Dealing with Abortions in Contemporary World - Essay Example

Dealing with Abortions in 21st Century Number] [24th February Introduction Abortion is a heated topic of discussion in the developed world. On the other hand, majority of the world do not like to even talk about it due to its highly unethical nature. Having said this we mean to say that it is considered as unethical in all parts of the world. Abortion is sometimes referred as a murder by the people who are against it, whereas, a few people claim that it is the ‘choice’ of the mother to have the baby or not. Ethical dilemma and stigmas have always been attached with abortion but people still need to abort the baby because after conceiving, they ‘change their mind’ to have baby. So questions arise like, is the mother who has aborted the child killer? Or, is the male partner of that woman equally responsible for this abortion/murder? Abortion is wrong at any stage, even at embryonic stage. If we will allow abortion for an earlier stage, then people will take advantage of this relaxation and will try to abort to baby even at a more mature stage which is called as fetus. So the main point of writing this paper is to argue that abortion should remain a crime except for a few genuine reasons. The term ‘abortion’ refers to those acts that are aimed at ending pregnancy. It also refers to forcing out the fetus or embryo form the womb of mother before it could be able to survive on its own: before complete child development that takes about 9 months in total after conception. If this happens accidentally, it is referred as ‘miscarriage’. In this paper we are going to present some common ethical dilemmas against abortion. Then later we will analyze those dilemmas. Giving birth to children is an important part of personal as well as social life. Nevertheless, there are people who decide to have an abortion due to various reasons (Graber, M. 1996). We are also going to discuss the methods that are generally used to abort a baby at different stages of the child development. We then have a look at historical and legislation frontiers. We will also discuss this issue in the light of normative ethics. Abortion, Reasons and Cultures The reason behind an abortion varies from society to society and culture to culture. Some societies hate girls and abort if the gender test shows that they are going to have a baby girl. On the other hand, many parents or partners change their minds to have a baby and abort the baby. In cases of rapes, rape victims are used to abort the baby because this act is wrong altogether. One child policy that prevails in China is also one of the reasons behind abortions. In some poor countries, people cannot afford to bear the costs associated with child delivery and later nurturing the child. So except the case of rape, these other reasons are not enough to justify the act of abortion. (Moskowitz, M.,2001). Historical Perspective Abortion is not a new concept to the world. The history of abortion dates back to hundreds or may be thousands of years ago. Some cultures portray some similar act meant to abort a baby in their paintings and literature. One thing is clear that the act of aborting a child has always been considered as a bad act by people around the world. People still hate this act of aborting a baby (Welchman, J.,2006) Laws and Legislation Frontier Abortion is prohibited by law in most of the countries in the world. Officially no statistics are available for abortion but as per estimated statistics of abortion at www.nrlc.org (2011), there is a constant decrease in abortions if we see the number of abortions from 1973 to 2011. Even than there are more than one million annual reported abortions and we do not know how much abortions went unreported. As per estimates of Guttmacher Institute there were more than 54 million abortions from 1973 to 2011. Does it mean more than 54 million murders? Free Will of Women For hundreds of years, the consensus kept intact that abortion is not a right act. But over the period of last decade, people have started to associate the abortion to the free will to have kids of women. These people are of the view that woman has a role responsibility of giving birth and later raising that child. So she can exercise her right to have or not to have the baby. This justification is not right. Women are allowed to prevent from getting pregnant and there are many way to prevent pregnancy. So they should adopt those methods to prevent pregnancy. Is any type of Contraceptives Right? All types of contraceptive should be banned. There is no point in using contraceptives. Only male and female condoms and other similar means to prevent from getting pregnant should be allowed to use as a contraceptive measure. Normative Ethics Normative ethics are generally divided in to three types: Consequentialism, Deontological Ethics, and Character Ethics. Consequentialism theory of normative ethic best describes my point of view about abortion because the act of abortion is not only wrong at moral front but also wrong on other fronts. Normative ethics is the branch of philosophical ethics. The main function of this area of study is to investigate the set of questions that arise when we act on the basis of moral values rather than doctrine of necessity. Is Male partner (s) Equally Responsible? It is the general belief of the people that the male partner or partners involved in this sexual activity cannot be blamed for abortion. But this point is absolutely wrong. People always blame a male in a heinous crime of rape. People generally believe that the abortion