The Rights of the Mother and the Rights of the Unborn in the Case of Abortion - Essay Example

According to (McMahan, Jeff, 2002), the fetus lacks self-consciousness thus it does it is not even aware that it is alive thus it practically does not have the will or the desire to live (Singer, 2000). Since the fetus is supposedly unaware of its existence, the mother has the right to terminate the pregnancy. The argument here is that forcing a woman to bring a fetus to full term and then raise the child thereafter is contrary to the very idea of self-autonomy and freedom of choice (Warren, Mary Ann, 1973).

Although the woman has rights over her body, the fetus also has the right to life. Arguably, the right to life starts at conception (Marquis, 1989). When the woman chooses to have consented sex, she becomes responsible for putting the fetus into her womb. As it is, she now has the obligation to let the fetus use her body. The right to life of the fetus now comes in direct contrast to the rights of the woman not to let the fetus use her body. The question now is whose rights are more important, the rights of the mother over her body or the right of the fetus to use the body of the mother to live.

This clash of rights may not be resolved easily and debates regarding the issue are bound to go on for several years.