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Abortion Debate
Abortion is a debate that sparks great emotions across different circles. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. This can be naturally, known as spontaneous abortion or by inducing known as induced abortion. There is also therapeutic abortion, which is carried out to protect the life of the mother. The vast debates on abortion have triggered ethical related debates and legal conflicts. One of the most controversial legal conflicts is Roe Vs. Wade. Jane Roe desired to commit an abortion; however, Texas’s state would not allow any abortion unless it were therapeutic. As a result, Roe took to the court to protest, and the federal court ruled in her favor.
The court declared personal privacy that should be accorded to everyone, including women who want to end their pregnancy. This right to personal privacy cannot be interfered with by the state. The state may limit but not completely prohibit abortion. Therefore the outlook on abortion from a legal perspective seems to permit abortion as long as the woman wants it (Stuart.p, 226). However, there is a conservative argument that goes against abortion; the argument states that killing an innocent person is wrong. A person’s life begins at conception. An unborn baby is an innocent person, and as such, it is wrong to kill such a person.
The main question that must be answered then is when does a being become human? There is an argument that since the fetus inside the mother’s womb cannot sustain itself and has to depend on the mother completely, it is not human. However, if an incubator is used, the fetus can be separated from the mother and gain its humanity (Stuart.p, 226). This is a fundamental flaw in this argument. Another distinction is made in terms of experience. This distinction is made on the assumption that someone who has suffered more is more human than one who has not suffered.
This ultimately means that a fetus has no experience and is therefore not human. However, the argument is challenged by the fact that the zygote is responsive at eight weeks and that it moves and responds to the environment and, as such, has an experience. Additionally, if an adult suffers from memory loss, that doesn’t make them less human. Another argument is that a fetus has little connection to the rest of society. If a one-year-old child dies, there is less grief experienced than a ten-year-old child since they had a greater impact on society. However, the ages do not make a child less of a human.
Another argument for abortion is based on sensation. Since the embryo cannot be seen, then it does not exist but is a sight really a determinant for humanity. Human beings have used sight to separate themselves based on race and color. Therefore, the basis of humanity for a fetus becomes easily dismantled, and a philosopher may argue that humanity is just but a secular aspect. Therefore, a more appropriate look will consider morality, which is the rules that govern how humans behave among themselves. Human beings should draw lines of their behavior that they never cross.
The major moral analysis is that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Since a fetus is a human being, it is, therefore, a neighbor. We should not harm other human beings and as such, harming a fetus is wrong unless in self-defense. Therefore, abortion violates the human being’s moral right, and it can only be justified where the mother is in danger of death. Since love is the underlying factor, the killing of a fetus is considered selfish and only seeks the self-interest of a human being.
Judith Jarvis Thomson, “A defense of abortion
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In “A defense of abortion,” Judith Jarvis Thomson lays out some fundamental arguments that may be considered in this debate of abortion. The premise of most of the arguments against abortion begins with the statement that a fetus starts being a person when the sperm fertilizes the ovum or ova. This argument further has its basis on the fact that the development of a human being is a continuous process, and a line cannot be drawn such that it states that this is the point where a fetus becomes a person (Beckwith,p. 444). Many opponents of abortion base their argument that a fetus is but a clump of tissue that only becomes a person at the moment of birth.
Jarvis takes the first assumption that a person begins being a human or person at the moment of conception. The fundamental right of every human being is the right to life. The fetus, being a person, therefore, has a right to life as well. The woman who carries the baby has a right to life. She also has a right to what happens to her body. The argument then goes on to state that the right to life is a priority. As such, the mother’s right to choose what is done to her body is of lesser importance than the right of the fetus to life. In this way, then an abortion is not permissible. But what happens if the fetus is a result of forced sex that is rape (Beckwith,p. 445). This would mean that some have a lesser right to life than others, which doesn’t sound right, and therefore, the argument loses its strength.
Similarly, if we consider a situation in which the mother has a medical condition, and if an abortion is not performed, she will die. Then how do we decide as to who should die, the mother or the child? There is equality than to the right to life of both the mother and fetus. Then maybe we can add that to the mother the right to decide or make a choice of what happens to her. The summation then results in a bias towards the mother. Others may add that the mother has a right to commit abortion, but she carries it out herself. This argument is based on the mother’s life is at risk. Therefore it is easy. What if life is not at stake?
The right to life may be the view that we have the right to the bare minimum. The fetus did not seek the mother’s permission to implant themselves. As such, the mother can deny them the right to continue using their body as a house. Therefore, the fetus has the right to life because she has accepted the child’s responsibility resulting from an act that is not coerced that is voluntary. Similarly then a woman can be taken to own her body in entirety. In the same way, she is allowed to divide as she wishes. However, if she refuses to give out her body, she can only be considered to be selfish and not unjust. Similarly, a woman who refuses to give the right to life can be considered unjust.
Works Cited
Stuart, Meryn. “Wake Up Little Susie: Single Pregnancy And Race Before Roe Vs. Wade”. Nursing History Review, vol 5, no. 1, 1997, pp. 226-228. Springer Publishing Company, DOI:10.1891/1062-8061.5.1.226.
Beckwith, Francis J. “Does Judith Jarvis Thomson Really Grant The Pro-Life View Of Fetal Personhood In Her Defense Of Abortion?”. International Philosophical Quarterly, vol 54, no. 4, 2014, pp. 443-451. Philosophy Documentation Center, DOI:10.5840/ipq2014102123.