Critical Reflection on Abortion: A Moral and Legal Dilemma

The assignment involves a critical reflection on the topic of abortion, analyzing two opposing articles that present different views on the issue. The first article argues in favor of abortion rights, while the second article advocates for restricting abortions to before twenty weeks gestation. The analysis examines the value assumptions and underlying realities of each side of the debate, highlighting the moral and legal implications of the practice.

Running head: CRITICAL REFLECTION ON ABORTION 1
Critical Reflection on Abortion
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CRITICAL REFLECTION ON ABORTION 2
Pro-abortion article: Peikoff, Leonard. "Abortion Rights Are Pro-Life." Abortion, edited
by James D. Torr, Greenhaven Press, 2006.
Summary
What is the issue in the article?
The article presents views on abortion and advocates for the rights of a pregnant mother
as opposed to the rights of the unborn.
What is the conclusion of the issue, according to the author?
The author concludes that the anti-abortionists support the potentiality for life in a mass
of undifferentiated protoplasm while sacrificing the actual life of the mother.
What reasons does the author give to support his/her conclusion?
The author asserts that the anti-abortionists, who supposedly advocate for life, are
ignorant of the fact that the mother is an actual life while the neonate is just a mass of
undifferentiated cells within the body of a woman. Therefore, the pregnant mother has a right to
decide on what to do with her body including the developing child and that the state has no right
to intervene as it is a private matter. Furthermore, the fetus is biologically formed in the mother's
organs where it is nourished for survival hence no ability to claim for an individual right against
the host since “Rights only belong to individuals not…parts of an individual."
Con article: Johnson, Douglas. "Abortions Should Be Restricted to Before Twenty Weeks
Gestation." Abortion, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2014.
Summary
What is the issue in the article?

CRITICAL REFLECTION ON ABORTION 3
The author proposes that the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) should prohibit
abortion by passing a bill into law that bans the killing of unborn children who are past twenty
weeks of development after conception.
What is the conclusion of the issue, according to the author?
The author concludes by challenging the Congress of the District of Columbia to consider
the available evidence for neonatal pain at twenty weeks after conception as prove for life.
Therefore, enact a bill that prohibits abortion past twenty weeks of pregnancy.
What reason does the author give to support the conclusion?
First, there has been compelling evidence that there is life in the unborn child at or after twenty
weeks of conception since through feta; surgeries the unborn is capable of responding to painful
stimulus. Second, a neonate can survive in the neonatal intensive care unit by twenty-three or
twenty-four weeks after fertilisation. Therefore, any unborn at twenty weeks of age should not be
aborted since it already has a life. The violators should be prosecuted.
Analysis
What are some underlying value assumptions of each side of the argument?
A woman has a political right to choose what to do with her body including the unborn
child which should only be judged morally but not by the law. For example, if one kills his/her
dog, it's a personal choice since he or she owns it hence the state should not intervene. On the
contrary, the unborn child has a life that should be respected though after twenty weeks of
conception since a neonate can respond to pain stimulus at twenty weeks of fertilisation.
Therefore, the pregnant woman should be restricted from carrying out abortion, except for
critical condition, by the law.

CRITICAL REFLECTION ON ABORTION 4
Do you think many people share this same assumption?
Many people believe life starts at conception. Therefore, a pregnant woman has no right
to terminate the pregnancy unless it endangers her life. My society considers abortion as
termination of life, and it is a sign of moral decay.
What is the underlying reality assumption for each side of the argument?
Abortion is a decision meant to save the life of the mother and prevent the unborn child
from future predicaments due to the unpreparedness of the mother to take care of the child. On
the other side, the assumption is abortion is wrong. If the neonate can feel pain by the age of
twenty weeks, then its killing means murder.
Do you think many people share this same assumption?
The reality of abortion is that it terminates life and it is unacceptable morally (Steinbock,
2011). Many people subscribe to this fact, and for this reason, abortion is abominable in many
societies.
Do you think the author and their publication could be biased? Why? Who is their
intended audience?
Johnson (2014), addresses the Congress of the District of Columbia to inform them of
their crucial role in enacting a law to prevent the abortion of twenty weeks old neonates for they
have a life. The author narrows his argument to prove that a twenty weeks old neonate has a life
since it can respond to pain stimulus. Focus on this single can be a source of biases based on the
audience and subject. Hussey (2011) handles abortion holistically from the perspective of human
life in comparison with a probable life. The article addresses all people, and it is, therefore, not
biased.
Response

CRITICAL REFLECTION ON ABORTION 5
Both articles have valid explanations. However, the argument that a pregnant woman has
a political right to terminate a pregnancy is further supported by Manninen (2010) who
postulates that the fetus has no life. The fetus is just a mass of undifferentiated cells with a
potential for life. The life of the woman should be a priority for the potential growth of the
neonate. Allowing abortion to takes place before twenty weeks of fetal development does not
change the fact that it is immoral and unethical. Life is essential at every stage therefore if one
has to advocate for life, then he or she has to be entirely against abortion at whatever stage.
Unless the continued development of the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother, abortion
should be condemned in every society.

CRITICAL REFLECTION ON ABORTION 6
References
Hussey, L. S. (2011). Is welfare pro-life? Assistance programs, abortion, and the
moderating role of states. Social Service Review, 85(1), 75-107.
Johnson, B. (2014). “Abortions Should Be Restricted to Before Twenty Weeks
Gestation.” Abortion, edited by Noel Merino, Greenhaven Press.
Manninen, B. A. (2010). Rethinking Roe v. Wade: Defending the abortion right in the
face of contemporary opposition. The American Journal of Bioethics, 10(12), 33-
46.
Steinbock, B. (2011). Life before birth: the moral and legal status of embryos and
fetuses. Oxford University Press.