...Abortions: Morally Acceptable or Not? The issue of abortion is one of the most sensitive and controversial issues faced by modern societies. This issue leads to topics of whether abortion is right or wrong, if it is the actual killing of a person, and what actually defines the moral status of a fetus. In this paper, I will be arguing against Bonnie Steinbock, who believes that abortions are morally acceptable. So I will be supporting the view that abortions are not morally acceptable. In Bonnie Steinbock’s essay, “Why Abortions Are Not Wrong,” she argues that abortions are morally acceptable because fetuses are non-sentient beings and therefore lack interests as well as moral status. Her first premise suggests that it is wrong to kill an organism with moral status, so she believes that a fetus is not morally equivalent to a newborn baby because a first trimester fetus cannot think, feel, or perceive anything like a newborn baby is able to. Steinbock states that a fetus “is certainly alive and human but it feels and is aware of nothing.” She also believes in the interest view which limits the moral status to beings who have interests and restricts the possession of interests to conscious and sentient beings. Which leads to her next premise that being sentient and having interests is essential for having moral status. Steinbock states that, “sentience is the ability to experience pain and pleasure.” The difference between sentient and non-sentient beings, is that since non-sentient...
Words: 1129 - Pages: 5
...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...
Words: 1384 - Pages: 6
...have been focused either on normative ethics, which studies what features make something good/bad, an act right/wrong or a trait virtuous or vicious - or metaethics, which studies philosophical questions about the meaning of ethical words, or the nature of ethical facts 2. Applied ethics is a distinct category of ethical philosophy A. What is applied ethics? 3. Deals with difficult moral questions and controversial moral issues that people actually face in their lives Examples: the moral issues regarding… abortion euthanasia giving to the poor sex before marriage the death penalty gay/lesbian marriage (or other rights) war tactics censorship so-called “white lies” etc. A. What is applied ethics? 4. Given the time we have left in the semester, we’re going to focus on only two example issues: • Whether or not we are morally obligated to help the less fortunate (especially those in other nations) • Whether or not abortion is morally wrong 5. Why we haven’t spent more time on this: • Often results in gridlocked or endless discussions • Having some prior knowledge of some normative theories helps give a framework for discussion • Brings in issues that are not philosophical E.g., a discussion about whether or not the death penalty is morally OK may require sociological information about its effectiveness, etc. B. Suggestions for having good discussions 1. Abortion is a very emotional and charged issue - Students are bound to have strong, conflicting opinions. - Many students...
Words: 2993 - Pages: 12
...Murder in the Womb : Why it Should be Illegal Abortion is a topic that gets a lot of attention but it often misinformed about. What is abortion in definition form? What are the ways abortions are performed? How do we as a country, try to limit them?What are the ethics of abortion? 2015 Dakoda Breanna Schoolman Grace College 6/17/2015 Murder in the Womb : Why it Should be Illegal Abortion is a topic that gets a lot of attention but it often misinformed about. What is abortion in definition form? What are the ways abortions are performed? How do we as a country, try to limit them?What are the ethics of abortion? 2015 Dakoda Breanna Schoolman Grace College 6/17/2015 Table of Contents Introduction 1 Body 1 What is an abortion? 1 History of Abortion Laws 2 Roe vs Wade 3 How Harmful Abortion is to the Mother 4 Is Abortion Murder? 5 Is Abortion Morally wrong? 6 Is Abortion the Best Option? 7 Development of Babies 8 Ways to Avoid Pregnancy 8 Closing 9 Dakoda Breanna Schoolman Professor Richard Bragg English 1100 20 November 2014 Murder in the Womb: Why it Should be Illegal Introduction Imagine you have a teenage daughter. You have coached and explained to her the consequences and how you should wait to have sex till after you are married. One day she comes to you crying and upset. She tells you that she broke your rule of no sex before marriage and says that she is pregnant. What would you want her to do? Would you tell her...
