...Is Abortion Immoral? Question 1: Imagine two philosophers sitting on a bench at the county morgue. They are looking at the bodies being brought in and three in particular interest them. One is a woman who was six months pregnant due to rape and died from the pregnancy complication. She wanted to have an abortion but it (abortion) was illegal under all circumstances in her state. One is the body of a woman who died after attempting to give herself an abortion with a coat hanger. She was a poor woman who lives in the slums; she had no money to take care of the child and no way to feed her living children if she lost her work from the pregnancy. Another body is that of a one-month-old fetus that was aborted once the mother found out that it was going to be a girl. She has just had one child and wanted to wait for a couple of years to have another. While looking at these bodies the philosophers begin to discuss the question: “Is abortion immoral”? How would the discussion proceed if the two philosophers were: 1) You and Judith Thomson? 2) You ad Sidney Callahan? 3) Which position (s) do you find morally compelling and why? In this scenario, the two philosophers are sitting on a bench at the county morgue. They are looking at the bodies that died involving abortion’s issues. I will call case A – a woman who was six months pregnant due to rape and died from the pregnancy complication because abortion was illegal in her state. Case B is the poor...
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...Abortion – Moral or Immoral? I would argue that abortion is immoral. Abortion is a debate that continues day in, day out, year in, year out. We have laws that have been set into place, yet the debate continues. The opposing sides in the debate each strongly believe they are right. The pro-choice supporters see a woman's right to choose as central to the debate. The pro-choice advocates see the life of the baby as the most important concern. Very little middle ground exists on the issue of abortion. I. When Does Life Begin? [1] "Development of the embryo begins at Stage 1 when a sperm fertilizes an oocyte and together they form a zygote." — England, Marjorie A. Life Before Birth. 2nd ed. England: Mosby-Wolfe, 1996, p.31 "Human development begins after the union of male and female gametes or germ cells during a process known as fertilization (conception). "Fertilization is a sequence of events that begins with the contact of a sperm (spermatozoon) with a secondary oocyte (ovum) and ends with the fusion of their pronuclei (the haploid nuclei of the sperm and ovum) and the mingling of their chromosomes to form a new cell. This fertilized ovum, known as a zygote, is a large diploid cell that is the beginning, or primordium, of a human being." — Moore, Keith L. Essentials of Human Embryology. Toronto: B.C. Decker Inc, 1988, p.2 [2] The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 6th ed. Keith L. Moore, Ph.D. & T.V.N. Persaud, Md., (Philadelphia: W.B...
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...Abortion February 23 2015 “Is abortion moral or immoral?” We still have no answer. We defend about the nature and the moral status of the fetus. Don Marquis as well as Bonnie Steinbock embraces with the argument of their own, which point out the morality of abortion. Don Marquis upholds the fact of since abortion deprives the fetus of a future like ours therefore most abortion is morally wrong. He adheres in his article “abortion is, excepting possibly in rare cases, seriously immoral”, what he meant was that not all abortions are wrong. He did not discuss about the exception of “… abortion before implantation, abortion when the life of a woman is threatened by a pregnancy or abortion by rape” Regard of that, Marquis has claimed, “… It is in the same moral category as killing an innocent adult human being.” He inquires the reason of killing a human being is wrong. Marquis explains the killing is not just cause of pain and perceive of loss to the victim’s family, moreover it includes the basis loss to the victims themselves as “the loss of one’s life deprives one of all the experiences, activities, projects, and enjoyments that would otherwise have constituted one’s future”. With the respect of Marquis’s theory, it is the loss of a valuable future like ours that respond to the question of why killing a human being is morally wrong. Moreover, Marquis also stated in his article “…the future of a standard fetus includes...
