Abortion - An ethical issue.
The issue of abortion is one that has been dealt with intense fervor, contention and scrutiny over the years, often emerging as the epicenter of moral, legal, civil and political battles. At the heart of this dichotomous issue is a fundamental disagreement on the morality of abortion, the right to individual freedom and a theological disposition manifesting in a collusion of the separation of church and state. This essay attempts to throw light on the moral and social imperative - a cornerstone of most anti-abortionist arguments as well as reproductive freedom, a thought central to the pro-abortionist defence.
The term ‘abortion’ refers to the act of willful termination of pregnancy resulting in the removal of a foetus. The methods of abortion are varied and address the termination of pregnancy at differing stages of foetal development. While emergency contraceptives and abortion inducing drugs target removal of embryos at early stages, surgical means of foetal removal are called into play during late term abortions. Traditionally, there has been a vehement opposition to later term abortions and has drawn strong parallels of murder. However, in more recent times drug induced abortions have drawn the ire of those opposing abortion in any and all forms.

Anti abortion or “pro-life” advocates oppose abortion as they deem it an immoral act. The moral debate on abortion draws from two distinct premises. On one hand is the question of whether a human fetus possesses a right to life, while the other, belabors the question of whether the rights of the mother should be allowed to supersede the rights of a foetus to live.
The question of whether a human fetus possesses a right to live is strongly based on the idea of personhood and the assumption that human life begins at the stage of conception. If life were to begin at conception then every