This paper is in response to Tom Head’s article, Pro Life vs. Pro Choice. It will include a brief summary of the article, as well as personal opinions on the matter. He describes views involving, abortion, parenthood, and responsibility from both sides of the argument. There will be responses to each of his points made throughout his research.…
It will be difficult to avoid logical fallicies on this topic. Because I am coming down on one side of this discussion and want to persuade my audience, I will want to use comments and information from those that view it as I do. Using statistics that are deemed factual will help in showing that these are not just biased opinions from politicians that are simply looking for another vote.…
Central to parents’ concept of their unborn children, gender is something that most moms and dads to-be can’t wait to discover, usually choosing to learn their baby’s sex well before delivery day. “Is it a boy or girl?” is undoubtedly the question most frequently aimed at expectant mothers around the world, so it’s no wonder that Toronto parents Kathy Witterick and David Stocker are sparking an international debate about the meaning of gender, identity, and the ideological values some parents place on their children.…
Provide a one to two paragraph critique of the article. Describe whether you agree or disagree with the author’s arguments and explain why.…
Today in the United States as well as all around our world, one of the most contested and debated issues, that everyone has some sort of opinion on is the subject of abortion. There are many different thoughts, ideals, and opinions on whether or not abortion is right, wrong, or even morally sane to do. There are clinics and hospitals that perform the procedures and at many of these locations there are groups who will hold protests against the operation as well as those who support it. But all of those issues are not what this essay is going to be about, this is going to inform you about whether or not all arguments about the subject abortion come down to the question of what is the moral status of the fetus.…
Although abortion has been the most debated of all issues in bioethics, no moral consensus has been achieved. The terms used to describe abortion are full of moral meaning. One of four main types of abortion, only ‘eugenic abortion’, as demonstrated by the Nazis, does not consider the wishes of the woman or couple—a fundamental difference for most bioethicists. The terms ‘selective abortion’ and ‘therapeutic abortion’ are often confuse, and selective abortion is often called eugenic abortion by antagonists (meaning opponents, enemies, allies, challengers and so on). Its type of discourse, freely mixing scientific arguments and moral beliefs, hinders analysis. Within writings about abortion three extreme positions may be identified: heteronomy (the belief that life is a gift that does not belong to one) versus reproductive autonomy: sanctity of life versus tangibility of life: and abortion as a crime versus abortion as morally neutral.…
If the fetus you save is gay, will you still fight for its rights? (http://smartassproducts.hubpages.com) This is an ongoing ethical dilemma in our world today. With many states starting to recognize gay unions, and those who oppose it, the issues have raised many ethical questions like my opening statement.…
The reading The Five Sexes, Revisited was about the misrepresentation of today’s two-sex system in society. The central issue Anne Fausto-Sterling addresses is that there are people born outside of dimorphism and most people do not understand this (pg. 122). The most important point or central argument is that the two-sexes, male and female should no longer be accepted. Instead, five-sexes should be accepted: male, female, “herms”, “merms”, and ferms” (pg. 121). An important fact the author makes is, “…we calculated that for every 1,000 children born, seventeen are intersexual in some form” (pg. 122). This bit of information proves that there are infants born between the sexes male and female. It is important for people to realize that mixed babies are in existence. Anne Fausto-Sterling also shares a story of a born intersexual. “Consider for instance, the life of Max Beck: Born intersexual, Max was surgically assigned as a female and consistently raised as such. Had her medical team followed her into her early twenties, they would have deemed her assignment a success because she was married to a man. Within a few years, however, Beck had come out as a butch lesbian” (pg. 124). It all comes down to society and this story proves it. If the world were more open to these sex issues, then we would not have these issues in the first place. In Max’s case, being born intersexual would not have been an issue in Max’s life. Instead, the doctors chose Max’s sexuality without any consent from Max. Another interesting fact that Anne Fausto-Sterling uses to back up her argument is “The logical structure of the commonly used terms “true hermaphrodite,” “male pseudohermaphrodite” and “female pseudohermaphrodite” indicates that only the so-called true hermaphrodite is a genuine mix of male and female…Because true hermaphrodites are rare – possibly only one in 100,000 – such…
