The Ethics Involved In The Abortion Issue
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The Abortion issue is a very complex and widely debated issue. Not only is the question of whether abortion is murder or not but there is a whole rang of sub issues within the debate with no general consensus on it. As for the claim above it is regarded as the classic conservative view and is also comparable to some religious views on the subject.
The text book offers the best critical analysis of this view but stops short in discussing a true multi-discipline ethical approach to the subject. L.W. Sumners “Toward a Credible View of Abortion” gives a very clear and persuasive argument as to why the conservative or homicide argument is fundamentally flawed. Sumner points out that if this extreme view was taken literally then for the conclusion that the deliberate killing of any human under any circumstances must also be reassessed. State killings, warfare, political killings and criminal killings should all be treated in the same manner as abortions and considered murder, why should the fetus be considered any different? An important word left out of the claim above is the word innocent. Many pro-life advocates use this word before unborn child or person to justify killing the non innocent mentioned above. Another hypothetical point the author makes is whether women on the pill or IUD should be considered a probable killer much like a terrorist who plants random bombs in public places? Sumner goes on to talk about how far back the homicide argument is willing to go, after conception the sperm and ovum form a zygote, a microscopic single cell. This zygote cannot reasonable be justified as a human being and if it is should we then prosecute all scientist who experiment with these zygotes as murders? Not only do these cases of aborting a zygote raise questions on weather or not it is murder, it also raises the question of what is a human or a person . Sumner goes on to conclude that if we agree with the above points and that the development of the fetus has to be taken into account, because the homicide augment fails to do so it makes the whole argument false. A key word left out of the claim above is the word innocent. Many pro-life advocates use this word before unborn child or person to justify killing the non innocent mentioned above.
It is important to look not just in the middle of the argument like Sumner did but to also look at it from all ethical perspectives, the first and most important being feminist ethics. The text book again uses another essay that completely debunks the claim above. Susan Sherwins “Abortion Through a Feminist Ethics Lens” argues one of the most prominent, and over looked disciplines in ethics, the feminist ethics. In the abortion argument many philosophers have an opinion, doctors have an opinion and judges have an opinion but the problem with these people and there opinions are that most are males. A female perspective cannot be overlooked under any circumstances. The statement above is an evident example of someone who completely over looked the absolute right of the women over their own bodies and even her own liberal rights. Sherwin also continues to explain the difference between the liberal view and the feminist view on abortion. She reminds us that the liberal view often “focuses exclusively on the morality and/or legality of performing abortions, whereas feminists insist that other questions, including ones about accessibility and delivery of abortion services must also be addressed.”
In 1973 the US courts decision in Roe v. Wade in a precedent setting case marked the first time the feminist perspective was recognized and the constitutional right to privacy was found broad enough for a womans decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. In Canada R. v. Morgentaler was the precedent setting case and it found that the old abortion laws violated section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which states: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”
Pro-choice feminism views the womans right to abortion as an integral part of the sovereignty. Denying abortion unjustly forces women in to motherhood, this reinforces a women submissive role in society . A pregnancy can make a woman into a second class citizen because even in your modern society there is no equality for pregnant women because it is impossible for a man to get pregnant. Resources such as education and employment become severely limited. As mentioned in the paragraph above in the two most recent major court cases setting the precedent in the US and Canada, society has no right to control what happens to a persons body and never have these rights have be infringed upon men like has to women. The right to abortion equalizes women by giving them the right to control their own bodies.
The fetus doesnt just depend on a womans body for survival it actually resides in her body. The definition of persons becomes important with this issue because by definition a person must be separate individuals who operate independently of others. They do not gain the status of a person by virtue of living inside the body of another person, to claim that the fetus is a person or individual is nonsensical. The fetus right to life does not override a womans right to choose, it can be argued that the right of choice has a higher moral value under the circumstances of pregnancy . Since it is both charters of the US and Canada that women are entitled to liberity and freedom of choice, a pregnancy entails physical, psychological and long-lasting consequences to a woman, it is not a inconvenience but rather a restriction on her freedoms should she be forced to carry the fetus . To wrap up the feminist perspective on the issue it can only be concluded that abortions are ethical. The decision to have an abortion is a serious one and based upon a womens own life, the welfare of her family, her future plans and her liberties. It is their decision to make and they should not be labelled as murders or forced to carry out pregnancies, this only oppresses women further while abortion and the ability to control their fertility helps to achieve equality
The next bet theory used to discuss the abortion issue is teleological or consequentialistic theories. The abortion issue is a very interesting subject for utilitarianism. Utilitarianism states, “one should always act in such a way as to bring about the greatest good and the least harm for the greatest number of people”. With this definition of utilitarianism it does little to shed light on the abortion issue. A pro-choice advocate will say that if a woman thinks that she and her family will be better off with an abortion than the abortion