Essay: Should abortion be legalized or permitted or not permitted?

Abortion is a very uncertain issue that has been continually argued since the past few years and it will remain to be argued for probably many years to come. The main debate is that should abortion be legalized or permitted or not permitted? Abortion is the damage of the fetus or unborn child while the child is still in the mother’s womb. This can be done by almost anyone from the mother herself to back alley abortions and it can also be (abortions) by clinics set up especially for this purpose. There are two sides to this abortion topic and they are pro-life and pro-choice. They can be defined as: Pro ‘ Life is for those who are against abortion altogether and the Pro ‘ Choice is those who believe in it and they say it is the woman’s right to choose, if she wants to have any abortion. These two groups they have different solutions to the problem. They pro ‘ life solution are to have the child and basically live with it. These groups of pro-life believe that abortion is not an answer to any problem caused by the pregnancy . The pro ‘ choice solution is because of reason that they feel it’s appropriate to them and they choose abortion as their answer to their problem. Usually debates about abortion focus on politics and the law should abortion be illegal and treated like the murder of a human person, or remain a legal choice available to women?
This assignment is going to talk about abortion, should abortion be permitted or should not be permitted and the bad effect it have and why women not need to have abortion and also give information on why is the bible a meta ethic source in Namibia.
According to (Kelechi, 2005, p 12), Abortion has been defined from various points of view some of which play down its moral implications. It can be defined it in a brief but strict sense of the word as ‘the removal of the unborn human being from the mother’s womb by human involvement, whether by killing him before removal from the womb, or whether by exposing him to a certain death outside the womb.
Pope John Paul II in his encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae sees abortion as: the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her survival, extending from conception to birth.
Abortion can be direct or indirect, spontaneous of induced (artificial). Spontaneous abortion or miscarriage occurs as a result of some abnormality of the developing baby or some illness on the part of the woman.
Induced abortion also called direct abortion involves the ejection of human life from the uterus brought about intentionally by the patient herself or an accomplice. With regard to direct abortion, the ejection or destruction of the fetus is intended as an end of an action or a means to achieve this end, whereas in indirect abortion, the death of the fetus is only permitted as a associated effect of a directly willed end. Example of indirect abortion is the death of a fetus not yet viable caused by the removal of a cancerous uterus of the pregnant mother
Reasons Put Forward For Abortion
The supporters of abortion have given several reasons as mitigating abortion among these reasons are the following:
1. The Eugenic sign: This school supporter for abortion where there is a greater chance that the expected offspring will be affected with serious genetic or acquired deficiency or sicknesses
2. The Ethical indication: Here it is argued that when pregnancy is due to rape abortion is justified since the pregnancy is an preventable problem forced upon the mother and also description her to great moral damage and public shame.
3. The social indication: Here it is argued that if the pregnancy is seen, as a great social or economic burden for the mother or the family, the child should be aborted.
4. Medical or Therapeutic indication: Here it is argued that when the life of the mother is seriously threatened by the pregnancy, the child should be aborted. Here it is also argued that for the purpose of mental health of the child, abortion is warranted.
No, abortion should not be permitted and I defend my answer from the stand point of Immanuel Kant who say that every human being have the right to life. According to Kant’s moral philosophy, we cannot universalize the killing of the life of a child for social, eugenic or economic reasons for these do not warn in any way our own survival. Therapeutic abortion may only be permitted when or if the life of the mother and that of the child are in danger.
Justification of directly motivation and obtain abortion for any reason whatsoever will cause the abuse of the definite very important which also states thus: ‘Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only’.
According to Sahay and Tater, they said that abortion is murder no matter what. This disagreement will remain there for many years, however the fact that a potential life has ended before given a chance remains evidence enough for most people to understand why a person should never have a choice of whether a baby lives or dies. There are many reasons of why abortion should be illegal and should not be permitted including the descriptive and disturbing stories such as how aborted babies sometime scream as they come out and the looks of pain on their faces. These facts alone may persuade anyone who was having the idea of abortion to reduce and take away the idea of pregnancy termination out of their mind.
