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Is Abortion Ethical? In the modern world, abortion is one of the most controversial issues that our society ever faced. With a number of abortions made increasing every year, this matter generates a great concern among the public. Almost every mature person has an opinion on this subject and most of these opinions fall into two general groups pro-choice and pro-life (Ward). Individuals that oppose abortions argue that abortion is an unethical thing and that governments should either establish a greater control over the matter and pass on the laws that would limit the conditions at which abortions can be made or banish abortions completely. The pro-choice groups believe that such laws limit the freedom of choice that is currently enjoyed by our society and thus are also unethical.
In order for us to understand whether abortions can be considered an ethical thing to do, we have to have a good understanding of what the abortion actually is, in what cases and how it is done, what medical, psychological and philosophical issues may arise when the person is facing the abortion. What is abortion and how is it done Scientists define abortion as termination of a pregnancy before birth, resulting in the death of the fetus (McGee, Merz). Sometimes abortions can be natural, caused either by some fetal defect or some trauma experienced by the mother. The result of such trauma would be a spontaneous abortion, commonly known as a miscarriage (McGee, Merz).
Abortion can also be induced artificially, if the mother chooses to do so. Reasons for induced abortions vary from physiological, when the fetus has some abnormality that is not fatal, but may affect its quality of life, to social, when the future mother may not be able to support the child or wont be able to give it enough attention due to various causes. Modern medical techniques for inducing such abortions include a range of surgical and pharmacological methods that are used depending on the stage at which the abortion is made. Risks associated with making an abortion increase with time as the pregnancy proceeds. Early pregnancies are usually terminated through pharmacological methods, either by introducing the chemical orally or by injecting it (BBC website, Kerr). The drug most commonly used is RU 486 or mifepristone.
Mifepristone was first discovered by Professor Etienne-Emile Baulieu (Kerr) in 1980 in France. It is an analogue of the hormone progesterone, which regulates the reproductive function in women and the discovery of this drug was considered a major breakthrough in the field of pharmacology and medicine. Mifepristone could have been used for a large number of purposes, for example as a contraceptive or as a treatment for various progesterone-dependent cancers (Kerr). Unfortunately, this drug acquired its fame for the abortion-inducing properties. The procedure of using mifepristone to cause an abortion is well developed and it is considered to be the safest type of abortion. It is usually performed during the first seven weeks of the pregnancy.
The patient is given mifepristone, which is followed by the administration of another drug, prostaglandin, within forty-eight hours (BBC website, Kerr). Together, these drugs cause the disruption of the normal pregnancy process and stimulate uterus to expel the fetus. Another popular pharmacological way to induce an abortion is a morning-after pill. It is a pill that contains a high dosage of female hormones that are found in contraceptive pills and it has to be administered within 72 hours of the sex act (BBC website).
It is relatively safe and has little consequence to females health, but causes copious arguments as some people are concerned that availability of such pills may provoke individuals to lead careless sexual lives. Abortions at later stages of pregnancy usually require some form of surgical interference, such as vacuum aspiration, dilation and evacuation or partial birth abortion. All surgical methods of abortion involve the mechanical removal of the fetus from uterus. During the dilation and evacuation procedure cervix is dilated, then a suction tube and a grasping tool called a forceps are used to remove the fetus (McGee, Merz).
The operation is complicated and is performed under general anesthesia. Possible complications and consequences of abortions Surgical methods are much more dangerous than pharmacological abortions and may result in health problems of various severity, for example bleeding during the short post-abortion period or infertility (Encarta Encyclopedia). Other possible damages to the womans reproductive system include various infections of the fallopian tubes and the uterus (Ward). Theres also a theory that abortions may increase the chance of breast cancer later in life (Ward). It is thought to happen due to changes that occur in breast tissue during pregnancy, such as growth and differentiation of breast cells (Ward, Widemark).
