Premature termination of a pregnancy is done in order to prevent delivery. Abortion can happen spontaneously at times when no one makes the choice to end the pregnancy, or it can decide to happen on its own. Additionally, some abortions take place as a result of medical advice from physicians. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the pregnant lady, having an abortion can be viewed as either right or wrong. From this angle, a distinction between morality and immorality in regards to abortion is made. Following the various studies that have been carried out on this topic previously, it has been realized that people have multiple understandings on the law of abortion. There are some who strongly support this act to be a moral one while others feel otherwise. Moreover, the fact that abortion may be the only option to save a life in some medical cases, has left some people confused on whether abortion is right in the long run. The discussion thus explores the various arguments on why it is moral to have an abortion with adequate supportive information from several available research materials. Additionally, an analysis on the Christian ethicists and theologians’ views is important in building up this topic.
Reasons Why Abortion is Moral
In some situations, it is moral to have an abortion based on the kind of circumstances an expectant mother is going through. It is said that every individual has a right to make decisions on what to do with their bodies. The fact that a person has become pregnant does not mean that one is compelled to give birth to that child. It all depends on the woman’s ability to determine her own life and whether the pregnancy is bound to be a threat to the life of the mother. The women legally want to have equal rights just as men regarding the choice of having children or raising them. It can only be achieved through having control of their reproductive roles. For this reason, in any situation where a woman feels that she is not at a position of bringing up a child, she can choose to terminate the pregnancy. By letting the woman decide what to do with her body is ultimately the best option at any given time.
In a situation where rape was the cause of a pregnancy, it is usually emotionally exhausting for a woman to keep that child. It is not easy for one to become a biological parent to child born out of rape. For instance, when rape cases take place between teenagers, or a young person with someone of a vast age difference, a woman involved in this situation may not find it right to keep the pregnancy to birth. Even though pregnancies of this type rarely happen, the question on the morality of abortion remains and these instances are among the situations that lead to abortion practices. It is important to note that children deserve to be raised in friendly environments that will enhance their physical and emotional well being. A child born out of rape may experience maltreatment from the mother if she still holds the ordeal in her heart and this situation is unfair to the child. Hence, the moral decision to make in this case is an abortion to avoid exposing children to harsh living conditions.
Additionally, in a case where the life of a woman is in danger from the time of conception, it will be termed as very moral to carry out an abortion. If the abortion is predicted to have a critical negative impact on the mother’s life, the best option will be to carry out an abortion for the sake of the woman’s life. Although some people may find this to be a wrong act, it will be ethical for people to understand the side effects of such pregnancies at times. It will be a tragedy for a woman to keep a pregnancy that is draining her health and eventually give birth to also a sickly baby. If doctors advice a mother to commit an abortion, they understand the state of the mother’s condition, and the long-term effects of keeping the pregnancy. As much as it may be emotionally hard to terminate the pregnancy, saving one life is important than losing two of them eventually.
Besides, the morality of abortion can be linked to the fact that the act is supported by the health care sector. Despite that there are set laws against the act, the notion that a part of the senior members in the society approve of it when necessary. If the act was entirely immoral, then it will be rare to find a large percentage of people supporting it globally.Additionally, abortion is morally right since one can’t argue emotionally. Some people who say abortion is wrong because they believe life starts at conception. So the support of this action is based on the different understanding of when life begins. According to various authors, it has been realized that people have a different perception of the start of the fetus’ life. Some believe life begins at birth while others say it starts at conception. The two understandings tend to be a factor that contributes to the morality question on abortion for those who believe life begins at birth. When the mother to terminate the life of the fetus before the time of birth, it will be considered a moral act, but if she does the murder at birth or after birth, it will now be said to be immoral. It is unethical to force a woman to become a mother of a child she does not want or even love.
The question on the morality of abortion has been discussed widely ranging from governmental levels to conferences, an indication that this subject is crucial. The fact that the action gets rid of something that is not in a position to think or feel marks the morality of abortion. On the other hand, it reduces the wild human population. Through abortion, it is found to be comfortable in reducing the incredible amount of suffering on the part of the fetus before it gains any probability of being brought up by people who not ready to be parents. It also reduces the number of children being thrown in the streets, and being left suffering at the hands of parents who may have adopted them.