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...Kendrick Williams Prof. Karlene Jackson Thompson COS 50-008 December 2, 2013 Final Draft “The Idea of Abortion Being Immoral and Unethical” Why is abortion immoral and unethical, and how does it affect society? This is one question that anti-abortionists would consider answering. The viewpoint about abortion has been negative and positive, but it has been demonstrated as an action that is commonly known as being immoral and unethical and it puts a bad effect on not only women, but society as a whole. Many people in our society have come to believe that they benefit from acts of abortion. However, acts of abortion have been known to leave a dark shadow over a woman who has been involved in abortion and society. The immorality of abortion is evident through its action against moral and ethical values. Abortion basically causes death. Individual human life in a mother’s womb is destroyed. The taking of innocent human life is wrong under any circumstances and possibility of a new life emerging is excluded. Don Marquis, a current Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kansas argues that destroying human life is immoral and unjust because it prevents the victim from seeing their future. He states, “The loss of one's life deprives one of all the experiences, activities, projects, and enjoyments that would otherwise have constituted one's future. Therefore, killing someone is wrong, primarily because the killing...
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...‘Abortion is immoral.’ – Do you agree? Abortion is the deliberate termination of a foetus. Some people may argue that it is a foetus; however some may disagree and say that it is a baby. People have different views on abortion, some may say that abortion is immoral – this means that it is wrong in all circumstances or an absolute morality – this also means wrong in all circumstances. However, other people may believe abortion is moral – this means peoples beliefs on what is right or wrong or relative morality – this means it is only right in some circumstances. The law states that abortion is a relative morality because it only allows abortion to continue in certain circumstances, the circumstances are: the mental or physical health of the woman or her existing children will suffer if the pregnancy continues or the child, if born would be physically or mentally handicapped. Alternatively, ‘The Abortion Act’ that began in 1967 may be performed legally if two or more doctors agree. The law on abortion in 1967 had no time limit but under normal circumstances, the pregnancy should not have been passed the 28th week. On the other hand, in the year 1990 another law had been made this was called ‘The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act’. As for the 1967 act except that the time limit was reduced to 24 weeks, this law stated that abortion should only be legal if abnormalities have been detected which are physical or mental you could have an abortion up until birth (after 24 weeks)...
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...Abstract This essay will talk about why abortion is immoral and should be illegal. Although abortion is legal in the state of Texas, doctors should exercise their rights to not take part in abortions. Legal and Moral Stance of Abortion Abortion is a very touchy subject, not only here in Texas, but pretty much everywhere. Some will say it is moral, some will say it is immoral. As a healthcare provider, I feel abortion is immoral all the way, and that even though it is legal here in the state of Texas, it should be illegal. If I were actually a healthcare provider, this could potentially create challenges in a healthcare setting. Although the amount of abortions has decreased during the 1990s, there are still about 1.2 million legal abortions each year (Fremgen, 2012). Here in Texas, three very significant laws have been passed since Roe vs. Wade. In the late 1980s, abortions that were done in the last trimester were outlawed, which put an end to the alternative left behind from this particular decision. Following Roe vs. Wade, in 1977, a law was passed that protected any health care provider that both refused to participate as well as those that participated in abortions. Private facilities did not have any legal obligations to do abortions except if the mother’s life was in danger (Abortion Laws in Texas, n.d.). During 1985, the Texas Abortion Facility Reporting and Licensing Act decided that every abortion facility has to record the following...
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...Ricky Sides English 102 Mrs. Murphy Thoughts on Abortion and Its’ Morality Abortion seems to have become one of the most controversial topics within schools, politics, and religion. Many people have many contradicting ideals about abortion and the immorality that the act presents or does not. Some say abortion is a mother’s right that cannot be taken away while others say that is a cruel selfish act to kill an unborn child or lack their of. Is abortion moral and should it remain legal? Aside from maybe a few homicidal maniacs it is safe to say that killing another human being is immoral and frowned upon. What makes it moral to kill an unborn child then? Is it human? One of the biggest struggles that pro-life participants have is what an unborn child is classified as. The definition of a human being according to (Google Dictionary) is as followed. A human being, esp. a person as distinguished from an animal or (in science fiction) an alien, a homosapien. A child whose mother is a homosapien is a human. There is no way around it. Some say that an unborn baby is a human but is not a person. This is quite confusing seeing as how the definition of a “person” is a human being regarded as an individual. Most pro-life individuals say that an unborn child is not human. How can a baby or even a fetus not be a human if it is being born from a human, it is clearly not an alien, I hope. And how can it not be a person if it is human. Just because it depends on the life of its’...
