Abortion: a Discussion of Both Sides of the Issue - Research Paper Example

ABORTION ABORTION Abortion remains to be rampant within societies even after numerous civil societies, humanitarian groups, as well as governments continue to shun and abhor the behavior. Stern measures have been put in place, including legislative policies that in some instance appear to discourage abortion at their very best, while at their worst, seem to have weak-links that increase the rate of the act. Thus, abortion remains a moral subject that is greatly difficult to decipher, while at the same time remain to be controversial. While this is entirely true, scholars worldwide agree to the notion that various moral issues have other sides of stories, which a better of listened to. Though these “sides” may be difficult to come to terms with, they offer essential insights, even though other relevant sides of the stories may outweigh these insights. The rhetoric, then concerning abortion discussions revolves around labels such as the pro-life and pro-choice (Alcorn, 2009). Nonetheless, what these discussions technically advance it that either side of the former is against life, while the other side is against choice. Ultimately, these discussions ignore the nuances in a victim’s (person’s) position. Well, with regard to these, various moral principles try to demystify the moral groundings of abortion. The first moral consideration is that which considers the status of the unborn child, while the second one is that which considers the rights of the expectant women or rather pregnant women (Alcorn, 2009). a) Moral Status of the Unborn child A great deal of the debate regarding abortion has revolved around the knowledge, namely, whether an unborn child or the fetus is a person or not. Consequently, if an unborn child is a person, then it has the rights that belong to persons, and not thereof limited to the right to life. Thus, the personification of the unborn child or the fetus is the link between the former and the right to life (Alcorn, 2009). Therefore, from a philosophical point of view, it is clear that an unborn child in itself is a person. That is, an individual with his or her own right regardless of its status or position. Nonetheless, it is difficult to determine the exact stage at which a fetus develops into or becomes a person (Alcorn, 2009). Could it be at conception, the first trimester, or even at birth? This therefore is the technicality. Nonetheless, taking the life of a person is in itself an illegal act, and the moral grounding of the act may be unjustifiable. b) The rights of the pregnant woman The interesting thing about pregnant women is that they are bestowed with the right to act as objects of conception and birth, from a biblical point of view (Alcorn, 2009). Nonetheless, this right does not according to moral philosophers give birth to a right to decide whether one is going to carry the fetus until birth or not. The greatest ordeal appears in providing a distinction thereof, between whether abortion is morally wrong and whether abortion should be illegal (Bowers, 1994). Clearly, these are very differentiated issues. This is because, not all actions that are morally wrong are certainly illegitimate. For instance, in a marriage, consisting of a married couple, seeing one of the partners cheat may be termed as immoral. That is, the act of being unfaithful is seen as immoral. On the other hand, unfaithfulness is not termed as illegal. Nevertheless, the fundamental dispute against abortion is that, the fetus is an innocent person, and consequently, it is morally wrong to end the life of a blameless person. If then it is ethically off beam to end the life of an guiltless person, then it is morally wrong to end the life of a fetus (Bowers, 1994). The Criteria of Personhood The possible criteria, under which personhood is based on is one, that an unborn child is truly conceived by human beings (Bowers, 1994). Two, is that the inherent edifice of the fetus is similar to that of a person, and in this case the mother. Three, the bodily likeness, or what biologists refer to as the phylogeny of the fetus (Bowers, 1994), is quite conspicuous. For instance, is common to hear people state that “He looks just like his father” in case of a baby boy. This is evident of the physical resemblance that the unborn baby strikes once he or she is conceived. Four, it is utterly outrageous to neglect or take away a pure soul of a person. The soul of a person is as essential as his or her life. Without souls, the entire humankind would luck the spark of sense, humanity, or even her cognitive skills (Bowers, 1994). In other words, the soul of the fetus, if taken into consideration would morally deter people from indulging in abortive acts. Five, is the criteria of feasibility. The species is the smallest unit in anatomy. Nonetheless, it is special since its members have the ability to mate and give birth to viable offspring. Thus, the viability of the unborn child is quite immense. Since the fetus is viewed as a person, its viability of importance should be taken into consideration. The last criteria but not the list, is that a fetus as a person, has a future as well as a purpose (Bowers, 1994). The conception of the fetus, in itself is an act that gives future to the former. Without conception then the future would be as well null and void. Consequently, people are technically brought to this world in order to accomplish their purpose and this requires time; one that spirals into the future. Since people then have futures, then the fetus as a person has a future too (Bowers, 1994). The Indispensable and Satisfactory Conditions According to moral philosophers, a basic state is the interdependence of two things (Butts & Rich, 2005). For instance, having one’s two legs fit is an essential condition for an athlete participating in a marathon championship. On the other hand, a satisfactory condition is somewhata condition that if it is in existent, warranties that something else will occur (Butts &Rich, 2005). For instance taking alcohol is a sufficient condition for one to become drunk. How then do these conditions relate to sate of being? Well, philosophers such as Jarvis Thompson argue that though an unborn baby is wholly a person (necessary condition) abortion could be ethically justifiable. In further words, this necessary condition is a no-no to them and therefore there contest the notion that it is off beam to terminate the life of a blameless person (Butts & Rich, 2005). This consequently, advances the notion of pro-choice. Thompson advances an equivalence that is in relation to the violinist. The analogy assumes that if a person is knocked unconscious, and finds him attached to a renowned violin player, who thereof relies on the person’s life for sustenance in the next nine months. It would then be morally justifiable in unhooking oneself, even if the former action would result to the violin player’s death (Butts & Rich, 2005). By this likening, an expectant mother is reasonable in “untying” herself from the unborn child even when doing so results in the unborn