A Christian Point of View Concerning Abortion
From the Christianity point of view, carrying out abortion is not considered ethical. In many circumstances, various Christians try to fight this act by convincing people that in the Bible, it is against God’s will. Additionally, killing is going against God’s commandments, and so people should obey God by not conducting an abortion. Also, for an abortion to take place there must be termination of something in the womb, and for this reason, Christians do not support this action. They understand that our bodies are the holy temples of God and hence terminating any creature in the same frame will be so much disrespectful. Other church ethicists and theologians have a different perspective on the question of the morality of abortion. It is evident that according to various writers, their approach towards the abortion topic has taken foundation from the Christianity point of view. Abortion has many ethical considerations, but above all, it remains to be an important decision for an expectant mother.
Other Christian ethicists and theologian consider addressing the morality of abortion to be the same approach to the very meaning and value of human life. According to the Christians’ point on abortion, they argue that it is a wrong act whether carried out at an early or late stage of pregnancy. They support their arguments that it is the will of God that the fetus exists in the womb and so nobody has a right to end that life. It is against the will of God and wrong when deciding to take away the life of a human being that God has created. Besides, the Christians address the morality question to be false since they believe life begins at conception. So by conducting an abortion at any stage of the pregnancy for any reasons is a wrong decision and that will be murder in the eyes of God.
On the other hand, theologians like Thomas Aquinas strongly opposed abortion but at the same time drew a line of difference between moral gravity of early and late abortions. Also, Pope Sixtus V who is another theologian was concerned with the issue of prostitution, and he strongly condemned abortion without making any distinction between the formed and the unformed fetus. Through history and the research materials in the United States, abortion is considered as a solution to the problem of having children outside marriage . Moreover, in the Christianity forum, the question on the morality of abortion has been taken to be the worst decision one can make and an immoral act that a mother can associate herself with at any time. Various authors have put into consideration the different Christian ethics in making judgments about the moral question. The Christian ethics in these arguments include the respect of human life from the time of conception to birth. In situations where the mother’s life is threatened by the pregnancy, an instant procurement of abortion may be required. Even from the Christianity point of respecting human life, it will be considered better to do away with the life of the fetus and save the mother’s life. It will not be moral to allow the death of two people in the name of observing the moral actions. In the research materials and various articles, people have taken sides on the morality of abortion based on what they understand.
Conclusion
In summary, some people take abortion to be a wrong decision made by pregnant women while others find no problem at all with this act. As discussed above, abortion is not immoral but is an individual’s decision whether to keep the pregnancy to birth or terminate it at any point after conception. One cannot say it is an immoral act to kill in some situations where for instance rape was the cause of pregnancy. Though in some rape cases, a woman might decide to keep the pregnancy, it does not happen to a number of these victims. Most of them choose to abort the unplanned child. To some extent it helps in solving the problem of having children before marriage and through this, it becomes the best and moral decision to make. The question of the morality of this action has been researched starting from Christians view it to what the authors have incorporated in making the judgment. Following what the Christians and other theologians consider immoral, abortion is morally right considering how one understands when life begins. On the other hand, its morality is contributed to by the action of doctors advocating for medical abortions. Through this, people believe that doctors cannot decide to do such an act in their work if at all it was proved to be immoral. It hence concludes that abortion is equally moral like any other thing an individual may decide to do.
Women, in this case, are also prone to enjoy their freedom of making the type of decisions they want and how they have chosen to handle their bodies. So if a woman becomes pregnant, it is her choice whether to keep the pregnancy or to do away with it. The freedom of a pregnant woman to take control of her body sounds moral than when a law is imposed on her forcing her to do what she is not ready to do at that time. Following the discussion above, the question of whether the action of terminating the pregnancy has been addressed in both positive and negative way. Although most reasons given are supporting this work, there are also other reasons that may make it seem to be wrong. The fact that abortion is said to be a murder act, following what the Christians say, it is illegal and unethical to end a human life. So the variance in understanding what the starting point of life is brought about the contradiction of what people should consider right or wrong in this situation. Above all, abortion has its advantages and disadvantages to the individual. Some individuals choose to misuse it by repeating it over time in the name of having the freedom to make their own decisions. I feel it is a moral act but will not remain moral when carried out for no good reason. From the many supportive pieces of evidence above, it remains ethical for a person to have an abortion.
Bibliography
Ellison, Marvin. "Is" Pro-Choice" What We Really Mean to Say?" Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 2014: 122-128.
Jotkowitz, Alan. "The ethics of abortions for fetuses with congenital abnormalities." European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 2010: 148-151.
Moller, Dan. "Abortion and Moral Risk1." Philosophy, 2013: 425-443.
Sumner, Leonard. Abortion and moral theory. Princeton University Press, 2014.
Vaughn, Lewis. Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues. WW Norton & Company, 2015.
