentioning in the first place that the continuing debate over the abortion problem has always been based on two main opposing views. Nagan (1971) terms these viewpoints as “the fetus oriented view and the female perspective” (p. 288). To his mind, defining the status of the fetus as a human being or only as a potential human being best indicates polarity

From 1973 to 2003 around 1 million abortions have been performed in the U.S alone and after the Roe vs. Wade case was found in favor in Roe which has led to a large controversy over whether or not an abortion kills a person. Today I will not argue over which side is right or wrong, but show you the facts and ethics of an abortion, and leave you the listener to choose whether or not to believe and act upon these truths. First the argument over abortion is not about women's right. Many people associate abortion with women's right but this is not the case. The argument for or against abortion lies in whether or not an abortion murders a person. Now with that context set we must now look to see first whether something is being killed and the answer is yes. Any Biomedical scientist will tell you that a unborn babies cell is different from that of her mother and if an unborn baby were part of her mother the cells of the baby would match that of her mother but it has been scientifically proven as a fact that a unborn baby is composed of entirely different cells than her mother. This meaning that the baby is an entirely different organism. Also we know something is being killed because the unborn baby has different cells meaning a entirely different organism is killed during the abortion process. Now we know that a unborn baby is not part of the mother and that something in the least is being killed. Now that it is settled that something is being killed with each

Many individuals fail to understand the sheer magnitude of bloodshed, tribulation, and despair legalized abortion has initiated into the human experience – both in the United States and worldwide. Far more human lives have been violently ended by this immoral decision than any other war or genocide in history. It is one of the most controversial issues in today’s society. Abortion is the intentional decision to murder a human fetus by chemical, medical or surgical procedures. Those who support the rights of abortion argue that women should be able to decide what can be done to their bodies, yet the unborn baby inside a woman is a living being, and terminating that pregnancy is the equivalent of murder. These innocent children should not be held responsible for your mistakes. Don’t terminate pregnancy now, because you may not have children in the future at all.

One of the first moral issues addressed by both sides of the abortion debate concerns a pregnant woman’s so-called natural “right” to make “reproductive choices.” (“The Rights of Pregnant Women”) Anti-abortion advocacy groups claim that “the only way to actually protect the mother’s rights will be by enforcing laws that secure her child’s right to life,” (“Argument 2”) whereas pro-abortion groups contend that these laws “create a dangerous precedent for wide-ranging government intrusion into the lives of all women.” (“The Rights”) With two fundamentally contrasting viewpoints at odds with each other, it is apparent that one of the core issues concurrent with abortion is a woman’s rights versus the rights of her unborn fetus.

To put it simply, an abortion is defined as, the intentional termination of a pregnancy most often preformed before the third trimester (within weeks 1-28). The controversy over abortions usually stems from the difficulty between individuals to agree on a set of conditions that would constitute ones’ decision, to abort as just. This issue is examined by many philosophers, particularly, Judith Thomson and Don Marquis. Both philosopher’s views loosely encompass the complex underlying beliefs of those who stand behind the “pro-life” and “pro-choice” arguments. Tomson and Marquis demonstrate the very distinctively different perspectives one could take on the issue. Don Marquis suggests that fetuses, being persons, possess the right to a “future like ours” and that it would be wrong to intentionally impede on “the life that I would have lived if I had lived out my natural lifespan” except for in “rare circumstances”. While, Tomson asserts that not all abortions are morally wrong, nor do they “violate the victim’s right to life”, and by having one that is in no way indicative that a fetus’s rights have been violated. Despite the fact that both philosophers present valid positions, and outline their key differences, Tomson goes far beyond Marquis’ efforts by illustrating that the way in which we view abortions ought to be redefined in order for one to maintain a clear perspective.

Abortion has taken the lives of more than 50 million babies since 1973 (“About Abortion”). The issue of abortion is one of the most common controversial issues in American politics and culture. In modern society, many women that have an unintended pregnancy and they result to abortion without researching other options. Abortion is not a substitute for birth control and this issue should be taken seriously. The individual woman needs to understand that by agreeing to have an abortion she is agreeing to kill an innocent fetus. Abortion rips the unborn child from his or hers right to life. Society needs to let women see through the eyes of the fetus and find alternative ways to raise the baby. Abortion should be

