Even today, there are many moral and philosophical issues that divide the United States because they create very polarized opinions and beliefs. One such philosophical issue is the moral permissibility of infanticide. Mary Anne Warren, a philosopher, presents her liberal yet controversial views on the issue of infanticide in the postscript of her article, On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion. However, the anti-infanticide arguments pose problems for Warren’s position because they justify the immorality of infanticide through the physical similarity in resemblance of neonates to human beings. These arguments also claim that the destruction of a viable infant is needless because even if the infant’s biological parents reject the infant, there are many other parents who are willing to adopt and nurture that infant.
Abortion is not only a fluctuating concept in our society, but an ethical and emotional debate, as well. The image I have chosen presents concepts from a cultural and historical background, as well as presents an ethical, emotional, and logical appeal to the audience.
Rosalind Hursthouse has a very different opinion on abortion and does not relate it to the murder of children or the rights of women. Instead, she justifies it through what a virtuous person would do. In the case study with the Thompson’s, Hursthouse would relate it to the relevance of the familiar biological facts and how pregnancy is a known result of sexual intercourse. The fact that Linda’s fetus is four months old would not be of relevance in Hursthouse’s opinion as clear lines are not visible as to when the fetus is attached and developed. The main focus of Hursthouse would be to question whether the abortion would be a result of a person acting “virtuously or viciously or neither” (Hursthouse 474). The abortion Linda ended up having
Pregnancy, giving birth, and abortion are three interrelated topics. They offer moral dilemmas that aren’t easily solved or tackled. In this paper, I will discuss abortion and I will approach it from the point of view of a consequentialist, a deontological ethicist, and a virtue ethicist. I will start by defining abortion, provide some information about the reasons why women opt to abort a fetus, then give a specific example of a moral dilemma that a woman is facing, and explore the dilemma from the different points of view.
The argument over a woman’s right to choose over the life of an unborn baby has been a prevalent issue in America for many years. As a birth control activist, Margaret Sanger is recognized for her devotion to the pro-choice side of the debate as she has worked to provide sex education and legalize birth control. As part of her pro-choice movement, Sanger delivered a speech at the Sixth International Neo-Malthusian and Birth Control Conference in March of 1925. This speech is called “The Children’s Era,” in which she explains how she wants the twentieth century to become the “century of the child.” Margaret Sanger uses pathos throughout her speech as she brings up many of the negative possibilities that unplanned parenthood can bring for both children and parents.
It is a sensitive topic and may even not be accepted in society. The woman is apprehensive and does not know what will happen next if she does decide to get an abortion (Norton). The relationship between the characters shows that the woman depends on the man’s approval but also seeks acceptance and
The moment she gave birth something sunk into her mind, that she could never fully comprehend until that moment. As she holds her child in her arms, taking extra precautions, so that her child doesn’t get hurt, she realizes that it is now her job to take care of her baby. That her biggest concern is no longer herself, but the child who was not in her arms yesterday. That yesterday’s problems are no longer of concern to her. That it is her job to provide and raise a human being.
When thinking of personal experiences, “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks touches on the emotional topic of abortion. Even though this poem was published decades ago, it can still be seen very relevant to this day. Accepting abortion and the outcome can indeed be a challenging task for many, while others seem to adapt to it without much of a problem. Gwendolyn Brooks’ writing lets us take a look at the mothers view point of abortion and how a mother responds to her new situation. Throughout the poem, the speaker shows signs of grieving concern of the topic of abortion and its outcomes by presenting emotions of regret and memories, shame and guilt, and contradicting herself to almost justify what she has done.
This shows what she had to endure to try to keep her baby healthy. It appeals to the loving protective side of the reader. It makes them think about what the baby must be going through beacuase of their economic situation. Rhetorical questions are used to directly engage the
Thank goodness, she turned out alright. But I’ll never risk it again. Never! The strain is simply too - too hellish,” (36). Larsen uses words provoking anxiety and horror to give the reader insight into Clare’s mind when she thinks about pregnancy and motherhood.
In the short story ‘Hairball’, Margaret Atwood portrays Kat as being an insecure individual living in an imaginary world, in which, she is to blame for the negative events that occur. Her feelings, emotions, and actions are driven through the insecurity she has of herself. One of the events that impacted Kat was her experience of abortion. The men who entered her life constantly left her which not only left her saddened and broken, but unsure of herself and what she did wrong. These events led Kat’s decision-making as she says “[I] learned to say that she didn’t want children anyways”, (35) when primarily, having children was her desire.
Trying to prevent neglected children and back-alley abortions, Margaret Sanger gave the moving speech, “The Children’s Era,” in 1925 to spread information on the benefits and need for birth control and women's rights. Margaret Sanger--activist, educator, writer, and nurse--opened the first birth control clinic in the United States and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. During most of the 1900’s, birth control and abortions were illegal in the United States, causing women to give birth unwillingly to a child they must be fully responsible for. This caused illness and possible death for women attempting self-induced abortion. Sanger uses literary devices such as repetition and analogies
“In the year 2004, there were approximately 1.37 million abortions performed in the United States” (Chew 143). Since 1973 and even before, abortion has raged into a hot-topic issue among the press, politicians, and even doctors; among many other people. This topic has been disputed since even before the late Nineteenth Century. During the 1940s, it even became a social norm to raid the abortionists’ offices. From that time on, the abortion debate has been brought into light many times.
The essay, "Between a Woman and Her Doctor", by Martha Mendoza was an interesting story. I disagree about abortion and the fact that people kill innocent babies. However, if, and only if, the baby is already dead, the mother should decide what should be done. The fact that Martha had such a difficult time during this chaotic period in her life shows that something should be done about this issue. Doctors need to be trained to conduct these surgeries to remove the dead fetus.
Abortion Abortion is the ending of pregnancy by abolishing a fetus or embryo before it can survive outside the uterus. Abortion is a very controversial topic, for example, one side of this topic believes abortion is cruel and committing murder, while the other side believes that since the fetus or embryo isn 't developed enough to be considered a living human being yet, that abortion is not commiting murder. Despite this information, there is a lot more to abortion than the opinion of it being “right” or “wrong”. According to “Students for life” who are pro life, about 1 million abortions are executed each year in the US. That data adds up to 22% of pregnancies ending in abortion.