Ethical Issues on Abortion - Term Paper Example

Ethical Issues on Abortion Top evangelical leaders in the US have singled out abortion as the greatest moral issue facing US currently. Abortion by definition refers to the termination of pregnancy before the foetus becomes viable (Clark and Rakestraw1995, P. 21-22). This implies the termination of gestation processes after the zygote has attached itself to the uterine wall. Abortion issue has raised a lot of questions from both religious and political leaders with some against it while others are in support of it. It is noted, however, that Christians are the most affected since they view abortion as an act of killing which is against the Biblical teachings. Catholics are seen as being at the forefront in trying to raise objections to abortion since they are pro-life crusaders’. The ethical issues on abortion not only affect centered on religion and politics but also on the clinical profession (Clark and Rakestraw1995, P. 26-29). This is because it impacts on the work performance of clinicians in making decisions as to whether to carry out abortion on the patient or not. The purpose of this paper is to discuss ethical issue regarding abortion. It will how discuss how best the ethics of abortion can be responded to both socially and politically. The paper will conclude by identifying what practical lifestyle actions I might take to limit my susceptibility to, and my participation in, the morally problematic behaviors that my lead to abortion. Abortion in America became legal in every state after the 1973 Supreme Court’s ruling in a case of Roe v. Wade (Hinman 2009, p. 6-8). It is reported that prior to this landmark ruling, the legality of abortion was decided by each state. During this period, abortion was illegal in 20 states but illegal in 30 states. The Supreme Court ruling in Roe V. Wade established that “the right of personal privacy includes the abortion decision, but that right is not unqualified, and must be considered against important state interests in regulation” (Hinman 2009, p5). This decision indeed did not go well with the pro-life crusaders mainly drawn from religious leaders in the US that saw the ruling to undermine the sanctity of life, which is against the biblical teaching. Since the time of this ruling, several cases of abortion have been reported in many states according to Center for Disease Control and Alan Guttmacher Institute Statistics precipitating ethical questions. For instance, data collected by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in 2000 reveals that more than 1.31 million abortions occurred. This figure was however, a reduction in comparison with the 1996 statistics in which 1.36 abortion cases were reported. The data also reveals that more that 39 million legal abortions took place from 1973 to 2000 and that every year, 2 out of 100 women aged between 15-44 years have an abortion, 48% of which have at least one previous abortion. Alan Guttmacher Institute Statistics estimates that about 43% of women in the U.S. will have procured one abortion, at least, by the time they reach 45 years as noted by Hinman (2009, p. 15-22). Most arguments on abortion ethics focus mainly on whether the fetus is a person or not (Clark and Rakestraw1995, P. 36-38). Pro-life crusaders argue that the beginning of life is at conception and therefore abortion is unacceptable. They belief that once a child has been conceived in the womb, that child is a human being and has the right to life just like other human beings. They view termination of a pregnancy as a violation of a child’s sanctity to life. The Roman Catholics that form the majority of pro-life movement teaches mainly the sanctity of human life, which begins at conception to natural death, and thus rejects abortion and all forms of murder. The evangelical Christians such as Pastor Joel C. Hunter from Florida and other evangelical Church alliances once released a statement persuading congress members not to violate the sanctity of human life by passing a bill allowing abortion to be funded by tax dollars. Majority of these evangelist Christian leaders cited the book of Judges 17:6 in the Old Testament, which says, “Every man did that which was right in their own eyes” (Araujo 1993, p.702-709). Christians mainly believe that once the fetus has been formed in the mother’s womb, it becomes a human being with a future just like theirs. Therefore, killing beings with a future just like the ones that grown ups have if they live is wrong. They argue that, in most cases, fetus if not aborted tend to have a future just like theirs therefore, killing such fetus in the form of abortion is wrong (Hinman 2009, p. 15-22). Some pro-life movements argue that abortion is causing pain and sufferings to the fetus, which is morally wrong. They argue that a fetus