Words: 3467 - Pages: 14
...MeeksShawna BandmannMay, 24,2013 | | Ethics is best described as the difference between what is morally right and what is not right. Ethical theory defines what is perceived to be right and what is wrong, while ethical practice suggest that one’s environment and cultural beliefs determine who one will react in any given situation. The question how do we as a society decide what is morally right or wrong in moral “free choice” (Mosser, 2010)? Morals are unique to each person, culture, religious belief and environment. Ethical practice is defined by the diversity within each society, where no to people are alike. Morals don’t define ethics, ethics define morality. Abortion an age old ethical debate between moral right choice and wrong choice, why? To evaluate abortion with ethics, we must first understand the argument from all perspectives. What is the debate reason abortion is so fiercely argued in past and present generations? Abortion is the term to define the choice to terminate a woman’s pregnancy. Unitarian view, which is the view that relativist challenge. Utilitarian view suggest that abortion is not wrong because its selfish and benefits the mother not the unborn fetus, this is what Unitarians refer to as :ethical egoism”(Mosser,2010). Relativist view is just a little less judgmental, suggesting that some situations may be determined morally correct while others simply remain wrong. In this paper neither the argument that neither the Unitarian view nor the Relativist view...
Words: 1698 - Pages: 7
...Ethics of Abortion Destiny Vazquez SOC 120 Instructor Slack Monday, April 16, 2012 Abortion, one of the most ethical issues debated today. It has been a widely controversial debate for many years dated back to even before it was made legal in the United States. Like most ethical issues, there are two sides as to what is the right thing to do. Some people think that abortion is completely and utterly wrong. Some people think that abortion is right when and only when the mother’s life is at risk. And others think that there is a range of different circumstances that make abortion morally acceptable. In this paper I will present the issue of abortion, explain the three classical theories of utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics on how to solve the issue and contrast this response with the perspective brought to the issue of abortion by ethical egoism. I will also present you with my personal opinion as to why I believe abortion should be in fact morally accepted by society. The issues that arise when debating about whether abortion is ethically wrong or right are many. There are two sides to this debate and they call themselves, “pro-life” or “pro-choice”. Pro-lifers say that it is morally wrong to end pregnancy because you are in fact killing an innocent human being, and the pro-choicer believes that the choice should be made by and for the impregnated woman and that under certain circumstances, abortion is in fact acceptable. Many questions are being asked to...
Words: 1945 - Pages: 8
...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...
Words: 6080 - Pages: 25
...“Abortion is impermissible, because it deprives a being of a future like ours. Accordingly, it is morally similar to killing a healthy adult.” Critically discuss this argument, drawing upon at least one of the authors we have looked at in the readings. Abortion in general can be defined as terminating a pregnancy before birth and this still remains a controversial topic in the world today of whether it is immoral or moral to do so. Besides certain exceptions, the view of abortion as a seriously immoral action has minimal support or evidence in present-day philosophical literature (Marquis, 1989). However, views exist when it comes to illuminating the permissibility of abortion, particularly when future prospects of the foetus are taken into account. This is what the future like ours argument also points out that killing an adult human being is wrong because it deprives the adult of a future and the foetus has a future as well, killing foetuses is wrong in the same way that killing adult human beings is wrong (Kuflik, 2008:417). The future like ours argument is parallel to controversial religious claims and does not appeal to perplexing or difficult philosophical theories (Kuflik, 2008:418). In this essay an attempt will be made to critically discuss abortion being impermissible as it is similar to killing a healthy adult. People against abortion normally depend on the idea that the foetus is a human being or a person from the moment of conception, this notion is argued for...
Words: 1097 - Pages: 5
...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...
Words: 997 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 6080 - Pages: 25
...College 7/24/12 1 Abortion Abortion is defined as expulsion of the products of conception before the embryo or fetus is viable. Any interruption of human pregnancy prior to 28th week is known as abortion (“Abortion”). In some today’s world society, abortion has become a controversial issue because people are becoming more and more aware of the impact that abortion brings in those societies especially in the United States of America and in those who are going through the process of abortion. However, the pro-choice side of abortion believes that a woman has the right to choose if she wants to continue with her pregnancy or if she want to terminate it; the pro-choice think that whether the woman wants to keep it or not is a legal choice. On the other hand, the pro-life has somewhat a totally different opinion from the pro-choice people because they believe “life begins at conception; it is morally wrong; and, it can cause medical and psychological damage to women later on life.” therefore, they are against abortion. On abortion, statistics [shows] that since 1973, there have been roughly about 48,589,993 children aborted for different reasons. But what we [people should] think about is [that] apart from all these reasons for which a child is murdered even before [he or she] finds out what life is; [they continue to say that] it is not our right to take a life, and it is morally wrong to do it too. [Some people argue that] there are no records of abortion been spoken about directly...