The interruption of pregnancy increases the number of cancer prone cells and so increases the chance of having breast cancer. These late surgical abortions are heavily opposed by pro-lifers and are claimed to be a form of infanticide, because the abortion is made when fetus is already well developed (BBC website) and has all of the organs that are possessed by mature organisms. Apart from the medical problems, abortions also cause a large number of psychological traumas. Patient that choose to make an abortion or are forced to do so often experience subconscious guilt that affects their quality of life. Sometimes patient have to undergo serious psychological therapy to get rid of the abortion consequences. A study showed that women who undergone abortion are more likely to be admitted to a hospital with psychiatric problems than women who decided to keep the baby (Ward).
Other factors, such as religious beliefs, can contribute to psychological stress. Religious aspects Religion is an important part of life for many people and it has a profound influence on their life perception. When a person is put in front of the choice, whether to make an abortion or not, religion is often one of the most important factors that are considered in the decision-making. As there are many different religions, the adepts of those have diverse attitudes toward this matter, although most of the religions dont support the abortion. Sometimes religion can even cause dilemmas, which are quite hard to solve. Christianity is one of the most common religions and so we shall discuss it in the first place.
Generally, Christians oppose the idea of abortion because the value of human life is one of the most important assets for them. Most Christians support the idea that fetus can be considered alive immediately after the process of fertilization and so abortion is seen as a form of homicide. On the other hand, the bible states that procreation should occur only within married heterosexual couples and around 82 % of abortions made are results of sexual activity outside a marriage relationship (Ward). So when an unmarried Christian female gets pregnant and considers abortion, she is facing a moral dilemma. She either has to give birth to the baby and break the rule that does not allow any sexual relationships outside the marriage or submit herself for an abortion and be condemned as a baby murderer. This means that apart from the physical stress experienced due to abortion, the patient is also subjected to psychological stress, as discussed above, and sometimes the consequences may be as horrific as a suicide.
Other religions, such as Islam and Hindu and Buddhism, also preach the value of human life and rejection of abortions, although exceptions are often made. For examples, most Muslim schools permit abortions if theres danger to mothers life and Hindu adepts can consider abortion for cultural reasons, when sons are preferred to daughters and the abortion is made to prevent the birth of a girl (BBC website). This is called female feticide and is another reason for hot arguments around the issue of abortion. Religion that has the most controversial attitude toward the question of abortion is Buddhism, where representatives of one faith cannot find an agreement on the matter. At the moment, Buddhists are divided into two groups, with Western and Japanese Buddhists believing in a permissibility of abortion and other Buddhists regarding abortion as a murder (BBC website). The division was formed due to different points on view on the question whether fetus can be considered alive before the child is actually born.
This question provides a whole new field for speculations about acceptability of abortions. As we see, even though most religious people agree that abortions are unethical, there is still some inconsistency and duplicity in their point of view. Philosophical aspects When we start talking about ethics and morals, we have to keep in mind that different cultures and people have different definitions and understanding of these words. What is considered to be unethical or inhumane in the western society may be totally acceptable in some developing countries. The understanding of these concepts also changes and develops with time, as we acquire new knowledge about the world. So before we get into the discussion about whether abortion is an ethical thing to do, we have to look at a number of philosophical questions that arise from the subject.
One of the hottest questions of these debates is when does fetus actually become alive? If we look at human development, starting from the stage of fertilization, when sperm meets an ovum and on to the stage when the individual dies, where is the point when the entity can be considered truly alive? Can we consider a fertilized egg to be alive? If not, at what stage these dividing cells become what we call the human being? There can be numerous definitions of what human life actually is. For example, some may define it as a member of the biological human species that possess the human genetic code and others think that this member of the biological human species should also possess certain characteristics, such as an ability to think and communicate (BBC website).
