ABORTION: WHO DECIDES YOUR MORALITY? Gennifer George Liberal Arts Capstone

What is an Abortion?  Defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “any of the various surgical methods for terminating a pregnancy, especially during the first six months.”

Pro-Choice  Making an abortion illegal, doesn’t stop abortions.  Approximately 78,000 women DIE each year from unsafe abortions where they are illegal.  The number of abortions does not change regardless of whether abortion is legal or illegal.  Religious ideology has absolutely no place in the law.  The United States is founded in part on a separation between church and state. Why then does religion have any say in what is legal or not?  The majority of law-makers in this country are men.  Men cannot ever get pregnant, so what makes them remotely authoritative of a women’s reproductive system?  An abortion is a medical procedure that should be between a woman and her doctor.  Would you see your local politician for a toothache?

Pro-Life  Abortion is murder.  A child is a life even at conception, and abortion takes that life.  Abortion should not be a form of contraception.  There are perfectly acceptable forms of birth control available to men and women. Use them.  The emotional trauma of an abortion may last a lifetime.

The Moral Arguments  Morality depends upon reality  What is determines what is seen as right. Does a 15 year old child who was raped by her step-father have a moral obligation to bring his child into the world and raise him/her?  Deontologists View  Morally wrong for another human being to suffer in order for another human being to be fulfilled.  The moral law, or “Categorical Imperative” must be followed in all aspects of life, regardless of the effect on a person’s happiness.  Abortion would be morally wrong.

Morality Continued  Utilitarian View  Takes the circumstances into account in relationship to happiness to use the “Greatest Happiness Principle.”  Abortion does not equate to happiness, however, depending upon the situation, it could be the “greatest happiness principle” for all involved.

Conclusion  Abortion is always going to be an emotional issue with two very different arguments.  Happiness is subjective, and not everyone can be happy about the same things.  Only the pregnant woman contemplating an abortion can decide whether an abortion is right for her.