Judith Thomson’s A Defense of Abortion is an article defending abortion on the grounds of rights, duties, and justice. Thomson uses various thought experiments to represent different circumstances surrounding a pregnancy and the permissibility of abortion in these circumstances. One such thought experiment that she uses in her argument is the burglar example. If you open a window and a burglar climbs into your house, anti-abortionists would argue that the burglar has a right to stay in your house and you have a duty to shelter him because you are partially responsible for his presence there. Even if you install bars specifically to keep out burglars and the burglar still manages to break in then you are still partially responsible and he still
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.
With almost half the nation divided among their views, abortion remains one of the most controversial topics in our society. Since Roe v. Wade, our views in society as well as following court cases have been progressing toward the woman’s right to choose. The precedent set by Roe v. Wade made the Supreme Court acknowledge that it cannot rule specifically when life begins and it also affirms that it is the woman’s right to have an abortion under the 14th Amendment. In the 1st Amendment, the Establishment Clause forbids the government from passing laws “which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another”. Many Christian pro-lifers use their religious beliefs to dispute when life begins. Although through the Free Exercise
Charlotte Taft once said “Women who have abortions do so because they value life and because they take very seriously the responsibilities that come not just with birth, but with nurturing a human being”. The Editorial Board at The New York Times believes in this statement as well. The Editorial Board published an editorial on June 27, 2016 titled “A major Victory for Abortion Rights”. The article published, is about a change in Texas 's anti-abortion law and is intended for woman who can or will bear children. The editorial was created to persuade these women that if another woman who is pregnant and cannot keep the unborn child or does not want to keep the child, that these women should have the right to abort the embryo or fetus legally.
“77% of Anti-Abortion Leaders are men, 100% of them will never be pregnant” (Barbara Kruger). Whether to continue or end a pregnancy, has been a long debated topic, extending long after the Roe v. Wade case that went all the way to the Supreme court (ProCon). Abortion is defined as the intentional termination of a pregnancy, frequently performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy (Oxford University Press). Each year, over one million women in America chose to have an abortion (WebMD). What would happen if that right to choose was taken away?
“Life begins at conception. Therefore, an un-born baby has a right to life. This court ruling is a slap in the face of humanity” (Gordon, Tacoma,
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.
According to the WHO, there are an estimated 40-50 million abortions every year around the globe. The dictionary definition for abortion is ‘the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy’, and people usually very absolutist about their stances regarding this topic. The two sides of the argument are those who are pro-choice or pro-life. The pro-choice side argue that it is the free will of the parent/s to decide on how to handle the pregnancy as unplanned pregnancies could mean a detrimental life for both the parent/s and the baby as the parent/s may not have the resources to support and take care of the baby, or are not ready for such big change and responsibility. On the other hand, the pro-life side argue that life begins at conception
Tanya Luhrmann upholds her evidence behind every premise regarding abortions, the unfair treatment of the fetus, and “Pro-Life” beliefs. She explains that, “...the issue that provokes such anger surrounds the fetus’s right to life--its status as a potential human being” (Luhrmann, 1979, p. 1). Luhrmann addresses the importance of legalizing and creating safe procedures during abortions
Mary Anne Warren’s argument for the moral permissibility of abortion concentrates on the question of personhood and humanity with reference to a common anti-abortion argument and the discussion of potential personhood. Her argument builds on the belief that fetuses are not human beings and considers humanity through certain categories one must have in order to be considered a human person. Warren’s argument is logical, however, her argument is unsound because of a series of erroneous premises. Thus, because these premises are erroneous, an Aristotelian-type argument can be constructed that properly discusses potential persons and argues against Warren, thus aruging for the moral impermissibility of abortion.
By failing to define the terms ‘fetus’ and ‘standard fetus’, he leaves open for interpretation not only the moral significance of the terms, but also their strength in relation to his argument. Marquis assumes that the fetus has a future that is just as valuable as that of an adult yet fails to grant the fetus the same moral status as an adult. This lack of consistency along with the falsity of his claims weakens his argument and leaves a large piece of the abortion question unanswered. Because many of his premises are false, I altered them to be correct which in turn resulted in an illogical sequence of evidence for Marquis’ original conclusion; rendering his argument invalid. After altering the conclusion to follow the revised premises, it only gave a suitable claim for some abortions, rather than the overwhelming majority of abortions. Due to the fact that these premises had to be revised in order to be correct, and the conclusion no longer accomplishes Marquis’ original goal, we can conclude that his argument is
Abortion is one of the most controversial topics discussed in our world today. Millions of fetuses never got a chance to be born because a mother chose to abort them. Although I do not believe in abortion, I believe a woman should have the right to decide whether to have a baby or not. Our textbook presents views and arguments on the issues.
The debate whether abortion is morally permissible or not permissible is commonly discussed between the considerations of the status of a fetus and ones virtue theory. A widely recognized theory of pro-choice advocates can be thought to be that their ethical view is that fetus’s merely are not humans because they lack the right to life since they believe a fetus does not obtain any sort of mental functions or capability of feelings. Although this may be true in some cases it is not in all so explaining the wrongness of killing, between the common debates whether a fetus does or does not obtain human hood, should be illustrated in a way of a virtuous theory. The wrongness of killing is explained by what the person or fetus is deprived of, such as their right to life; not by means of a heart beat or function of one’s body, but by the fact that it takes their ability of potentially growing into a person to have the same human characteristics as we do.
Abortion is a very controversial topic that has taken the main stage once again in US politics. Recently, new Republican politicians have taken power and have decided to ban abortion. There are two fields of ideas on abortion. One being that it is the murder of an innocent fetus, and that it is completely unethical. The second school of thought is that abortion is a right for women, and that it is ethical. The act of banning abortion is making the rights of women regress rapidly, and many are outraged by it. Pro-Life protesters argue that it is unethical for a woman to receive an abortion as it kills the life of an innocent being, but, they do not think of the lives of the women. Without the abortion, a womans’ life can be destroyed. is being
One of the furthermost essential issues in biomedical ethics is the controversy around abortion. There’s a long history on this controversy and it is still critically debated among researchers and the public in both terms of morality and legality. Some of the basic questions argued that may perhaps characterize the importance of the issue: Is abortion morally justifiable? Does the foetus/embryo/zygote have any moral and legal rights? Is the foetus a human being and, if so, should it be protected? What are the measures for being a human being? Is there any morally relevant break along the biological process of development from the unicellular zygote to birth? In this essay I will discuss why physician should recommend prenatal testing for severe birth defect even if it might encourages abortion therefore I do not agree with the statement above. My argument will based on the following ethical principles and theories: Utilitarianism, Respect for Autonomy and Virtue