...Ethical Issues of Abortion “Abortion is termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior viability” (Wikipedia). Abortions can occur spontaneously which is called miscarriage, or it could be induced. When people talk about abortion, they mostly refer to the induced abortion. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, approximately forty- two million abortions occur in this world per year averaging to 115,000 abortions per day. Eighty-three percent of these abortions occur in underdeveloped countries. In United States of America, one third of the women before the age of forty-five, have abortions. The average abortion per day in United States of America is 3,700. Eighty-eight percent of abortions are found in first trimester; fifty-nine percent of abortion is done in first eight weeks of pregnancy. Non-Hispanic white women had the largest percentage of abortions rate of (37.1%), followed by non-Hispanic black women (34.4%), Hispanic women (22.1%) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Whenever it comes to abortion, people talk about Pro-Life vs. Pro Choice. Pro-life is when a person believes that the “government has an obligation to preserve all human life regardless of intent or quality of life” (Head). Pro Choice is when “individuals have unlimited autonomy with respect to their own reproductive systems as long as they do not breach the autonomy of others” (Head). Whatever side a person takes, it...
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...obtain consent from their husband before having an abortion. This case also ruled that single minor under 18 did not have to have parental consent to obtain abortion. In 1977, the Supreme Court ruled that states may refuse to spend their public funds on nontherapeutic abortions. In 1980, the Court ruled that states did not have to pay for therapeutic abortions but the state could if they wanted to. In 1981, the Court ruled that states could require parental notice of immature minors seeking abortions, however states cannot allow blanket power for parents to veto their daughter’s abortion. In 1990, the Court prohibited federally funded family planning clinics from giving abortion advice. In 1992, the Court ruled that it was an undue burden to require spousal consent for women seeking an abortion before the fetus was viable. As a result, women can now seek abortions up into the second trimester, or anytime if the mother’s health is at...
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...Crystal was to be paid $20,000 and receive regular prenatal care and screenings. Were there any severe fatal birth defects with the fetus, Crystal would terminate the pregnancy as the contract stated. Five months pregnant, Crystal had a routine ultrasound, which showed that the fetus had a complex heart abnormality, a cyst in the brain, and a cleft palate. After birth, the baby would need a series of complicated operations; chances of normal life would be small. The doctor suggested Crystal that termination would be the most human option. After speaking with a counselor, Crystal new she was the only one who could give this baby the opportunity to experience life. Tom and Linda devastated over Crystal’s decision offered her $10,000 to have to abortion as a last resort. Given Crystal’s steadfast resolve, Tom and Linda as the genetic parents decided that they would take custody of the child upon birth and immediately surrender her to the state. Crystal up and went to Ann Arbor, Michigan a few...
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...is the least unethical of the solutions, making it the better choice as a solution which can be introduced worldwide to combat overpopulation. This form of measures to reduce the global population is supported by World watch Institute President Robert Engelman as he argues “By implementing policies that defend human rights, promote education, and reflect the true economic and environmental costs of childbearing, the world can halt population short of the 9 billion that so many analysts...
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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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...Twenty-one percent of all U.S. pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion. There are many people who are for abortion and many who are against it. Although some may believe that abortion is the solution for them, it shouldn’t even be considered a solution because it is essentially murder. There are only special cases in which abortion should be considered and that is if there is a health risk for the mother or the child. Just because technology made it accessible doesn’t mean it’s ethical. In fact it’s extremely unethical and should only be allowed in special cases. In my opinion, when anyone has sex they are consenting to all the risks that come with it, one of them being pregnancy. When a woman gets pregnant, whether it’s intentionally...
