The Ethics of Abortion (Essay Sample)

The Ethics of Abortion
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The Ethics of Abortion
Abortion is described as the process of removing the fetus from the uterus that results in termination of pregnancy. This process is among the known medical procedures carried out in America and other nations every year. Several research studies conducted indicate that more than 30 percent of women end their pregnancy through abortion. Currently, abortion has become a crucial ethical issue in the field of politics, law, and also religion as each sector has its interpretation and opinion toward this topic. Abortion is often depicted as a two-sided debate that includes those who identify themselves as pro-life and pro-choice. Pro-life followers do not support it as they believe that it is murder. On the other hand, pro-choice followers support abortion. However, the issue of abortion is quite multifaceted, and it also includes speculations on biology, ethics, and constitutional rights. The paper outlines different views and understanding to this controversial topic.
Ethics deals with what is right and wrong. It explains what should be done and what should not be done. Medical ethics deals with how healthcare professionals should handle moral issues that result from the care of the patients. Most of the decisions made in the clinical area involve more than just the condition of the patient. The ethical principles that guide medical workers in making clinical decisions include autonomy, veracity, beneficence, nonmaleficence, confidentiality, role fidelity, and justice (Morse, 2007). Ethical problems come about when all values cannot be respected. Therefore, it requires prioritizing the values in conflict and justifying bleaching the values that are not respected. Research has proved that these issues are not dealt with by the ethical discipline alone, the law and religion also play a significant role.
Nurses as clinicians must understand ethical principle concepts so that they can make sound clinical decision whenever they are faced with various ethical issues such as abortion. Ethical principles form a significant reference guideline of the health ethics. The principle of beneficence guarantees the well-being of the person involved. It means that people should strive to perform well and avoid harming others by all means (Morse, 2007).The principle of autonomy describes the importance of independence. It explains that people’s choices should be respected. Giving patient independence should be regulated so that they don’t end up making decisions that can harm others or themselves. The principle of non-maleficence describes importance of avoiding harming others. It is stated as "above all do no harm to others." People should not harm others intentionally or involve themselves in activities that can hurt others. The principle of justice states that all individuals should be dealt with fairly. All people should be equally treated unless there is a genuine reason as to why an individual may be treated differently (Bastable, 2003). Veracity is the principle that obligates a person to tell the truth. Confidentiality is the principle that ensures protection of the privacy. The principle of role fidelity requires loyalty, fairness, truthfulness, advocacy, and dedication.
There exist different opinions about debates that examine whether it is moral or ethical to kill the fetus when the woman is pregnant or before the actual delivery. Currently, modern medical technology allows women to undergo an abortion if they wish in several states. However, people ask themselves whether this act is considered ethical (Baird & Rosenbaum, 2001). In order understand this ethical issue; some crucial questions that are triggered by this issue must be analyzed. People ask whether a zygote is a human person who possesses rights, self-conscious, and self-aware. In fact, there is no satisfactory answer or substantial facts for this inquiry. Some people believe that the fetus is capable of sensing painful stimuli around 20 to 26 weeks of gestation period. Whatever the answer is, the right way is to apply this issue with various philosophical views on multiple situations.
This issue should be analyzed first in relation to two antagonizing perspectives from Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism. Kant, a philosopher from Germany, argues that all humans have individual worth and should be respected (Gillon, 2001). He believes that people engage in most actions and behaviors merely because they believe that they are correct things to do. Secondly, human beings act in a certain way basing on the morality apart from other different reasons. Kant considered an abortion as immoral as it is wrong to cause a murder (Hewson, 2001). In simpler way, the circumstances a woman encounters during her pregnancy do not matter, considering terminating the pregnancy is immoral. This view considers an abortion immoral because Kant believes that it is an act of murder that cannot be justified in any way.
Jeremy Bentham is a philosopher from Britain who pioneered the utilitarianism theory that antagonizes Kant’s views. An abortion in his opinion can be permitted in particular situations. For example, it can be necessary when the woman lacks essential resources for bringing up the future child. Also, when the mothers know that the fetus has congenital malformations, permission can be granted for the need of bringing happiness (Baird & Rosenbaum, 2001). There exists no exact difference between what is wrong or right according to his opinion, only if the outcome will bring the most desired satisfaction in the affected person.
The issue of abortion raises many ethical questions. The issue can be grouped into two different groups that include pro-life argument and pro-choice argument in order get the answers to these questions. Pro-life people are against abortion. It's known that the unborn are distinct, living and whole human beings from the initial stages of development scientifically (Baird & Rosenbaum, 2001). Embryology supports this by asserting that a zygote is the beginning of new human being. Pro-life followers believe that the act of abortion denies an innocent person the right to live. They believe that aborting a fetus treat a distinct human being with inherent moral worth like just a disposable object (Hewson, 2001). They also argue that abortion results in complications later in life such as ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage. Pro-life advocates do not support this issue as they equalize it to murder that is going against human rights.
Pro-choice people support abortion. These people believe that the fetus become self-conscious and self-aware at around twenty-six weeks after conception. This group argues that a woman should never be strained to undergo pregnancy or childbirth if she is not willing to carry the pregnancy (Gillon, 2001). The group suggests that the woman should be free to ask for an abortion if it is performed at an early stage before a fetus assumes personhood. They also argue that the government should accept the decision of a woman who seeks an abortion. Many women who opt to terminate their pregnancies do it during their first three months of pregnancy (Greenwood, 2001). Medically performed abortions poses only 0.5% risk of developing complications and do not affect the health of the woman or her ability to have a child. Pro-choice believers encourage women to abort their fetus if they have a substantial reason for terminating the pregnancy.
The rights of a pregnant woman are another issue to consider when deciding whether abortion is right or wrong. Women possess certain rights that entitle them to abortion. One of them is the right to privacy. This right is outlined in the case of Roe and Wade where women were given the right to end their pregnancy in the first trimester. Another one is right to control a person’s body (Gillon, 2001). Any person has the right to use his or her body the way he or she wants. The other one is right to be treated equally. Women argue that men cannot conceive and, thus, they should not be forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy as they are equal to men. Another one is the right to determine oneself (Hewson, 2001). Women have the freedom to make decisions that affect their futures, and it is immoral to compel a lady to give birth to a child against her wish. Many feminists see the issue of abortion with the perspective of the way women were oppressed in the past and the hazard and death that occur to women in those states where abortion is not legalized. These women’s rights complicate the issue of abortion.
The issue of abortion is multifaceted, and it also involves ethics, religion, and law. Ethics justifies what is right or wrong. The principal argument advanced on the issue of abortion includes the view that a fetus is an innocent person. It also includes the view that it is immoral wrong to kill a harmless person. As a result, it is immoral wrong to...