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...Is Abortion Moral? (From a Biblical Christian Perspective) Name of Author College Abortion refers to the removal of the pregnancy tissues, which includes the fetus and the placenta from a pregnant woman's womb. The other terms that are similar are termination of pregnancy or elective abortion among others. There have been several arguments on whether abortion is morally right or not. The argument follows the opinions generated from the religious followers who are mostly against abortion. Child abandonment, infanticide, and abortion were allowed under the Roman law during the times of Jesus (Bokenkotter 1990). It is surprising to find that Jesus never addressed the case since for Christians to read. Even if He did, it was never documented. This concern can make a Christian fail to know whether abortion is condemned by God or not. From the Bible, there is no clear evidence on whether abortion is moral or immoral. However, drawing lessons from some of the verses in the bible clearly indicates that the practice of abortion violates the moral obligations. A good example is from the book of Jeremiah in the Bible, in chapter one from verse four to five, which say that before the birth of Jeremiah, the Lord had consecrated him. The Load had already chosen prophet Jeremiah to be a famous prophet to the nations. God Himself new Jeremiah as a human being before birth and considered him to live in order to carry out His mission. God could not have allowed Jeremiah to die. Biblically it is...
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...Meredith Kaiser Ajume Wingo Philosophy in Society Abortion is a hot button issue that has become the highlight of many debates, political debates, and religious differences. The issue of abortion is the contemplation of whether taking away the existence is of a fetus inside a women’s womb is moral or not. This debate has created political phrases such as “pro-life” and “pro-choice” (Lecture). Most would think that these two phrases are concretely of a singular meaning. “Pro-choice” does not simply mean that abortion is correct and moral but that women should have the right to choose whether or not the fetus is allowed to continue its existence in the womb of that particular woman. “Pro-choice” believers are perceived to believe that abortion is immoral under every circumstance, yet many “pro-choice” may think there are particular circumstances in which abortion is immoral and also moral. “Pro-life” on the other hand is not simply the political belief that abortion is immoral. Rather, it is the belief that the fetus inside a women’s womb is not just a fetus simply existing within her, but rather it is a separate and independent livening within the women whose life began at the time of conception. This view entails that abortion is murder because the baby is considered living on its own from the time of conception and therefore should have an opportunity to live a long fulfilling life without the interference of an abortion letting that happen. In this paper I will review three...
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...Is Abortion Moral? (From a Biblical Christian Perspective) Name of Author College Abortion refers to the removal of the pregnancy tissues, which includes the fetus and the placenta from a pregnant woman's womb. The other terms that are similar are termination of pregnancy or elective abortion among others. There have been several arguments on whether abortion is morally right or not. The argument follows the opinions generated from the religious followers who are mostly against abortion. Child abandonment, infanticide, and abortion were allowed under the Roman law during the times of Jesus (Bokenkotter 1990). It is surprising to find that Jesus never addressed the case since for Christians to read. Even if He did, it was never documented. This concern can make a Christian fail to know whether abortion is condemned by God or not. From the Bible, there is no clear evidence on whether abortion is moral or immoral. However, drawing lessons from some of the verses in the bible clearly indicates that the practice of abortion violates the moral obligations. A good example is from the book of Jeremiah in the Bible, in chapter one from verse four to five, which say that before the birth of Jeremiah, the Lord had consecrated him. The Load had already chosen prophet Jeremiah to be a famous prophet to the nations. God Himself new Jeremiah as a human being before birth and considered him to live in order to carry out His mission. God could not have allowed Jeremiah to die. Biblically it is...
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...“Pro-choice Abortion” Abortion has been one of the biggest controversies of all time. Many people believe it is immoral and even consider it to be murder. The definition of abortion is; “The termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to being capable of normal growth.” 1 These pro-life believers do not support the idea of induced abortion and believe it should be illegal. Many of these supporters do not know that if abortion were illegal they would still be performed, unfortunately by an uneducated staffs. Over 70 thousand maternal deaths occur every year because of unsafe abortions1. These women die, so the idea of supporting pro-life is contradictory, this is why the nation should be pro-choice. Pro-choice believers support the right to privacy and the idea women should have the choice to do what she pleases with her own body. As an example; a woman is raped by a man and becomes pregnant with his child. She decides she doesn’t want to keep the baby; she has an abortion because the idea of raising a child of her rapist is too painful for her to cope with. Pro-choice defenders take sympathies to this woman while she then gets called a murderer by pro-life supporters. Abortions sometimes results in the woman being harassed because of the choice she has made about her own body. That’s what pro-life supports. Often time’s situations like this turns into harassment which can be considered to be part of anti-abortion violence1....
