Can Abortion be a Morally Acceptable Choice - Essay Example

The fact that a majority of the people are in fact somewhere between the two positions is often lost in the vitriol of the debate. Pro-life groups state that human life begins at conception, and thus an abortion is the killing of a human being. There are some differences within the pro-life position however. Many people who say they are pro-life agree that abortions should be allowed in the case of incest , rape or to save the woman's life. This seems a somewhat odd position as, if a person believes that human life begins at conception, should it matter how the baby was conceived Is the baby any less human because its father was a rapist Is it any less human because its mother may die because of the pregnancy The answer to both these questions would seem to be 'no'.

The two positions have been set out and logic, practically and ethics falls on the side that some abortions are indeed morally acceptable. Perhaps the 'easiest' types of abortion to defend are those in which the mother's life is being saved. These can be defended on a number of bases. First, the practical fact is that if the mother's life is at risk so is the baby's. If the mother dies, the baby will as well. So in this case, even if a person believes that life begins at conception, it is surely better to have a situation in which one person lives and one dies, rather than both dying.

Second, the legal principle of 'self-defense' might be applied here. If the baby is a human being, then it (albeit unintentionally) is killing the mother. The mother has a perfect right to defend herself against this attack. The abortion is an example of self-defense. In cases of incest and rape, a less certain ground exists for those who believe life begins at conception. Incest may lead to genetic problems and diseases for generations to come, indeed, this is the reason that incest is taboo in most societies in the world.

It seems logical that a pregnancy produced in this way, which might have hazardous effects for generations to come, should be terminated. Rape is a more difficult issue. Here the argument moves into the territory of when a fertilized egg 'becomes human'. An abortion that occurs because the mother is raped essentially falls into the 'choice' category. The pro-choice side says that a woman has the right to self-determination guaranteed by the US Constitution, specifically "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", and that any attempt to tell her what to do with her own body directly contradicts this right.

Pro-choice groups maintain that a baby is only a 'human life' when it is able to exist independent of its mother. Thus abortions up until about six months are morally legitimate as until this time the baby cannot survive outside the mother's body. These are not abortions of independent human life but merely medical procedures undertaken by a woman and her doctor, and as such should be no one's business but the individual woman and her doctor. If a person believes the "independent of its mother" of human life then any abortion up until that time is morally justifiable.

The question of rape, incest, or saving the mother's life does not come into play because the mother is just having something done to herself. This position essentially