Ethical Issues in Health
Abortion

Abortion is one of the most polarising moral issues in today’s society. It presents an ethical dilemma for many people and especially all healthcare professionals involved. Firstly, this essay will begin by briefly outlining the highly controversial issue of abortion, discuss why this topic draws fierce debate, for and against, and explain the current legal standing in the UK today. It will then move on to explain how different ethical models can be used in relation to ethical dilemmas, in particular Thiroux’s Five Principles of Ethic’s. Using this model to discuss how each principle individually applies to this contested issue it will then conclude by summarising and highlighting the main conflicts
With regards to pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, however unplanned by the mother, the conceived foetus still has the right to life. This concept similarly applies to foetus’ found to have disabilities or impairments (Kaczor, 2011).
The organisation, Abortion Rights, is the national Pro-Choice campaign that argues extensively with regards to Thiroux’s second principle of an individual’s right to autonomy. Pro-Choice campaigners believe that individuals have unlimited autonomy with respect to their own reproductive systems. The organisation argues that, in cases where human personhood cannot be proven, e.g. in pregnancies prior to the point of viability, nobody has the right to impede a woman's right to decide whether or not to continue a pregnancy. The health and lives of the women involved is something that should not be overlooked. Abortion Pro-Choice advocates often cite rape and incest as legitimate reasons for a woman to abort a pregnancy and, by ignoring arguments in these cases, opponents argue against justice for the female victims of these crimes. To force any woman to endure a pregnancy brought about by rape is to force her to recall the rape each and every day of her pregnant life. There is nothing moral about forcing a woman to carry that embryo to term. In fact, it is one of the most immoral things that society could do. Adoption is not considered to be an alternative to abortion because it is the