Abortion has health danger to the mother after going through with the procedure and it may also have the lifelong health risks that may remain and this should be also good enough reasons why abortion should be illegal or not allowed. It can also cause problems such as voluntary termination of pregnancy can have many bad effects such as it may leads to complications of future pregnancies, reproductive disease, and sadness. Understanding that abortion is murder can assist a woman in making healthy decisions for baby and mother. Though a mother may not want her baby, health for both remains and adoption remains a possible option for her to choose not to have abortion, she need to choose between death and life. Women need to do the right decision about their health both her and her child.
Abortion is murder no matter when a person believes life begins. The seed that God plants should never be taken for granted or misused. These actions result in suffering for not only the pregnant woman, but also her family. Though she may not tell anyone, sooner or later the truths make known itself through situation, guilt, or mistake. One of the most important reasons abortion should be illegal beyond the fact that it end life is that most women have been disappointed and life problem due to this action. Voluntary pregnancy termination remains wrong no matter how a woman gets pregnant. Taking 9 months out of a woman life does not remotely compare to the elimination of 80 years of someone else. In addition, the responsibility a woman takes for deciding life or death of a baby remains unethical and mentally disturbing no matter what type of upbringing she had .The importance of meeting other women who have walked the same path remains important in order not to feel alone. Gaining insight, ideas, and support are all important in decision making as well as livelong support of any decision. Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. (Proverbs 8:10).
God blesses people in unexpected ways, however trusting that He is in control further supports and gives confidence to the woman who chooses life. Pregnancy termination is wrong from the moment of conception. God reminds women who choose abortion about their sin through a variety of life complications created by this action. These include: increased risk for reproductive related cancers, trouble with future conception, and high risks of infection due to the surgery.
In addition to complications after the procedure, a woman runs a high risk of death during the procedure which increases based on how far along she is in the pregnancy. People promote reasons abortion should be illegal are passionate about God, life, and health. These people know how serious of a health risk this action is for soul and body. Though no sin is unforgivable, it is unforgettable.
Why women should not have abortion?
1. Abortion is similar to murder as it is the act of taking human life.
2. No cultured society will permit any human to harm or take the life of another human without punishment and abortion is not different.
3. Adoption is a practical alternative to abortion and bring about the same result.
4. An abortion can result in medical complications later in life; the risk of entopic pregnancies doubles and the chance of a miscarriage and pelvic inflammatory disease also increases.
5. In the instance of rape or incest, proper medical care can ensure that a woman will not get pregnant. Abortion punishes the unborn child who committed no crime
6. Abortion should not be used as another form of contraception.
7. For women who demand complete control of their body, control should include preventing the risk of unwanted pregnancy through the responsible use of contraception or, if that is not possible, through abstinence.
8. Those who choose abortions are often small or young women with inadequate life experience to understand fully what they are doing. Many have lifelong worries and fears afterwards.
9. Abortion often causes deep emotional and mental pain and stress.
Kant believed that the shared ability of humans to reason should be the basis of morality, and that it is the ability to reason that makes humans morally significant. He therefore believed that all humans should have the right to common dignity and respect.
Kant’s main argument against abortion is that people are hand over with their lives, which have a exceptionally inborn value. By killing oneself, a person gives out with his humanity and makes himself into a thing to be treated like a beast. Kant also argues on more consequentiality grounds that if a person is capable of suicide, then he is capable of any crime. For Kant, “he who does not respect his life even in principle cannot be restrained from the most dreadful vices.” (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Meta ethics investigates where our ethical principles come from and what they mean. Are they only social inventions, Do they involve more than expressions of our individual emotions and Meta ethical answers to the questions which focus on the issues like universal truths, the will of God, the role of reason in ethical decision, and the meaning of ethical terms themselves.
The issue also rests on Meta ethical issues such as, where do rights come from and what kinds of beings have rights?
The term ‘meta’ means after or beyond, and, consequently, the idea of Meta ethics involves a removed, or bird’s eye view of the entire project of ethics. Meta ethics can be defined as the study of the origin and meaning of ethical concepts. When compared to normative ethics and applied ethics, the field of Meta ethics is the least accurately defined area of moral philosophy. It covers issues from moral semantics to moral epistemology. Two issues are prominent: (1) metaphysical issues concerning whether morality exists independently of humans, and (2) psychological issues concerning the underlying mental basis of our moral judgments and conduct (Fieser, 2008).