Why Abortion is Immoral - Essay Example

Many s around the United s face a major problem in determining whether the termination of a mature pregnancy is morally wrong or right. Close to seventy-five percent of the women population in the United States believes that the decision to abort depends on the life status of the subject (Munson 243). However, Don Marquis views abortion as a way people deny an unborn child the right to life. The text below aims at supporting the fact that abortion is an immoral. Abortion is an immoral act except in extremely rare justifiable circumstances. Don Marquis’s objective in his essay “An Argument that Abortion Is Wrong” is to show that the ending of a pregnancy before birth is a crucial breach of ethics. The author supports the prohibition of abortion since it counters certain aspects of life ethically. He trusts that a fetus is an existing being and has the right to live. In the thesis, the writer says that the right to life overrides that of self-body control; thus abortion is wrong. The article also shows that human beings try to exclude fetuses as living beings, but Don Marquis criticizes that point by describing a fetus as being living within another organism. The author also attacks pro-choice’s belief that only people have the privilege to live by pointing out that there is no means to confirm that a fetus is not a person. However, he agrees that in particular circumstances abortion is valid. According to Don Marquis, abortion is morally legal in cases such as when the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother, it is fourteen days and below after conception or rape. Generally, the author’s persuasive argument lies on the fact that the act of abortion is wrong since it involves killing a human being just like any other (Marquis 183-184). Based on traditional, ethical and religious laws in conjunction with the law of nature, every living being has a right to life. For that reason I believe that an abortion is the wrong thing to do, especially to an innocent person. I agree with Don Marquis’s notion that abortion is an immoral act unless the circumstances revolving around the pregnancy counter other moral aspects. Ethical theories dictate that people have a social responsibility to look after incapacitated human beings (Munson 262). An incapacitated person refers to an individual who lacks the ability to live normally or do ordinary things since they lack certain cognitive aspects. A fetus is an example of an incapacitated being, because they lack any cognitive aspect. However, a fetus is a person; therefore, people have a sole duty to take care of them. When a person is ill or lacks the aptitude to make judgments on their own due to mental illness, people take care of them. Similarly, the society needs to care for the unborn child since it still cannot fend or make choices on its own. Therefore, critics believe that through abortion people breach the ethical responsibility to look after the physically and psychologically impaired. Additionally, almost all religions around the world support the need to look after one another as it is a task set to us as human beings. A fetus needs protection from death or any harm by its mother, for that reason abortion is an unethical act (Munson 262). Abortion critics believe that an abortion is an act of killing (Munson 262). Natural, religious and government laws state that taking another person’s life is an act of murder. Claiming the life of a guiltless person is an immoral action. According to Ronal Munson, even though the fetus is not a being, it is a prospective human being. The potential nature of the fetus makes it relevant and important. Contrast to a diseased appendix or cyst, a fetus possesses a potential importance later on after birth. For that reason, abortion presents a debatable moral problem. Killing a fetus is synonymous to committing murder, which is unethical. Furthermore, medical practitioners take an oath that encompasses taking care, to protect people and saving lives. Therefore, to some extent doctors break that promise by performing an abortion. Unless presented with circumstances measurable to the need for abortion, doctors should do their best to ensure the unborn child survives throughout the pregnancy until birth (Munson 262). The termination of a healthy pregnancy without any valid reason equitable to its need is an unethical act; since it is similar to committing murder. Every human being has the right to live. Natural, common, religious and state laws advocate that everyone has a right to life. As the war continues on whether to legalize abortion, most states across America work towards banning the act. Most of the laws consider a fetus as a human being; therefore, performing the act contrary to the law is unethical. With the overall percentage of the states banning the act, it shows that it is more immoral than moral. In 1995, the state of Ohio banned abortion above 24 weeks after conception (Munson 255). The law also considered it a crime if a physician performs that act contradictory to what the rule advocates. The state of Nebraska also banned abortion in 1997. In 2000, the United States Supreme court nullified more than thirty state laws, which sought to legalize abortion (Munson 256). In 2003, the American Congress approved the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act declaring it a crime to perform any activity of abortion that involves partial-birth death (Munson 260). The banning of abortion in individual counties shows that both the government and Supreme Court view it as an unethical act. Abortion represents a person’s irresponsibility, and lacking responsibility in the society is immoral. Being responsible in the society is considered as a moral act since it shows both mental and spiritual maturity. Therefore, siding to carry out abortion displays how irresponsible a person is in the society. Claiming the life of a naïve child without any valid reason displays one’s inability to care for human life. Second it shows a lack of affection and appreciation for human life. It is an immoral act when a woman agrees to end a pregnancy because she has the right to make a decision (Munson 263). For that reason, some of the laws deny the mother the autonomy to decide whether or not to perform the act. Therefore, abortion is an unethical act since it displays irresponsibility. In conclusion, from the argument presented above it is apparent that an abortion is a morally wrong activity, which needs strict prohibition. Abortion denies a potential human being the right to live; it is an act of killing and also displays irresponsibility. Nevertheless, it is permissible in conditions such as threatening of the mother’s life, rape or when it is carried out close to 14-24 weeks after conception. The society should refrain from activities that may result to unwanted pregnancy; therefore, avoiding the need for abortion. People may also implement contraceptive ways to prevent undesired pregnancy. Read More