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...Abortion Considering American ethics and values, the killing of unborn fetuses is morally wrong, having an abortion is an unsafe procedure, abortion clinics depend on taxpayers to run their clinics, this unethical practice of terminated unborn fetuses should be outlawed. Abortion is murder no matter when a person believes life becomes official. This controversy will remain for centuries, however the fact that a potential life has ended before given a chance remains evidence enough for most people to understand why a person should never have a choice of whether a baby lives or dies. (John Paul II, 1997, p. 18) There are many reasons abortions should be outlawed including the descriptive and disturbing stories about how aborted babies sometime scream as they come out and the looks of pain on their faces. These facts alone should convince anyone to eliminate the idea of pregnancy termination out of their mind. The health threat to the mother after going through with the procedure as well as the lifelong health risks that remain should be good enough reasons abortion should be illegal. With the rising healthcare costs and instance of disease greater than the medical ability to solve the problems, continued health remains important to all people. Self induced problems such as voluntary termination of pregnancy leads to complications for future pregnancies, reproductive disease, and depression. (Andryszewski,...
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...11/02/2014 Taboo of Abortion: Who is right? The life of an embryo depends on differences in societies and cultures, along with morals and beliefs. However, these alone cannot prove when an embryo is actually a person. With a mixture of all, people determine how and when an embryo develops into a human being. Although the variety provides different insights, it also cause controversy amongst opponents. Thus the birth of pro-choice and pro-life is born, both competing on each side of the controversy of abortion. The taboo of abortion has gained national attention due to the nature and processes. Generally abortion is performed before twelve weeks gestation, or three months along in the pregnancy, but some do occur later in the pregnancy. The processes include removing the embryo from the uterus through a expansion of methods. These methods include: RU-486 which is a drug given to a woman after a missed menstrual period to deplete the nutrients of the uterine walls, and then again to allow the uterus to contract. Suction Aspiration acts as a vacuum cleaner to the uterus by breaking down and removing pieces of an embryo as well as the placenta. Dilation and Curettage formally known as D&C is similar to Suction Aspiration, but instead of suction the embryo and placenta are scrapped from the body and tossed. These are commonly performed by the twelve weeks stated earlier, however late term abortions are performed as well. These include: Prostaglandin abortion and Dilation Extraction...
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...Abortion has been and still is a very controversial issue. The Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade in 1973 truly brought the issue of abortion to the public eye for the first time. For those who don’t know, abortion is defined as, “ the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy”. The most common types of in-clinic abortions are called aspiration and dilation and evacuation (D&E). Aspirations are when a small tube is inserted into the cervix and the fetus is gently vacuumed from the uterus. A D&E is almost the same procedure, except medical instruments are used alongside the vacuuming. In pregnancies late into the second trimester (6 months since conception), a shot may be given through the abdomen of the woman so the fetus’ heart is stopped before the procedure begins. Aspirations are typically performed up to the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, and D&E is usually performed after the first 16 weeks. Both types are very quick. Aspirations take about 5-10 minutes while D&E’s take about 10-20 minutes. Both methods are almost guaranteed to work. There are many reasons to get an abortion, and abortion should always be legal. The classic argument for those that are pro-abortion (pro-choice) is that it is the woman’s right to choose whether she has an abortion or not, hence why those that favor abortion are referred to being pro-choice. A woman should definitely have the option to have an abortion, and denying women the right to have an abortion would be a social injustice. It’s her body...
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...Abortion is a topic that has become one of the biggest issues debated in the United States and in other countries today. Different schools of thoughts have different ideas and opinions regarding abortion, some ideas are pro-abortion and some argue for the abolishment of it. Abortion is one of the most complex problems dividing America with either side being so passionate about their stand it has been known to cause a lot of hate the other side. Abortion is the removal or the expulsion of an embryo or the fetus from the female’s uterus resulting to the termination of pregnancy. Abortion may occur spontaneously through a miscarriage or may be artificially induced through chemical or by surgical means. An induced abortion refers to any induced procedure that is performed at any point during the pregnancy period which will lead to the termination of the pregnancy before the point of viability. The most common abortion method today is artificial and medically induced. Abortion in the United States was illegal in most states until it was made officially legal throughout the country following the United States Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973. The case involved a single, pregnant woman named Jane Roe who wanted to have an abortion. During that time, the only way to get an abortion was through illegal and unsafe means that could endanger her life. Jane Roe wanted to have an abortion which would be performed by a licensed physician so that it would be under...