Susan Sherwin’s view on abortion is primarily focused through the lens of feminist philosophy. Her article focuses primarily on how the feminist view provides more holistic, and less cold view on the topic of abortion that is more inclusive of the mother. The feminist view of abortion is primarily focused on looking at the factors that affect the mother through the process of the abortion, such as a woman’s feelings around the fetus, is conception, her partner, and her obligations. These are all factors that are not usually thought of by non-feminist thinkers. This is usually because the discussion around this topic is, as the author puts it “generally grounded in masculinist concepts of freedom (such as privacy, individual choice, and individuals’ property rights with respect to their own bodies)” (Sherwin.1997, 100). This view, as she puts it, primarily focuses on the morality and legal aspects of abortion. The basis of Sherwin’s paper centers around a feminist model from which to look at abortion. This model takes into account the emotional impact that an unwanted pregnancy has on the woman, who will be impacted most by this event. It gives sole power of design to the woman, who “may make mistakes in their moral judgements, but no one else can be assumed to have the authority to evaluate and overrule their judgements”. (Sherwin.1997, 102) Sherwin also advocates against the division of the mother and the fetus as separate entities during bioethical discussions. This also

The debate about the legality of abortion involves debating the legal status of the fetus. If the fetus is a person, anti-choice activists argue, then abortion is murder and should be illegal. Even if the fetus is a person, though, abortion may have justified as necessary to women’s body self-govern but that wouldn’t mean that abortion is automatically ethical. Perhaps the state can’t force women to carry pregnancies to term, but it could argue that it is the most ethical choice.

The United States has been divided now over the issue of abortion for thirty-three years since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade in 1973. As of today, over 45 million legal abortions have been performed in the United States. Pro-choice advocates hold these 45 million abortions as being 45 million times women have exercised their right to choose to get pregnant and to choose to control their own bodies. To pro-life, or anti-abortion, advocates these 45 million abortions constitute 45 million murders, a genocide of human life in the United States propagated by the court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade. The debate over abortion in the United States is thus a debate of two extremes. One side argues from the personal liberty of the mother. The

One of the most controversial topics in America is abortion. In medical terms, “an abortion is the premature exit of the products of conception (the fetus, fetal membranes, and placenta) from the uterus” (Medicine Net). All around the world, the practice of abortions has been widely used to control a woman’s reproduction. The polarizing, emotional debate on abortion has been an ongoing issue that still exists today. People’s different perspectives and opinion on whether or not abortion is immoral continue to divide America into two groups: “Pro-choice” and “Pro-life”. However, pro-life advocates tend to focus more on the fetus rather than how abortion and programs have actually benefited the mother and families. There is hypocrisy in people who identify themselves as “pro-life” and the word itself can be misleading as it does not align with the true values of protecting a life.

Each day throughout our world, medical professionals suction thousands of babies from their mothers’ wombs through a procedure called abortion. The law protects and provides consent to both the mother and the medical professionals for these procedures. However, the babies seemingly have no right to protection or life themselves because of the argument regarding when a fetus is determined be human and have life. Pro-life author, Sarah Terzo, in a LifeSiteNews.com article, relays the following testimony supporting this from a medical student upon witnessing his first abortion, “Rejected by their mothers and regarded as medical waste by their killers, society allows these babies to die silently, with no recognition or acknowledgment of their

Since the legalization of abortion, more than 126,000 abortions have been performed every day and more than 46,000,000 each year (AbortionTV). One may say they can’t understand how a mother can just kill her child because of her irresponsibility. She may rebuttal back with the answer that the fetus is not yet human and it wouldn’t feel any pain anyway. Studies show that the

A long on-going subject that has been greatly debated in our society is abortion. Many people argue that because the baby in the mother’s womb is not alive, aborting him or her is not considered a murder. However, others say that as the baby’s heart and brain are the first things to develop, the baby is technically alive and killing it would be a murder. As soon as the baby has a heartbeat, it has life. Abortion has many characteristics of a murder, including the killing of one human being by another, it’s unethical, and it is done without the consent of the person.

Although, Naomi Wolf states that abortion does not fit a feministic choice and that it dehumanizes women, it takes away part of us and “defends its moral high ground by being simply faithful to truth - to women’s real-life experiences.” (Wolf) Within this there is a “a cycle of dehumanization back and forth between pro-choice and pro-life.” (Class Notes, 6/14/17) Wolf explains that pregnant women are frowned upon and receive “backlash” for having a reproductive system and that abortions dehumanize the fetus.