Ethics in Modern Society - Abortion

Running head: ETHICS IN MODERN SOCIETY
Ethics in Modern Society
Name of the Student
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Author Note

1ETHICS IN MODERN SOCIETY
Abortion has been one of the most controversial ethical issues in the modern society. It
has been debated by several critics all across the world. The spurring debates on this issue have
opened a horizon of new studies and many critics have opined their viewpoints regarding this.
This is a human action that has raised the concerns of several people and this action has been
criticized from moral perspectives. Christian worldview has also enlightened this issue from
several perspectives because of its implementation in the modern world. Abortion is an action
through which the fetus or embryo within a female body is killed intentionally so it can end
pregnancy.1 All the ethical concerns will be discussed in this paper regarding abortion and why it
should be stopped. The viewpoints of Christian perspectives will also be discussed for the better
understanding of people. It is highly debated mostly because killing of human beings
intentionally is a crime even if it is a fetus or embryo.
The act of abortion is considered as an unethical or immoral action because fetuses are
considered as beings that are completely dependent on their bearers i.e. mothers. It is not at all
justifiable to kill human beings at all. Critics have opined that fetuses are alive through cells but
they should be considered as human beings since they have life. They are not yet grown up to be
complete human beings and they are completely innocent for that matter.2 In this scenario, it is a
crime to kill such human organisms that do not have the powers to protect themselves at all. The
act of abortion is done through operations so the natural delivery of human beings is completely
1 Potter, Ralph Β. "The Abortion Debate". Reaction To The Modern Women's Movement, 1963 To The Present,
2018, 13-26. doi:10.4324/9780203822364-4.
2 Arrell, Robbie. "Public Reason And Abortion: Was Rawls Right After All?". The Journal Of Ethics 23, no. 1
(2019): 37-53. doi:10.1007/s10892-019-09280-8.

2ETHICS IN MODERN SOCIETY
halted. Some people tend to confuse the act of abortion with that of stillbirth of a baby. It is
never the same thing because a baby is born dead through natural delivery. Therefore, these two
aspects are completely different from each other. Most people are of the opinion that all the
living beings in the world have their rights to live. It is definitely their fundamental right and no
one should take away that right from them.
On the other hand, some communities also see this act as an ethical thing because of
their own viewpoints. There has been a huge debate regarding this issue. There are very few
people who have supported this act of abortion. They have mentioned the fact that all the females
have their right to decide what they want to do with their bodies. After that, abortion becomes
quite vital when it is associated with the aspect of gender equality.3 There have been many cases
when women are left alone after being pregnant and they have to work hard to earn their
livelihood. In this context, it becomes almost impossible for them to give birth to a baby and
raise him or her.
Abortion would provide solidarity to an individual woman to start her life afresh. After
that they can live their live at the fullest potential. If abortion is banned worldwide or ethical
reasons, many women will have to pay extra money to get the abortions done in an illegal
manner.4 The choice of abortion should be included within the pregnancy rights since it will
provide the option of ending the pregnancy at free will. People supporting the act of abortion
3
4 Tooley, Michael. "Philosophy, Critical Thinking And ‘After-Birth Abortion: Why Should The Baby Live?’".
Journal Of Medical Ethics 39, no. 5 (2013): 266-272. doi:10.1136/medethics-2012-100861.

3ETHICS IN MODERN SOCIETY
have also highlighted the issue that women should not be considered as a mode or container for
carrying fetus.5 Rather, she should be portrayed as a human being who has every right to decide
on her pregnancy. If she is carrying the bay, she can also kill it depending on situations.
Now, the unethical concerns will be discussed to highlight on the opposing debates
regarding abortion of babies. There are millions of social activists and workers who do not
support the act of abortion at any cost. They have been trying their best options so they can find
some practical solutions that would stop abortion and convince women not to go into that kind of
situations. The supporters of abortion believe in the rights of individual persons. On the contrary,
abortion is regarding the security of rights of beings to live. So, critics say that right to life is
always more powerful than right of individual persons. Some social critics have also mentioned
about the other evil practices like oppression of women that has not been given that much
importance like that of abortion. Supporters of abortion believe an individual woman has the
right to abort her baby but the actual background of this scenario must be detailed to understand
she had been oppressed by patriarchal males in the past.6 These critics opine violence and
oppression against women should be minimized so incidents of abortion will radically decrease
as well.
5 Fitzgerald, John J. "Christian Witness On Abortion: The Examples Of Paul Ramsey And Stanley Hauerwas".
Studies In Christian Ethics 27, no. 4 (2014): 431-452. doi:10.1177/0953946814540741.
6 Biegler, Paul. "Public Distress As A Moral Consideration In After-Birth Abortion". Journal Of Medical Ethics 39,
no. 5 (2013): 323.2-323. doi:10.1136/medethics-2012-101164b.