The majority of arguments about abortion do come down to the moral status of a fetus, but not all. The typical arguments associated to abortion reflect the ongoing struggle to define the issue based on the rights of a fetus. This paper however, will look at extreme arguments, pros and cons, which are not based on morality of the fetus and will define these arguments as they relate to ethical theories. These non-typical arguments include: pregnant women’s health, legalism, religious objections to medical care, and cost in real dollars of providing abortion services. Each of the examples negates the concept that all arguments relate to the moral status of a fetus.
The first argument against abortion that does not relate to fetal morality is that pregnant women can suffer from immediate and future medical complications. In a 1977 study, between 2 and 3 percent of women obtaining abortion services were found to have suffered from perforation of the uterus during the procedure used for the abortion. (Kaali) In addition to the potential for perforation, uterine damage from an abortion procedure can lead to abnormal development of the placentas in future pregnancies. This abnormal development fosters an environment that can cause “fetal malformation, perinatal death, and excessive bleeding during labor.” (Barrett)
This argument looks at abortion as a surgery and considers physical harm to the pregnant woman based on the procedure. This argument considers the potential for harm to future pregnancies, but not to the rights and morality of the fetus involved in the procedure.
Psychological Egoism, the concept that people are motivated by their personal interests, can be loosely applied here in that a pregnant woman can be benefitted by not having an abortion procedure because she will not take on the risk of medical issues based on the procedure. (Snare 43) This vantage point gives no consideration to the status of the fetus. A counter argument to this is that applying the concepts of psychological as related to abortion, some could argue that it’s in the best interest of the pregnant woman to have an abortion. Again, this does not relate to the moral status of the fetus
Another argument against abortion that does not relate to fetal morality is legalism. Legalism finds that all efforts in a nation should be focused on the power of the leader. Essentially, “might makes right.” (Fu 170) In Hitler’s Germany, this concept relates to both the pro and anti-abortion arguments. If pregnant women outside of the German population are encouraged to have abortions, this is a form of population control that assists the German ruler. Fewer babies lead to fewer soldiers for those other nations and another form of ethnic cleansing. Alternately, abortions performed on German women take a future Aryan solider out of the German armed forces. Clearly an opposition argument to this and all discussions of abortion is fetal rights, but a strict legalism argument from a ruler of another country could be that the power of his rule is decreased by the German actions thus the promotion of abortion in his nation is morally wrong. Fetal rights are given no consideration in these legalism based arguments. Under Divine Command Theory the rightness of an act depends on whether it is in accordance with God’s will. (Wainwright 265) Using this theory alone and not considering the moral status of the fetus, it can be argued that it is God’s will that pregnancy occurs; therefore, a woman should not seek an abortion because that decision does not align with what God wants. This theory can be further expanded to include the concept that seeking medical treatment of any kind is outside the scope of God’s will and that prayer is the answer to medical concerns. This concept is practiced by many followers of Christian Science, a religious group that seeks to heal through prayer, not science and modern medicine. (Schoepflin 314) While