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...Abortion Facilities Impacting Women for the Good In the year of 1973, the option of receiving an abortion became legalized due to the case of Roe v Wade. (NRLC). Women in the earlier years were having unsafe procedures to terminate a pregnancy, due to the negative views people held on the topic, they sought alternative methods. Some people highly place abortions on an ethnics issue stand, judging whether the act is moral or unmoral or whether the bad outweighs the good. This issue, when debated, is focused mainly on the life on the baby not yet born, rather than the mother childbearing. Abortions should be viewed to others as an advantage to women because it provides them with a healthier and optimistic lifestyle. Pro-choice is seen as a “helping milestone” for women and a fundamental to female empowerment and equality according to Valerie Tarico in which women are more in control of their bodies (AlterNet). The popular motto in the pro-choice movement is “Trust Women” meaning that no other person can make a decision better than the women herself. This motto “means that no one else can make a better decision- because no one else is living her life, and since she will have to live with that not you, and not that state legislature or the Supreme Court- chances are she is doing her best in a tight spot” says Katha Pollitt as she attempts to show women should be able to make a decision upon themselves (Pollitt). Having the chance to obtain an abortion provides women to have plans...
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...Reproductive Sciences One of the biggest ethical debates surrounding genetic and reproductive sciences is abortion. When parents decide to have genetic testing done, the results may require them to make a decision whether continue with the pregnancy or to terminate. Even for a wanted pregnancy, the decision to terminate a baby who has the potential for a disability is devastating and stressful. There are arguments against prenatal testing and abortion regarding the ethicality. Arguments generally revolve around fetal rights and disability rights (Stapleton, 2017). According to Stapleton (2017), the option for abortion may be provided based on the results of genetic testing, therefore, being unethical in...
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...breathing at this very moment. Everyone is alive because God wanted to create them! The Bible says, “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.” Abortion is the termination of pregnancy before birth, resulting in, or accompanied by, the death of the fetus. It has become one of the most widely debated ethical issues of our time. Considering what is ethical and what is legal in terms of abortion becomes very complex. The ethical concerns that revolve around the abortion issue are those that encompass a great many ideals – both religious and personal – that have to do with an individual’s concept of right and wrong. To some, the ethical implications mean allowing the woman her right to choose; to others, it is no different than murder. Do you consider something with a beating heart a living creature? Likely, before a woman even has knowledge of being pregnant, at five weeks, a baby’s heart is already formed and beating. Therefore that would make abortion a form of murder. Murder is classified as taking another human life. The baby that is growing inside of a woman is dependent on her, so when the mother makes the choice to end the baby’s life, she is making the choice to murder another human. Our federal government must take a stand against the murder of innocent humans. Allowing abortions, including partial birth abortions is a step in the wrong direction....
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...live without friends even if they had everything else they desired ‘’ (quoted from The Puzzle of Ethics- Peter Vardy pg 31). Socrates took a practical view on ethics, he was concerned with ‘’how an individual would live in order to achieve happiness’’. Socrates can be seem as saying; ‘’Think hard enough and you will always find that doing the right thing is best for you ‘’ ( quoted in Peter singers A companion to Ethics, Blackwell p. 125 ). Plato's view was much more in depth and most famously contradicts Socrates work. Plato believes ethics is ‘’ knowledge is the virtue of happiness ‘’ . Plato can be seen as saying ‘’ If you believe something is right than its right, but if you believe something is wrong but still go ahead , this is unethical’’ . ‘’An individual human being is the measure of all things’’ (quoted from The puzzle of ethics-pg 9 Peter Vardy). There is many different types of ‘ethics’ for example: utilitarianism ethics, where as a person believes the wrong or right thing to do will depend on the outcome for instance; if a man was to choose...
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...No matter the person, no matter the cause, they matter. Between the two articles “Abortion” and “The Rights of a Woman Do Not Outweigh the Rights of a Child”, they each give their opinion on abortion, also revealing their side of the matter. Even though much is not given on which side is chosen, the article “Abortion” goes more into explaining the situation and controversy of abortion. Controversy like some people believe that it is alright for women to have abortions because they think that an embryo or fetus is not a human life because it is unborn, which is completely false. The article “The Rights of a Woman Do Not Outweigh the Rights of a Child” is on the side of being against abortion. They talk about how the rights of an unborn baby...
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