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...aren’t we? Every human’s life is worth the same, and worth saving.” Abortion is the purposeful killing of a fetus during a pregnancy. Most women have this done before the first twenty-eight weeks of pregnancy. There are many different types of abortion that will take place during different parts of the pregnancy. Many of the types are surgical and the other main type is a drug (RU-486) that is taken to stop the pregnancy. The average price of an abortion in the United States can be anywhere from $300 to $2,000. Abortion shouldn't be allowed throughout the United States. It can be harmful to women, every person has the same rights and deserves to live, and many people in society think that abortion is...
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...By definition, abortion refers to the ending of a pregnancy by removal of fetus from the uterus of the mother before the embryo can survive its own. As an added note, abortion can be categorized into two types. One is natural abortion otherwise known as a miscarriage. In this case, the fetus is rejected by the mother’s body and does not survive to term. In some circles, this considered an act of God and therefore moral. The other is induced abortion. Induced abortion is an act done purposefully for either health reasons or other personal reasons. The last definition is where society has been divided and has caused a monumental debate as the case for and against abortion when done purposefully has ignited society’s deepest outlooks. Many philosophers...
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...*075 Date: 11-22-10 Against Abortion “It’s easier to kill a person than to give a birth.” Is this the logic and reason of women who have abortions? Abortion has always been a controversial topic that has been the subject of debate many times by the pro-life and pro-choice groups. The pro-life group is against abortion while the pro-choice group is the group that thinks the mother should have a choice whether or not to abort a child. No matter what people are arguing about this subject, abortion is and will always be immoral. Even just the thought of an abortion is unethical. I do not approve in abortion because it is bloody and cruel, immoral, and risky for the mother unless the mother’s life is in danger. Many people believe that abortion is not bloody and cruel but a simple, cleanest and quickest process. However, they are wrong. How can we define abortion? Abortion is a removal of a baby from the uterus in order to end pregnancy. It sounds like abortion is taking out of a mother’s womb so that the mother will no longer be pregnant. In fact, it doesn’t sound that simple because whatever the surgery is, it is killing an innocent baby. In the first trimester, surgeons use the suction method to suck the baby out from the mother. At this time the baby is still very soft. When the baby is sucked out, it is a full pile of blood came out (http://www.abort73.com/HTML/AbortionPictures/images/abortion-09-02.jpg). If the abortion is carried out in the next trimesters...
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...| Abortions | Is it moral or immoral | | Naugie Pratt | 9/25/2012 | | Ethics of Abortion; Is it moral or immoral? Many debates over abortion focus on the political and the legal side of things, whether or not it is or isn’t morally correct for a woman to have an abortion. Many would argue that abortion should be outlawed and treated like a murder, instead of a personal choice over one’s life. Behind the debates are more fundamental ethical questions which aren’t always given the specific attention they deserve (Cline, Austin). Some would also believe that the law shouldn’t legislate morality, but all good law is based on moral values. (Cline, Austin) http://atheism.about.com/od/abortioncontraception/p/AbortionEthics.htm Arguments of a fetus being a person with legitimate rights, this would have to be a “no” and “yes” answer. The reason being is because it is a “woman’s right” to do whatever she wants with or to her body, if she is competent enough to make a life effecting decision, such as getting an abortion. Even if the fetus is a person, the abortion may be justified as necessary to a women’s bodily autonomy, but that wouldn’t mean that abortion is automatically ethical or unethical, to say the least. Even though states can’t force women to carry pregnancies to term, but they could argue that it is the most ethical choice to make. (Cline, Austin ) http://atheism.about.com/od/abortioncontraception/p/AbortionEthics.htm In my personal opinion...
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