Assessment 4: Reproductive Ethics - Abortion Ethical Evaluation

This paper, written for a course on Ethics in Health Care, evaluates the ethical arguments surrounding abortion. The student explores the core debate by examining arguments supporting the right to choose and those opposing abortion on moral grounds. It presents the viewpoints of different authors and analyzes the complexities of reproductive ethics. The paper discusses the perspectives of those who believe women have the right to choose what happens to their bodies and contrasts this with the view that abortion is morally wrong, considering the fetus's status and religious connections. The author references various academic sources to support the arguments, providing a comprehensive overview of the key issues in the abortion debate. The paper serves as an insightful analysis of the ethical dilemmas in reproductive health.

Running head: ASSESSMENT 4: REPRODUCTIVE ETHICS
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ASSESSMENT 4: REPRODUCTIVE ETHICS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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ASSESSMENT 4: REPRODUCTIVE ETHICS
Ethical arguments concerning abortion
Abortion is an act of terminating the pregnancy prior to standard delivery time using
operation. According to some community, it is stated to be legalized and ethical in nature,
whereas others look at it as immoral and unethical. The aim of the paper is to evaluate ethical
reasoning on both for and against the issue.
According to Muniz, Lins and Silva Menezes (2018), abortion is considered merely as
a matter of a pregnant woman’s body and it offers unlimited right to choose what they want
to do with the body; thus, they have the ultimate choice of opting for abortion. A woman is
allowed to decide the events that would occur in the body. There are many situations, such as
rape and incest, where seeking an abortion is legal because it is used for reducing trauma and
shame. It cannot be considered to be murder as the cells are incapable of living outside the
womb and thus, in case of complications, it becomes mandatory to adopt the process. A fetus
is considered as a part of a woman’s body and therefore, it does not have any significance
outside the body; therefore, the harm to the fetus is not stated to be derogative in nature.
According to the opinion of Watt (2016), it is a mean of reducing the population as it is one
of the biggest concern in the today’s world, which pose a multifaceted issue, and is a burden
on the Earth. Therefore, it needs to be supported by achieving a balance in the Earth and
safeguarding the resources.
On the other hand, it is unethical as many consider it as murder as it involves
deliberately taking the life of an innocent human with any consent. Zulu et al. (2018) opined
that it is a morally wrong action that should not be taken. A woman does not have the
unlimited right of acting as per the need or as per their body. Therefore, one cannot use one’s
body to impair the life of another human being. In some cases, it is stated that fetus is a part
of a woman’s body; however; it is an independent in nature, which is connected to the female

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body through the placenta. Therefore, causing harm to it is considered to unethical.
Moreover, it is associated with the religious connection as a result of which, abortion is
prohibited in some of the cultures and religions. It poses an economic burden as the perennial
cost of abortion in private or public hospitals are massive that affects the economic status of a
person. According to the study, economists have stated that nations that advocate and accept
it will suffer severe economic implications on the lives of human beings (Faúndes &
Miranda, 2017). Therefore, measures need to be taken for safe delivery of unborn baby in
order to reduce such impacts.
It can be inferred that there is a clear distinction between individuals that supports the
concept and those that negate it. Both sides have enough supporting evidence to back up;
thus, the debates continue and view it as an ethical dilemma associated with reproductive
ethics.

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ASSESSMENT 4: REPRODUCTIVE ETHICS
References
Faúndes, A., & Miranda, L. (2017). Ethics surrounding the provision of abortion care. Best
Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 43, 50-57.
Muniz, I., Lins, L., & Silva Menezes, M. (2018). The use of documentary in medical course
and a reflection on ethical issues associated with abortion. Revista Bioetica, 26(4).
Watt, H. (2016). The ethics of pregnancy, abortion and childbirth: Exploring moral choices
in childbearing. Routledge.
Zulu, J. M., Ali, J., Hallez, K., Kass, N., Michelo, C., & Hyder, A. A. (2018). Ethics
challenges and guidance related to research involving adolescent post-abortion care: a
scoping review. Reproductive health, 15(1), 71.