Abortion Term Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Abortion Term Paper - Essay Example The dominant reasons cited for procurement of abortions are broad and detail concern for or responsibility to other individuals; some women who procure an abortion assert that they cannot afford a child; others cite interference with school, work, or their capability to avail care for dependents while others dread of being a single parent or have problems with their husband or partner (Callahan 116). The discussion makes several clarifications, distinctions, and oppositions that propel the ethical considerations for or against abortion. The core question that manifests in this discussion encompasses two questions, namely: whether abortion is morally wrong. These are unique issues as not everything that is immoral can be regarded as essentially illegal. This essay develops a general argument dwelling on the claim that the vast majority of procured abortions are gravely immoral. Abortion infers the premature removal of a fetus from the Uterus prior to 28 weeks gestation, the random est ablished period of viability or prior to pregnancy reaching its full term. There are two forms of abortion, namely: miscarriage (spontaneous abortion) that happens mainly naturally, statistics indicates that close to 50% of pregnancies end in this manner (Callahan 117). Second, procured abortion encompasses intentional termination of the pregnancy mainly incorporating an operation to expel the fetus from the womb. Viability is entirely a relative term complete with value judgments, rather than a distinct descriptive entity. Although, abortion has over the years grown to become one of the most debate issues within bioethics, no moral consensus has been attained. The lingering debate on when abortions should be carried out, by what means, and the kinds on infants that should be saved demonstrate the complexity of the issue of abortion. The greatest difficulty presented, but abortion literature lies in spotlighting reliable philosophical and scientific arguments amid the dominating rhetorical manipulation (Bok 33). Academically, the issue of abortion centers on the balance between liberties both the mother, plus the baby. Theologically, the issue of abortion flows from two critical questions: 1) at what point is life considered beginning? (Whether at conception or birth); 2) if so, is it a sin to abort a fetus? The explanation suggested by the faiths detail that life commences at conception, and hence the baby is considered to be living from the conception (Monagle and Thomasma 17). Hence, it is a mortal sin (murder) to abort a fetus. The central argument that is mainly against abortion details that: the fetus is in essence an innocent person and it is morally wrong to terminate the life of a guiltless individual. Subsequently, it is morally wrong to terminate the life of a fetus. Some anti-abortionist will admit certain abortions such as abortion prior to implantation, or abortions procured the moment the life of the mother is threatened by a pregnancy, or abortion subsequent to a rape (Callahan 117). These cases of abortion may be considered to be morally permissible. B. The Moral Controversy Surrounding the Problem Public opinion on abortion can be categorized into three camps, namely: conservative, liberal, and moderate (or gradualist) all of which draws on both science and ethical thinking. Conservatives groups such as the Catholic Church perceive the fetus as a human being with full moral rights from conception onward. Conception in this case can be regarded as a critical point since this is the stage in which the embryo develops its distinct genetic code (Singer 189). Liberal approach, on the other hand, concedes that the fetus is