When, If Ever, Is It Morally Permissible to Obtain an Abortion?

Introduction, Methodology, and Thesis Statement

Abortion is a contentious topic in many parts of the world. However, the most complex aspect of abortion remains whether it is morally permissible in totality or partially. From the onset, abortion entails complex issues surrounding the meaning and the value of human life, especially from its earliest stages. Women often require abortion at different stages of life. Some women ask for an abortion in their teenage years, which would mean they are not ready to be parents. Others are married women who no longer need more children or whose lives are in danger due to the pregnancy, while others are simply dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. These various categories of women who require abortion as a service often encounter various arguments that seek to question the need for abortion in the first place. This paper seeks to identify and analyze existing information on why abortion is not morally permissible. Although abortion is generally an aspect of killing and letting die, a few cases would justify the need for it. Despite the justification for abortion at any time, an abortion done to save life can be assumed to be morally permissible.

Issues

Abortion involves the deliberate evacuation of an unborn fetus because the host has no intention of allowing for the complete growth and the subsequent delivery of the said fetus. The need to terminate an already growing life has raised various issues, the most contentious being the justification of killing and letting die. The issue of killing and letting die considerably illuminates the reality of the autonomy and the freedom of the mother against the unborn child. Often, the mother argues that they have autonomy regarding what happens to and in their bodies. The arguments also aim to highlight the fact that the rights of the mother might outweigh the right to life to the unborn fetus as far as the law on abortion is concerned. It is a push and pull that is unending. However, it is an important issue in trying to find out if abortion is ever morally permissible. Morality is about human behavior, and the aspects of autonomy, privacy, and freedom regard human behavior and the value of human life in one setting.

Human pregnancy is understood as a circumstance that unites and integrates the bodies and the fates of two living beings in ways like no other. Talking about the value and meaning of human life touches on the life of the fetus and the host, who is the mother. The uniting of two lives creates a vital conflict between life and death situations. The American public life has been treated to various debates involving the right to life of two integrated human lives. Abortion stays slightly above and nearly below every vital conflict of public bioethics. The greatest source of conflict raises yet another issue that takes place in the search for assisted reproduction. As a biological process, the eggs and sperm from respective persons are brought together and placed in the right circumstances to ensure fertilization.

Topic 1: Nietzsche’s Epistemology Descartes is the first philoso...