Abortion, defined as the deliberate and voluntary act of terminating a pregnancy by means of removing a foetus from a woman’s uterus, provides many ethical concerns as to whether it may be characterised as morally permissible or impermissible. For this argument, I will support two contentions to suggest that abortion is ethically acceptable; first, that foetuses are not persons and therefore are not morally considerable, and second, that regardless of the moral considerations given to the foetus, there are circumstances that may override its right to life due to the foetus’s violation of the rights of the mother.
As a foetus may be classified as a human in terms of biology, that is, a part of the species Homo sapiens, it may seem Prima facie obligatory to ensure its right to survival. However, it may be argued that it is not classified as a person and one does not achieve this status until birthed. It is not until this stage that a being may accept most of the conditions of personhood as put forth by Mary Anne Warren (2007, p. 372). Warren suggests a criterion of five mental conditions to determine personhood: the ability of reason, communicational skills, self-motivation, consciousness, and the occurrence of self-awareness. As a foetus possesses none of these abilities, technically, by accepting these terms, it cannot be considered as a person with a right to life, and therefore is not morally permissible. From this, the conclusion may be drawn that only a person, who possesses all five of Warren’s properties, has a serious right to life. As a foetus does not possess this right to life, abortion cannot be seen as morally impermissible under any circumstances.
Upon contemplating Warren’s personhood criteria, John T. Noonan (1994, p. 279) argues that there are complications in using measures like these, because the conditions may have varying levels of satisfaction. As such, newborns are hardly more person-like than a foetus in its later stages. Equally, this may be applicable to a premature birthing. A baby birthed one month early, would considerably be as person-like as an eight-month old foetus. If this is the case, and abortion is seen to be morally permissible, then it may also be argued that infanticide is morally permissible. This is based on the similar grounds that a newborn has still not yet developed personhood. However Warren provides a reasoning to suggest otherwise, and that infanticide is ethically wrong. She describes that the birth of a child signifies the end of the mothers right to decide its fate, and so long as a person values the newborn, it must be seen as morally impressible to end its life if there are persons with a desire to care for it (Warren, as cited by Card, 2000, p. 342). This is because the intentional death of the newborn may deprive the persons of this desire to care for it, and thereby deprive the persons of their rights. At this point, we may determine that, as addressed by Fred Feldman (as cited by Denis, 2007, p. 551), only beings accomplished in self-consciousness are capable of having a want to live or continue living. Professor Bernard Gert suggests that merely being alive has no fundamental worth in itself, but rather retaining the ability to have a sentient experience is what provides life with value (Gert, as cited by Triplett, 2011, p. 300). As, unlike conscious persons, a foetus has never possessed the desire to live or continue living, the death of a foetus cannot be considered morally wrong, and therefore abortion must be viewed as ethically permissible in all situations.
Now that infanticide has been addressed and we have viewed the arguments for its impermissibility, this can then be used to further our argument that a foetus is not a person and a newborn is, through considering viability. I would like to define viability as being concerned with the ability to live and survive outside the mother’s womb and achieve individual growth and development. The argument
Abortion: Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice Abortion: Pro-Life Vs. Pro-Choice “Abortion is the spontaneous or artificially induced expulsion of an embryo or fetus” (Abortion, 2002). An artificially induced abortion is the type referred to in the legal context. Abortions happen in different situations. The question comes when is it the right or wrong choice. The root question becomes the moment a fetus becomes a person and entitled to rights. The fetus could be a person at conception, during…
Pros and Cons of Abortion Abortion is a very controversial subject that has been continually argued over for the past few years and probably many years to come. The main controversy is should abortion be legalized? First before we get into the many sides of abortion we must first define abortion. Abortion is the destruction of the fetus or unborn child while the child is still in the mother’s womb. This can be done by almost anyone from the mother herself to back alley abortions and even to abortions…
Abortion Right or Wrong? Abortion is defined as: "the termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or of a fetus that is incapable of survival." However, if only the debate over the abortion issue was as simple as the definition provided above. Much like every aspect of human life, a statement is neither right nor wrong, but simply left open for someone to interpret it. There is no black and white in life, only gray areas that are hard to figure out. Some issues tend to provide us more gray…
Abortion A. Jonathan Glover, in his article Matters of Life and Death casts dispersions on both pro-abortion and anti-abortion debates citing them as too knee-jerk emotional reactions diminishing the inherent complexity of the other side (1. Glover, CC2006, p. 0110). Glover comprehensively addresses the key points of both sides of the abortion debate and evaluates their inherent virtues, especially for those who hold these opinions, then methodically points out its flaws. Ultimately, Glover comes…
when one talks about the controversial topic of abortion a lot of factors play into the peoples opinion such as religious belief but most people that agree that abortion should be legal all say the same thing and that is that the women has the right to there own body as well as the people that say abortion should be illegal can not get past the idea that abortion is murder . But my purpose of writing about abortion is to explain my opinion as well as clear some confusion about this subject and show…
9-22-13 Pols 155 Abortion Abortion is an issue that affects every person in one way or another; a friend or girlfriend could be faced with the decision of how to deal with an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. Abortion is one of the most difficult and controversial moral issues considered today; it frequently leads the question of whether it should be legal or not. Individuals decide their stance of abortion depending on their beliefs regarding numerous religious and scientific ideas of life…
This essay is about the Abortion debates. I choose to write about this because of my personal views. The Abortion debate is one of the biggest debates in the United States. Many topics come up in the Abortion debates from both sides. I have 6 Points from both sides of the issue. The first point I would like to talk about is when is the fetus considered to be a human life? Pro-life thinks that life begins at conception, so abortion is akin to murder as it is to the act of taking a human life. Now…
Rhetorical Analysis Anna Quindlen describes in the essay "Abortion is too Complex to Feel one Way About" the different situation that we as a human race are put in everyday. She talks about the topic of abortion in a way that one feels they have had to make the decision of whether or not a person is pro-choice or pro-life. She uses references that are of different personal experiences in the essay that are vital to the audience. Quindlen is writing to state her point that one should never put…
Abortion: Pro Choice Vs Pro Life ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION Aims and Objectives Aims An introduction to the key concepts of abortion An introduction to the pro life and pro choice debate Objectives Define the key concepts regarding abortion Identify the arguments for and against abortion Key Facts Abortion is the oldest and most common operation for women of reproductive age. Approximately 190,000 abortions are carried out each year in England and Wales. 20- to 24-year-olds are the age group…
Community College Abortion Informational Essay Omar El Diraoui PHL Ethics 121 Professor Palmer April 9, 2014 Omar El Diraoui Ethics 121 Professor Palmer April 9, 2014 Abortion and the Effects Abortion should not be allowed unless the mother is facing the danger of death and or being hurt by the pregnancy. Abortion is related to the problem of pain, suffering, and death. Abortion is the process of removing of a uterus of a fetus before viability. An abortion could occur by the…