child’s demise, regardless of whether the latter is a person too. Since, the analogy by Thompson has a few limitations, Jane English’s revisions to the analogy appears to have some grounding. Her amendments lead to the imagination that if at any one nightfall, conscious that one would be melting down and attached to a violin player unconsciously. One would still be eligible to disengage himself (Butts & Rich, 2005). Nonetheless, this case remains to be reminiscent of conventional unwanted pregnancies. The Privileges of Pregnant Women Numerous rights are present that entitle a woman to choose abortion. Such rights include the right to confidentiality, the right to possession of one’s own body, the right to equal treatment, and the right to self-determination (Butts & Rich, 2005). The right to ownership of one’s body rise the question of whether ownership is categorical. Since men cannot give birth leave alone getting pregnant, women thus have the right to equal and justified treatment. Moreover, women folk have the right to shape their own future, and therefore it appears morally repellant to compel a lady to give birth against her own will (Butts & Rich, 2005). Who then decides whether, a pregnant woman should give birth to a fetus or not? a) The Government The government drafts laws that govern the rights of women, as well as men. These laws provide a framework over which abortion acts are sanctioned. The penal codes under the laws of numerous governments may or may not prohibit abortion acts. On the other hand, court decisions or orders provide grounding on the legality of abortion. In many instances, court orders have ruled out acts of abortion as illegal, save for the few special cases under which physicians approve abortion in order to save a mother. b) Physicians Individual doctors may or may not recommend acts of abortion. This is because of the numerous technicalities surrounding professional ethics and the need to save lives. Professional organizations also play an important role in decisions concerning abortion. Many physicians draw their code of conduct from the professional organizations that they belong to. c) Those directly involved The decision for abortion highly depends on the people involved. These include the pregnant woman, the biological father, and the family members. These three entities have the right of consent, but nonetheless, it really is vague, whom the decision entirely relies on. Empirical Background Overall, in the United States, the rate of abortion is decreasing. This is clear from the principal source of data (CDC abortion stats, 2009 and Guttmacher stats, 2014). Moreover, in the United States about 49.1% of pregnancies were unpremeditated, while about 40.1% of the unintentional pregnancies ended in abortions (Butts & Rich, 2005). From the statistics also, it is evident that unintended pregnancies increased among down town women, and decreased among economically affluent women. On the other hand, unintended pregnancies increased among black and Hispanic Women generally. This gave rise to about 40.1% of the total children in foster care and those that are homeless. Reasons for Abortion From the statistics, the major reasons for the high rates of abortion included but not limited to concern for other individuals (74%), the inability to afford a child at the given time (73%), the interference of a baby with school, and employment (69%). Finally, the other reason for abortion was that many had completed childbearing and this accounted for (38%) of the total abortions in the U.S. (Luker, 2008). Incidences of Abortion Statistics indicate that nearly half of the total pregnancies among women in America are unintended and about five in 11 of these ends up in abortion acts (Luker, 2008). Thus, this accounts for 22% of all pregnancies that end up in abortion excluding instances of miscarriage. In 2008, about 1.3 million abortions were carried out, down from 1.4 million in 2000. Nonetheless, between 2005 and 2008, the long-term stipulated decline in abortions stalled (Luker, 2008). From 1973, all the way to 2008, nearly fifty million legal abortions occurred. The federal department of health reveals that each year, nearly 2% of women aged between 15 and 44 have or participate in abortions. Out of this number, one has had at least one previous abortion. With this rate, it is clear that about half of women living in America will experience an unwanted pregnancy by age 45, and therefore two in 20 women will have an abortion by the age of 20, one in five by age 30 and four in 11 by age 45 (Schwartz, 1990). Groups of people participating in abortion According to Guttmacher Institute, about 19% of women in the U.S. taking part in abortions are teenager; those aged between 15 and 17 obtain 6.1% of all abortions, those aged 18 and 19 obtain 10.9%, and those younger than 15 years obtain 0.5%. On the other hand, women in their 20’s account for more than half of all abortions; those aged between 20 and 24 account for 33% of all the abortions, and those aged between 25 and 29 account for 24% (“Ethics Update”). Women who have never married and not cohabiting account for 45% of all abortions. In terms of income distribution, 42% of women participating in abortions have incomes below 100% of the state poverty level ($ 10,800 for single women without children). Conclusion According to statistics, about 90% of all abortions occur during the first 12 weeks of pregnancies. Nonetheless, medical professionals agree on the fact that abortion is one of the safest procedures, with very little associated risks of complications that might not require hospital care. This risk is quantifies as about 0.05%. However, precautions should be taken into consideration. This is because, the risk of death, which is attached to abortion increases with the length of pregnancy, from one death for every a million abortions around 8 weeks to 2 per 58, 000 at around sixteen or twenty weeks. From the principle of double effect, there seem to be conditions of immense importance that should be met. These include and not limited to, that the act of abortion from a pro-choice point of view must be either morally good or at least morally neutral. Secondly, the often bad consequences of abortion must all cost not be intentional. Thirdly, the principle advances that the good consequences can never be the direct causal result of the bad consequences; and finally the bad consequences must be in proportion to the good consequences. References Alcorn, R. C. (2009). Prolife answers to prochoice arguments. Colorado Springs, Colo: Multnomah Books. Bowers, J. R. (1994). Pro-choice and anti-abortion: Constitutional theory and public policy. Westport, Conn: Praeger. Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2005). Nursing ethics: Across the curriculum and into practice. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett. Luker, K. (2008). Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood. Berkeley: University of California Press. EthicsUpdates Steven Schwartz, The Moral Question of Abortion. (Loyola University Press, 1990). Full text of entire book Read More