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Perhaps the most controversial and hotly debated topic to exist in American society over the past several decades has been that of abortion. Ever since the precedent-setting decision by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade, the issue of abortion has been a hot button topic among media outlets and average citizens. (Steffen, 2012) While it is impossible to fully analyze this issue without being affected by some personal bias, it is nonetheless helpful to analyze this topic from various viewpoints and perspectives. Thus, in the following essay, the topic of abortion will be explored, citing two news articles which espouse different viewpoints before analyzing the subject of abortion against the backdrop of ethical theories.
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the elimination of a human fetus at a point after its conception and before its birth. (Steffen, 2012) Various lawS Surround the performance of an abortion, dictating when one can be pertormed and under what circumstances it must occur under to remain within the bounds of the law. Many believe that abortion is akin to murder, and thus disagree with its legality. Others believe that it is a human right and that every woman should have the choice whether or not to abort when she becomes pregnant.
Article Opposing Abortion
One source of Christian news strongly opposes the institution of abortion. The article tries to convince the reader of the harms of abortion by highlighting an abortion doctor, named Douglas Karpen, who reportedly performed many illegal late-term abortions. (Barnhart, 2014) Karpen also is accused of violating the Born Alive Infant Protection Act by ending the lives of babies after they have been born. The article seems to place blame on legislating bodies for failing to regulate clinics such as these closely enough to prevent this type of crime. The religious group detailed in the article is reportedly seeking to enact more strict legislation. (Barnhart, 2014)
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Article Supporting Abortion
A more recent news article reports on a group of abortion rights activists that are seeking to put a hold on a decision by a federal appeals court, which states that abortion clinics must have several settings (akin to a hospital) for surgeries to take place, such as wider halls and Surgery facilities. (HerkOvitz, 2014) The activists claim that this decision is not based in scientific tuth as these prerequisites are unnecessary in abortion clinics. Many claim that the court decision is merely an attempt to prohibit abortion rights, as this decision would effectively shut down all but seven abortion clinics in the state of Texas. The abortion rights activists note that an abortion that is medically induced does not need such facilities, and his decision is an example of utilizing regulations and court precedent to limit women’s rights to abortion.(Herskovitz, 2014)
Ethics Theory
Utilitarianism if a very well-known and understood theory. It is perhaps the most straight forward of all theories of ethics. (Steffen, 2012) Uilitarianism holds that the most ethical action is the one that minimizes the bad and maximizes the g0od. (Steffen, 2012) Thus, even if a
cision may seem mean-spirited or morally wrong, if the outcomes maximize the good and minimize the bad, then utilitarianism says that this decision is the most ethical. With this working definition of utilitarianism in place, the topic of abortion can be discussed in terms of the ethical theory. To determine if abortion is ethical, the reasons that people get abortions must be examined. Some people get abortions because they feel they are ill-equipped to care tor a child, whether it be because they don’t have the time, or they dont have the money to provide a good life for this child, certain individuals get abortions for the sake of the would-be child, who would not have a good upbringing due to the mother’s circumstances. It
can also benefit the parents, in not having to worry about caring for this child.
Other individuals get abortions after becoming impregnated from a rape. This is a very unfortunate aspect of the abortion discussion, but must be covered nonetheless. A child can remind the mother of the unpleasant Occurrence. In addition, the unplanned nature ot the pregnancy means that many of these women are far trom ready to care for a child. Other women get abortions because the baby poses a health risk to the mother, and to allow the baby to live might end up kiling the mother. Ihese reasons hignlignt the ract that much of the cause of getting an abortion revolves around minimizing the suffering and harm, and maximizing the future life, of the parent(s) and the potential child. Thus, according to utilitarianism, allowing women to have the right to an abortion is ethical.
Alternate Theory of Ethics
Another theory of ethics is virtue theory, which states that the ethical nature of an action depends upon the person’s intentions. (Steffen, 2012) If a person is doing something out of kindness and compassion, that action is ethical. If a person is doing something with the intention of causing harm of seeking out personal gain at the expense of another, that action is unethica. This theory of ethics is more difticult to apply cleanly. A mother may be seeking out an abortion because she believes to have a child would be to cause the child a great deal of pain and suffering. Thus, this decision would be ethical. A doctor may perform an abortion because he knows he can make money off of such a procedure. Such a doctor might actively convince
expecting mothers to go through with the procedure without warning them of any physical or mental issues they may encounter. Such an ill-intentioned doctor would be acting unethically in performing abortions according to virtue ethics. Thus, abortion’s ethics cannot be perfectly
analyzed using virtue ethics as the standard.
Conclusion
There are many other theories of ethics which would reach different conclusions. For instance, deontology, which holds that actions are ethical when they align with the law, would dictate that abortions after Roe v Wade are ethical and abortions performed before Roe . ade were not. (Steffen, 2012) It is important to have an understanding of these ethical theories as well as what one’s own ethical outlook is before performing such an analysis on this in-depth and controversial topic. As long as the lines between right and wrong remain blurred, so too will the ethicality of abortion.
References
- Barnhart, Melissa, (June, 2014). Texas Abortion Regs Bar ‘Gosnell of Texas’ from Performing Abortions, but his Clinics are Still Open. The Christian Post. Retrieved from http://www.christianpost.com/news/texas-abortion-regs-bar-gosnell-of-texas-from-performing-abortions-but-his-clinics-are-still-open-121691/.
- Herskovitz, Jon, (Oct. 2014). Abortion Rights Groups Ask Supreme Court to Halt Texas Restrictions. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/r-abortion-rights-groups-ask-supreme-court-to-halt-texas-restrictions-2014-10.
- Steffen, Lloyd, (2012). Ethics and Experience: Moral Theory from Just War to Abortion. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