Words: 1004 - Pages: 5
...Abortion Abortions are one of the many things that everyone has an opinion on. an abortion is, “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus as a spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation--miscarriage, the induced expulsion of a human fetus, or the expulsion of a fetus by a domestic animal often due to infection at any time before completion of pregnancy.” Abortions have always been and will probably always be a controversial topic in which everyone will not agree upon. Some people believe it is a woman's prerogative to choose whether or not to have a child, while still many others believe it is "morally" wrong. On the other hand, there are moderates who disagree with the idea or the morality of abortion, but agree that there are certain circumstances that should give the woman the option. Morality should be a standard at all times and abortion should be no exception. The decision to have an abortion should not be a woman’s choice. Every human has the fundamental right to life. As human life, the fetus has a right to life, and so no one should deny them the opportunity to grow and develop. For those pro-abortion, if the issue lies in the uncertainty of when the fetus can be considered human life, then they should not abort since “if you aren’t sure when shooting in a bush if the target is your fellow hunter or a deer, don’t shoot.” Finally, it is to be said that...
Words: 2117 - Pages: 9
...Important note: premises are always intended to provide support or evidence for the conclusion, but they don't always succeed. (It’s still an argument either way.) What is a statement? • A statement is a declarative sentence, • i.e., a sentence that is capable of being true or false. • For example: The door is closed. • Other kinds of sentence are not capable of being true or false: • Interrogative sentences are inquiries for information: Is the door closed? • Imperative sentences make a command: Shut the #*&@% door! • Performative sentences make a declaration: I hereby pronounce the door closed! Some Examples of Arguments P1. Everyone believes that it's wrong to eat salty food. P2. If everyone believes that it's wrong to eat salty food, then it's wrong to eat pickles. C. Therefore, it's wrong to eat pickles. P1. The Bible says...
Words: 2744 - Pages: 11
...discuss the effects of abortion on the women who have this procedure. For many cultures abortion is a horrible act. It is considered murder of an unborn human being. In today`s society many people still consider abortion to be an unethical practice and dangerous procedure. It is a typical conflict theory argument of social problems in today’s society. It is a conflict in society because it comes down to peoples ethical and religious stand point that is what makes up the conflict. Ethical is either it right because the fetus is in the women’s body and its her choice to choose if she wants to be a mom or not. The other side of the ethics argument czn stem from religious as well it is a life and murdering an unborn baby is wrong. There are two groups of people who fight to sway the law makers to their side the pro abortionist group and the antiabortion group (Henslin, J. M. 2011). These are commonly known as the prolife and prochoice groups. Many people though when you use these terms don’t take the group seriously they considered these people radicals. There are protesters who believe they are standing up for the unborn by murdering abortion doctors and burning down abortion clinics. The vigil-anti`s think this is justifiable due to the fact that abortion doctors are taking innocent lives and without the clinic there would be no place to have an abortion. The pro-choice group believes that abortion is ethical and...
Words: 4926 - Pages: 20
...Katie Krause M. Thune Abortion Paper 7 December 2008 Abortion Debate According to the philosopher Jane English, the typical question, “Is the fetus a person?” is irrelevant. The reason why it is irrelevant is because of many different reasons for what qualifies something to be a “person”. There are many factors in what most identify as a person. They say there are five parts: Body, Mind, Reason, Social, and Laws. The biological factors are things such as having a genetic code, and being able to eat and sleep is a necessity, because it is what creates life. Psychological factors such as consciousness and the ability to use language is another part of what they classify as “personhood”. Rationality factors are having the ability to reason, and decipher between right and wrong. To be a person, you are equipped with rights from the law. Also, you have to be a social being, which is having the ability to love things and people, and have feelings such as compassion and hatred. The reason why saying a fetus is a person and that is why you cannot kill it is irrelevant, is because not every human being qualifies for all of these parts of being a “person”, and so just because a fetus does not qualify for all of those factors, doesn’t mean it is or is not a person. A person in a coma does not have the ability to communicate, nor does an infant, but they are still people. What IS relevant in the debate about abortion is having psychological similarity and bodily continuity. The psychological...
Words: 502 - Pages: 3