that has reached 18 weeks can sufficiently feel pain. As such it is unethical to perform abortion after 18 weeks of pregnancy, as this subjects the fetus to a lot of pain and suffering (Araujo 1993, p.713-716). The other group is the pro-choice movement. The movement argues that the fetus only become a human being in later stages of gestation period. They are of the view that a woman’s access to safe and affordable early abortion is a fundamental human right. Majority of pro-choicers hold the view that women should be allowed to choose abortion at any state of pregnancy for a valid reason (Araujo 1993, p.722-726). These were some of the arguments made during the case of Roe V. Wade. Some proponents of abortion have agued that illegalizing abortion may end up putting the life of the mother at risk in situations where continuing to carry the pregnancy may cause death of the mother and the child. They argue that failing to legalize abortion may force doctors and physicians to fail to carry out an abortion to save the life of the mother for fear of legal consequences, thereby putting the life of the mother at risk (Thomson1995). How to respond to the issues It is indeed true that the US is one country that has witnessed anti-abortion wars than any other country in the world since it was legalized in 1973. This is because of the ethical concerns on both political and religious contexts. Therefore, striking a compromise position for both the pro-life and pro-choice movement will be the best way to respond to the ethical issues on abortion. The congress, for instance, should take into consideration all the ethical concerns raised in making amendments to the law so that even the pro-life movements can feel being part of law rather than just siding with the pro-choice movements as was the case in Roe V. Wade. The amendments sought in a the State of Pennsylvania to impose modest restrictions of twenty-four hour waiting and informed consent requirement on women who want to perform abortion is one political effort aimed at addressing the abortion issue in the US (Hinman 2009, p. 9-16). Politicians can also play a big role by ensuring that if abortion is to remain legal, then it can only be so in situations where the mother’s life seems to be at risk with the advice of a professional doctor. Putting these laws in place will ensure that no abortion is performed to an individual who willfully engages in sexual practices without using protection. This position will certainly be supported by many pro-life as well as proponents of abortion (Thomson 1995). It will also be a good move to teach young girls and mothers to use protections whenever engaging in sex at a time when they are not ready for pregnancy. This may involve using condoms or pills to avoid getting pregnant. Once this is done, there would be no one seeking abortion, thereby rendering it irrelevant (Thomson 1995). In order to address this issue amicably, abortion should only be allowed under exceptional circumstances. First, is when the life of the mother is at risk due to the pregnancy. Under such situations, the mother should be allowed to seek the termination of the pregnancy from a certified trained doctor. This position will certainly be acceptable to majority from both opposing sides. Secondly is when the doctor after examining the mother realizes that the child in the womb has complications and may not live to maturity. This is based on the fact that it is not viable to allow a child whom the doctor has established that will not live to be born and subjected to suffering. Allowing abortions under such situations will raise less ethical questions since no one on earth irrespective of whether he or she is a pro-life or pro-abortion will be glad to bear a child with problems (Clark and Rakestraw1995, P. 23-29). In conclusion, in order to avoid abortion, which is raising a lot of ethical issue across the country, I will make sure that I don’t engage in irresponsible sexual practices that may lead to unwanted pregnancy that may call for an abortion. However, in case I have to engage in sex, I will ensure that I use protective devices such as condoms to prevent unwanted pregnancy. The other thing that I can do is to abstain from sexual intercourse until I get married when am ready to have a child. References Araujo, R.J. (1993). Abortion, ethics, and the common good: Who are we? What do we want? How do we get there? Marquette Law Review, Volume 76, Issue 4, 701-754. Clark, D.K., & Rakestraw, R.V. (1995). Reading in Christians Ethics: Issues and implications. New York, NY: Baker Academic. Hinman, L.M. (2009). Abortion: An overview of the ethical issues. Ethics Matters. Center for Ethics in Science & Technology, University of San Diego, June 8, 1-25. Thomson, J.J. (1995). “Abortion.” The Boston Review, Vol. XX, No. 3. Read More