Abortion: A Debate Between Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Arguments

This article discusses the debate between pro-life and pro-choice arguments on abortion. It explores the ethical perspectives and consequences of this controversial topic. Abortion is illegal in many countries and has been a topic of public debate. The article examines the viewpoints of moral philosophers and presents arguments in support of the pro-life stance.

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ABORTION
Abortion raises much discussion in the sphere of public policy making and has been one
of the topics of public debate for a while. While many moral philosophers have taken up this
issue and framed in it their own perspective, few have framed it as a matter of individual ethics.
Abortion is illegal in many countries and there are several debates on it. Approximately 25 per
cent of the global population lives in countries that have high restrictive abortion laws where
most of it is from Latin America, Africa and Asia (Hoggart 366). In the same discourse, the
paper will discuss abortion and the debate between pro-life and pro-choice arguments and be in
support of pro-life. The paper will make use of two ethnic philosophies in order to support the
perspective of this paper.
Abortion is when a pregnancy is ended in order to stop the birth of a child. It can be
unplanned or unwanted which, and therefore it is stopped either through medical abortion or
surgical abortion. Although it is appropriate to support pro-choice decisions, it is not appropriate
to take away life or kill any being. Abortion is the killing of someone who is innocent and has no
part in the background story of reasons that brings it on earth (Ganatra et al. 155). Life begins at
conception, and when the baby is killed during its stage as a fetus, it violates the right to life of
the fetus. Although the fetus represents an underdeveloped life, it cannot be denied that it is not a

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life. Therefore, like any other living human being, it is sacred and deserves protection. According
to some opinions, it is the taking of an underdeveloped life, and it is equivalent to involuntary
manslaughter. There is no single moment outside of conception that can mark the beginning of
human life (Powell 83). As the doctors state, it can be assumed that as soon as unique DNA is
formed in a fetus or the moment egg is fertilized by the sperm life begins. The fetus is the same
being that is going to grow up an infant, child and adult. Therefore, on an ethical level, it can be
interpreted that the fetus deserves the same protection as any other living human being deserves
(Kaczor 90).
According to Manninen (72), morality is meant to guide human actions. According to
Immanuel Kant, the founder of the categorical imperative suggests the golden rule on morality.
One should act the way one wants other people to act towards all other people. People should act
according to the maxim that an individual wishes all other rational people to follow in a way that
it is a universal law. Therefore, considering the ethical principle, if one woman abortion support
from everyone, every woman should get support for their abortion. This decision will lead to
nothing but a future with no human being probably. The comparative imperative suggests one
should act in such a way with a person that it is possible to present the same act action to
everyone. According to Kant, human dignity stops and even condemns instrumentalization as
well as reduction of a human being to simple means an object (Kohl 334). Hence, human beings
are persons who end in themselves. The principle of human dignity forbids from the usage of
surplus embryos or the creation of new embryos to separate ES cells. Simply by being a member
of humanity creates and preserves the fundamental value of human dignity till death. The basic
idea behind the formulation is that a person only acts morally if his actions would be right for

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every person in that specific situation. Therefore, it will not be fair to call abortion an ethical
action as it cannot be implemented on every woman.
According to Tännsjö (445), considering the ethical theory utilitarianism, an action would
be considered right or wrong on the basis of its consequences. When abortion is considered from
the perspective of utilitarian, it has an entirely unique view. The consequence of abortion is
certainly not of a greater good that can justify it as an ethical act. There are a bundle of empirical
regularities that can prove the consequences are wrong and unethical. Almost every person wants
to live and glad to be alive. The infant who is considered unwanted infant may receive the
below-average quality of life however, below average is commonly excellent than no life. There
are many couples seeking to adopt a healthy infant and help the birth mother becoming free from
worries of having their unwanted babies raised. Also, the endowment effect often makes
unwanted children feel unwanted when they are born. They go through mental and emotional
conflicts due to the unacceptable behavior of their parents. Also, women who go through
abortion tend to face psychological and emotional challenges. Often it has been seen pregnant
women who think their baby to be unwanted are on average factually mistaken. Therefore,
considering the consequences of abortion cannot be held as an ethical action. It would be
inappropriate to legalize abortion for it is an unethical action and has no good consequences.
Also, in many cases pregnancy is the end result of irresponsible behavior specifically for the teen
age population. Therefore, for the irresponsible behavior of the parents it is certainly not fair for
the unborn baby to die (Lyra and Medrado 105).
Although with the above discussion it is an unethical action, few believers of pro-choice
argue abortion should be legalized. There are several reasons for which a woman may not want
to or equip to raise a child and based on her reasons she should choose or reject abortion. Many

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women do not become pregnant by choice; therefore making abortion illegal is only to force the
women to remain pregnant while they do not wish to be. Keeping abortion illegal make many
women seek an illegal abortion that are unsafe, risky and may result in severe consequences. On
broader perspective, women should have the right to bodily autonomy and should be the sole
decision maker of what happens to their body including abortion. Therefore, it is a pro-choice
decision where the choice of keeping or aborting the baby is a decision that should be lying in
the hand of the birth mother (Drinan 4).
As discussed above, abortion is illegal in many countries and there are several debates on
it. The discussion has several conclusions when seen from different perspective. However for
now, it remains a controversial topic. Many moral philosophers have taken up this issue and
framed in it their own perspective, few have framed it as a matter of individual ethics. Abortion
is illegal in many countries and there are several debates on it with various point of view. While
some say it is the mother’s decision some believe it is the child that should be seen worth more
than a thousand embryos. The conclusion that can be drawn with the above discussion is that it
is important to consider the life of the unborn baby even though it does not realizes the
difference between pain and pleasure. As human being the difference should not be made only
on the basis of the view that a fetus is only a fetus and not a human life.

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References:
Drinan, Robert F. "The Morality of Abortion Laws." The Catholic Lawyer 14.3 (2016): 4.
Ganatra, Bela, et al. "From concept to measurement: operationalizing WHO's definition of
unsafe abortion." (2014): 155-155.
Hoggart, Lesley. "Abortion counselling in Britain: Understanding the controversy." Sociology
Compass 9.5 (2015): 365-378.
Kaczor, Christopher. The ethics of abortion: Women’s rights, human life, and the question of
justice. Routledge, 2014. 90
Kohl, Markus. "Kant on determinism and the categorical imperative." Ethics 125.2 (2015): 331-
356.
Lyra, Jorge, and Benedito Medrado. "Pregnancy, marriage, and fatherhood in adolescents: a
critical review of the literature." International Handbook of Adolescent Pregnancy.
Springer, Boston, MA, 2014. 103-128.
Manninen, Bertha Alvarez. "A kantian defense of abortion rights with respect for intrauterine
life." Diametros 39 (2014): 70-92.
Powell, Emily. "Underdeveloped and over-Sentenced: Why Eighteen-to Twenty-Year-Olds
Should Be Exempt from Life without Parole." U. Rich. L. Rev. 52 (2017): 83.
Tännsjö, Torbjörn. "Utilitarianism and informed consent." Journal of medical ethics 40.7 (2014):
445-445.