Ethics in Theory and Practice

Sarah Bott
Mrs. Boresen
Expository Writing 6th hour
Ethics in Theory and Practice Essay
5/19/09
Abortion
Imagine a sixteen year old girl with a boyfriend in high school. They had sex and even though protection was used, she got pregnant. She and her boyfriend break up and now she has a decision to make; should she have the baby or get an abortion? Abortion is one of the most debated issues among our society today. It is constantly debated and opinions in America seem to be split. About half of Americans are pro-choice, while the other half is pro-life. There are many reasons a woman might get an abortion such as rape, incest, financial difficulties, goals, age, and etcetera. In relation to this debatable topic, I believe it is ok for a woman to terminate a pregnancy before the third trimester.

Pro-life and pro-choice arguments disagree on several things. Religion plays a large part in ideas about abortion, but I want to come from an ethical perspective. The biggest question is whether or not abortion is murder. Pro-lifers argue that abortion is murder. They say it violates the God-given right to life of a “pre-born child” (Hsieh 1). However, abortion is defined as “the intentional termination of a pregnancy,” while murder is described as “the intentional killing of a human life which is a person.” From an ethical standpoint, if the killing of a human life is not a person, then it does not constitute murder. Some ethicists have a large list of criteria as to what personhood is, but three are necessary pertaining to this topic: they are consciousness, self-awareness, and memory. If the brain is not fully functional, then there is no personhood. Most scientists believe personhood is not developed until the 26th week of pregnancy, but some don’t even consider it developed until a year or so after the pregnancy (Tucker 1). My personal belief is that a baby definitely has developed personhood by the time it is born. If the brain is fully developed, it must be aware of itself. The ethical conclusion of this question is that a fetus is plainly not a person during the first, and possibly into the third trimester so therefore, an early term abortion does not constitute murder.

The other major argument concerning abortion deals with the rights of women. According to the website Christianet, “Today children in the womb are sacrificed to the idols of selfishness, convenience, and so called ‘women’s freedom.’” I disagree with this quote because women should have the freedom to choose what to do with their lives and bodies. Gideon Reich writes about individual rights in response to one of Diana Hsieh’s pro choice articles: “A ‘right,’ as Ayn Rand pointed out, ‘is a moral principle defining and sanctioning a man’s freedom of action in a social context.’ Thus, the freedom of action that ought to be guaranteed to an individual is the freedom to think and act without interference from others in society for the achievement of his goals…... The very first requirement for such a freedom to apply is that the ‘individual’ in question actually be a separate individual in a social context — not a mere potential that is part of another actual individual.”

A pregnant woman has the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy with a clear conscious before the third trimester of pregnancy. Before the brain is fully developed, the fetus has no sense of awareness so an early term abortion is not the same as killing a person. The embryo or fetus is not an individual human being because it is not a biologically separate unit capable of individual actions, like a baby. A baby is a person, while a fetus is an extension of the woman’s body. Therefore, abortion can not classify as murder and it is a woman’s right to decide what to do with her body.