of a rape victim is not a bad thing. In fact, the abortion of a rape victim is a necessary evil. So In the case of rape, the woman is not solely or may be not at all responsible for aborting a baby. Same holds for a general sexual activity with mutual consent. In a normal agreed sexual activity, the responsibility of a future abortion also applies on the male partner. It is due a simple reason that only woman was not involved in this activity which led to the development of a child. Today, it is not always necessary that a male be part of a sexual activity. There are many ways to initiate the child development process in the womb of a woman. These methods are developed to allow the woman to have kids by using the semen of a known or sometimes unknown male. These practices are making abortion even more common and easy. Killing Baby vs. Killing Herself This discussion is not only about the baby and its life. There are certain health risks for the mother who wants to abort the baby. Some cases can be lethal for women. So women should also consider their own health problems before having abortion. (Robert J. Araujo, 1993) Abortion vs. Miscarriage Principally, there are two types of abortions. One is called spontaneous abortion and other is called induced abortion. A miscarriage is an example of spontaneous abortion. Abortions are sometimes named as miscarriages to avoid controversy. So it is the duty of the state to regulate miscarriages and check it for negligence on the part of mother or a person near mother. Is any type of Abortion Right? There are many methods to abort. Contraceptives are common nowadays. Some doctors suggest that some methods to abort baby are safe for woman. But this is not the point. The point is the unethical nature of this act. All methods to abort a baby are wrong and must be banned. May be there is only exception in case of rape victim. But rape victims should go for it before they get pregnant. Three Reasons of being Ethical I have previously argued in my paper that abortion is an unethical action which should be prohibited because of several reasons: it is just another kind of killing; it does not give a choice to the unborn human; it teaches the possible parents irresponsibility. It is scientifically proved that soon after fertilization; the baby becomes a separate entity. That is why it is a murder of the child. Then how is it the only choice of mother that matters? It is also the choice of the baby too that matters because it is a human being. Weaknesses that My Chosen System Might Still Have It is worth discussing that my chosen system might still have weaknesses. It is difficult to have an eye on all hospitals and health units. It needs a lot of fund to regulate this broader field. In the last 40 years there have been more than 54 million abortions, so state alone is not able to stop such massive violations of human rights. Moral Values Rather than Doctrine of Necessity There is no denying of the fact that the decision to have kids or not lies with the mother. But there is a specific and substantial time to think about it if you do not want to have kids. As the child starts to develop in the womb of mother, soon it becomes a human being and no one, even its mother, has this right to kill a human being. Doctrine of necessity is not enough to justify this heinous act of abortion. Conclusion At the end, we can conclude that, abortion is no doubt an unethical practice. Abortion is a medical procedure that should be regarded as an unethical action and prohibited because it disrespects life of a human being and sanctions killing of a fetus; it does not give a possible human being any change to make choices and deprives one of every opportunity that one could have had which does not comply with humanistic principles; it shows possible parents a way to get away with their irresponsibility which negatively influences their character. It is a heated discussion nowadays in many countries due to some rights movements. The purpose of this essay was to negate all illogical justifications to prove that abortion is allowed in certain cases. People have soft corners for rape victims and thing that abortion is not wrong for rape victims. Almost all methods of abortion must be banned and the people involved in this act must be fined. Similarly oral or other contraceptives may also be banned. Miscarriages may also be seen with suspicious eye. More than 54 million abortions mean more than 54 million murders. It is time we understood the gravity of this problem. It is a huge violation of human rights. Virtue Ethics is a sub-type of character based ethics will condemn the act of abortion, suggesting that it reflects vices in a person. References Graber, M. (1996). Rethinking abortion: Equal choice, the Constitution, and reproductive politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Moskowitz, M. (2001). The haunting fetus: Abortion, sexuality, and the spirit world in Taiwan. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press. Geirsson, H. (2010). Ethical theory: A concise anthology (2nd Ed.). Peterborough: Broadview Press. Welchman, J. (2006). The practice of virtue: Classic and contemporary readings in virtue ethics. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Robert J. Araujo (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. http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1665&context=mulr www.nrlc.org (2011). “Abortion Statistics: United States Data and Trends”, National Right to Life Education Trust Fund, http://www.nrlc.org/uploads/factsheets/FS01AbortionintheUS.pdf Read More