Since people have different perspectives on this question, their moral and ethical standards will also vary. Those who dont consider the fertilized egg as something alive usually justify early abortion for any reason. The ones who believe that human life starts immediately after fertilization takes place consider all abortions to be unethical, but some tolerate early abortions for disability or when refusal from the abortion may put the future mother at risk. Abortions for disability or abortion for abnormality, as it is often called, is another question that is often debated over. Abortion for disability is a relatively new thing that came to our life when the new fetal imaging techniques such three-dimensional ultra-sound imaging and genetic testing became available (Shields). Abortion for disability is performed when fetus is suspected to have some defect that may result in abnormal development.
Usually when this defect is discovered, the mother has a choice whether to make an abortion or not. But in present times, when people who have disabilities are full members of our society and are provided with various social help, is it morally just to prevent a baby with some disability from being born? Can the abortion for abnormality be a form of discrimination against people with various disabilities? There is no common point of view on this matter, although there are numerous publications concerning the question (Furedi) and one should form his own opinion. Another question raised by this argument is whether the mother has the right to decide if the baby lives or dies (Ward). On one hand, every person has the right to decide what happens to his or her body and denying the future mothers the right to make this decision can be seen as an attempt to limit ones freedom and discrimination against him.
One the other hand, how can one human being decide whether another human being should live or die? This question does not really have an easy solution and appropriate laws would be hard to formulate and pass on. At the moment, mothers are allowed to make this choice but they are limited by time and the abortion wont be made after the pregnancy reached a certain stage (can be different for different countries), except for cases when mothers life is endangered. We should also ask whether the doctor performing the abortion should be allowed the choice of not making the operation. Can we force a member of human society to perform a task that doesnt agree with his beliefs?
If we doctors had a choice in this matter, does the refusal to carry on the abortion interfere with the right of every woman to make this abortion? As it can be seen from this section, philosophical issues that arise from the argument on the ethical side of the abortion are quite diverse. There are many other questions (such as should fathers be allowed to make the choice or participate in decision making) that were omitted to simplify the matter. Conclusion Ethics in the matter of abortion has always been the reason for a large number of arguments.
We can see that there are many issues that have to be considered and almost every question on ethics can be answered in few ways, depending on which side you choose to look from. So which side is right and which side is supposed to affect the course that well assume in the future? Basically, it all comes down to the matter of opinion, for, as it was said earlier, different individuals have different understanding of ethics and morals. Personally, I think that abortion in certain cases is an ethical thing to do and it would be better if pro-choicer's had more influence on the development of future laws and regulations concerning abortion. Abortions that endanger mothers health or life should be made legal and performed on mothers request. Men should participate in the discussion of abortion and decision-making, but should not be able to affect the final decision and force females to undergo the operation.
Doctors should be allowed to choose, whether they want to perform the operation and take on the responsibility of killing the fetus, and if a doctor refuses to execute the abortion, another doctor should be employed for the task. Another thing that our society should reconsider is our attitude toward those who went through the abortion. No matter what arguments boil around the issue, an enormous number of abortions are still made each year. At the moment these people experience a lot of pressure from the public, which isnt right and should be corrected. These people went through a lot of stress and they need public support. New institution that will provide this support and counseling should be introduced some time soon.
Bibliography Furedi, A. (1998). Abortion for fetal abnormality: ethical issues. Pro-choice forum website. Retrieved November 30, from web Kerr, H. (1993) The Abortion Pill - Medical & Ethical Issues [Conference paper]. Australian Institute of Criminology website. Retrieved November 30, from web McGee, G. , Merz J.
F. (2004) Abortion. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 30, from web Shields, L. E. , Lowery, C. , Deforge, C. , Gustafson, D. (1998).
Technology and Early Clinical Experience with Real Time 3 D Ultrasound. Electromedica 66, 2. Retrieved November 30, from web Ward, R. , Sims, P. (2003) Abortion. Christian Medical Fellowship. Retrieved November 30, from web Widemark, S. (2003). New studies show a link between breast cancer and abortions.
Catholic Information Network Website. Retrieved November 30, from web (N. D. ). Abortion, Religion and Ethics. BBC website. Retrieved November 30, from web
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