Should Abortion be Illegal - Research Proposal Example

Should Abortion be Llegal? Abstract The question that this paper will try to answer is “Should Abortion be Illegal?”. Discussing the question from the stance that abortion should be illegal based upon conscionable, moral, and ethical reasons. However, not everyone is well informed of the facts that support this stand. This discipline analysis will look into the reasons that pro-choice supporters feel abortion should be legal while concentrating on the pro-life arguments that prove the validity of their stand to support banning abortion. Evidence will be presented towards shedding light on this discussion from various academic and scholarly sources such as the journal article of Prof. Oktay Kadayifci -- professor from the Medical Faculty of University of Istanbul titled “Ethical and Legal Aspects of Abortion”, a philosophical outlook on the topic from “Abortion and the Unborn Life” author Patrick Lee who holds the John N. and Jamie D. McAleer Chair of Bio ethics and is the director of the Institute of Bioethics at Franciscan University Steubenville, as well as the National Right to Life website that contains vital information regarding some important abortion information that not all people may be familiar with. Abortion Should Remain Illegal Abortion is a highly controversial topic that has been debated about through the decades with both the pro-life and pro-choice sides making highly valid and acceptable pleas on behalf of their stand. While the pro-choice stance makes a good point of indicating that a woman should have the right to make a decision about what goes on and happens with her body, it still does not erase the fact that abortion is, as the pro-lifers point out, tantamount to murder because the woman is carrying a life within her womb and that fetus has a right to live, just like any other child who was conceived, regardless of how the conception was done (e.g. rape) or accepted by the woman. The aforementioned information are but a few reasons to consider the total ban on abortion. Other information to consider cover the aspects of moral and ethical arguments. Conscionable considerations also take an important place in the discussion as the idea of abortion as murder must be considered and understood by the public. Therefore, it is important to listen to information being shared by both the pro and anti abortionists. According to a journal article by Prof. Oktay Kadayifci, society must learn to respect the views of the pro-abortionists. That is actually not the point of discussion at the moment. Rather, the focus should always remain on the consideration of the ethics of abortion. Is it ethically acceptable to terminate the life of an unborn child? Should it be made legal? People, according to Prof. Kadayifci one should not confuse the moral wrongness and legality of the issue as the pro-life side often does. That is because not everything that is immoral should be considered illegal . This is a line of reasoning held by the pro-choice side. He suggests that before people and the courts decide the fate of abortion in our society, a clear understanding of medical ethics and their relation to the creation of legislation should be considered (Kadayifci, 61). His point of view on the topic is commendable specially when a notable book author, who has been known to be pro-life, makes the same implications while insisting upon the illegality of abortion at the same time. Then evidence will be presented discussing the lawful or unlawful side of abortion, discussing the public policies that surround the abortion debate. Finally, the impact of abortion upon a woman both physically and psychologically will be discussed in order to prove that abortion has negative effects upon any woman who opts for the procedure. Pro-choice activists often say that a fetus is not yet a child,specially since there is no heart beat yet. But Patrick Lee who is the John N. and Jamie D. McAleer Chair of Bio ethics and is the director of the Institute of Bioethics at Franciscan University Steubenville argues that the questions people have about abortion are more geared towards an understanding of public policy. Inn his book Abortion and Unborn Human Life Lee asks people to consider the question “Is the choice to perform an abortion, to procure one or to help someone procure one, ever morally justified?” (Lee, 1) . It is his opinion that abortion should remain illegal because : “The prima facie case against abortion is fairly clear cut and can be expressed in a simple argument: Intentionally killing an innocent person always is morally wrong. Abortion is the intentional killing of an innocent person. Therefore abortion is always morally wrong (1). “ It is his opinion that there is no way a case supporting the legality of abortion can prosper based upon the moral law of man and the laws governing it. The pro-life argument shall remain the same according to Lee. The pro-life argument is that: “... although there are several differences between killing a two year old child and killing a human embryo or fetus, there is no morally significant difference between them. In both cases what is killed is a living, distinct, human individual” (2). this is what makes abortion illegal in all aspects. Abortion is the knowing and willing taking of an innocent child's life even before he has left his mother's womb. It this discussion in particular that also leads into a more medical discussion about why abortion should remain illegal. Aside from an act of murder, it also endangers the life of the woman undergoing the abortion. Pro-choice supporters also remind women that their body is their temple and therefore the choice to carry a child to term or not belongs solely to them. Information gathered from the National Right to Life website quotes Dr. Daniel J. Martin, M.D., Ltd., clinical instructor at St. Louis University Medical School, St. Louis, Missouri as having explained that "The impact of abortion on the body of a woman who chooses abortion is great and always negative. I can think of no beneficial effect of a social abortion on a body” (qtd. in NRLC). Since the development of life in the womb is a closed and safeguarded system meant to protect both the woman and the fetus, any exterior force that tries to end the system will result in medical complications for the woman stemming from physical problems like hemorrhaging, sterility, or death. In some cases psychological effects can also be seen like depression and mental trauma (NLRLC, “Is Abortion Safe?). Taking the aforementioned point of views into consideration, one will have to conclude that abortion should remain illegal. However, keeping the discussion channels about the topic open to debate may results in a halfway meeting point for the concerns of all parties in the end. So the debate must be continuously encouraged while abortion is still kept illegal by the laws of our land. Sources Kadayifci, Oktay Prof. “Ethical and Legal Aspects of Abortion”. Biomedicine Online. Vol 14. Suppl. 1.( 2007 ): 61-66. Web. Lee, Patrick. “Abortion and Unborn Human Life”. Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. 2010. Print. National Right to Life Committee. “Is Abortion Safe?”. National Right to Life Committee. nlrc. djcweb.net. n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. Read More