Embryo selection otherwise known as Designer babies raises a number of social, legal and ethical implications. Embryo selection is when the genetic characteristics of an embryo are determined in the early stages of development. This makes it possible to determine whether a fetus is male or female. Embryo selection has also been used before implantation in the womb to enabled thousands of parents to avoid passing on serious genetic diseases to their offspring. It can also be used so that parents can select a tissue type before implantation to be the same as a sibling, who is critically ill and is relying on possible implants or blood transfusions from the designer baby. Ethical issues are tried to be avoided by limiting the number of embryos implanted and prohibits sex selection for nonmedical reasons. The selection of traits is perceived to be desirable but is would eventually end up to diminish variability within the gene pool, the raw material of natural selection.…
Meyers, Chris. The Fetal Position: A Rational Approach to the Abortion Debate. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2010. Print.…
The advances of Reproductive Assistance Technologies (ARTs), such as In vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) have established a broad platform for debate, which until recently has focused mostly on the moral permissibility of using these technologies for the detection of non-disease genes, those which cause a physical or psychological state not associated with disease, such as sex and tissue type (Stoller 2008, 364). However, in his article “Procreative Beneficence: Why we should select the best children” Savulescu widened the scope of this debate, arguing that the use of PGD in this manner is not only morally acceptable but a moral obligation for prospective parents. He contends that all genetic information, both disease and non-disease, should be utilised to ensure prospective parents have the best child that it is possible for them to have. This essay argues that Savulescu is incorrect in his assertion that prospective parents should have the best child it is possible for them to have and his Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PPB) should therefore be rejected for a number of reasons. Firstly, the principle indirectly, yet unavoidably, impacts on various aspects of the reproductive autonomy of prospective parents and is therefore immoral in what it advocates. Secondly, since PPB has its theoretical foundation in the notion of impersonal harm (Bennett 2009, 266), and requires parents to become complacent with oppression of minority groups, it unavoidably parallels the motives of the “old” eugenics of the 1930’s (Sparrow 2007, 51). Finally, Savulescu not only over exaggerates the moral obligation parents have toward their children in his account of PPB, but also fails to adequately prove that his believed moral obligation truly exists, and thus his argument loses its credibility with prospective parents.…
Abortion is one of the most common controversial topics facing our society today. Many people have different opinions on the topic, and I think it is important to take into account people’s perspective when discussing this topic. From a religious perspective, obviously they believe abortion in general no matter what is wrong. People from a more liberal background, or feminist perspective believe it is a woman’s right to choose. One could spend hours trying to pick a side, which at the end of the day is probably pointless since we live a in a culturally diverse society with many different views. Another controversial issue that stems from abortion is men’s rights. Do men have the right to know if their partner chooses to have an abortion, and further more do they legally have rights concerning the unborn child? Currently, women have the moral right to get abortions on demand at their discretion, they can make unilateral decisions whether or not to abort, and are not morally obligated to consult with their father or any other person before making a decision to abort (Hales, 1996). Does the mother posses all the power since it is her body, or does the man deserve to know? I believe there are many different things to take into consideration, when making a decision on this topic.…
The surrogate motherhood controversy has been an ongoing battle for many years with two different sides giving their viewpoints. This has created much of a battle over recent years. Surrogate motherhood controversy has stirred up many critics and authors viewpoints to justify whether surrogacy should be practiced at all and if it should be legalized. While interpreting and analyzing the debate on whether surrogacy has ethical or moral values, or if it has turned the creation of a child into a new form of commodity to individuals, especially the women who bear the child for childless couples.…
According to When Religion and Politics mix , “a fetus is a unborn human being, and it is morally wrong to take a human life; the unborn child's life must consequently be legally protected.” A woman should have the right to do what she wants to do with her body and her life, but not with another human being. According to Vieira, the baby is entitled to his or her rights to life and to have a chance in this world (Vieira 1). A baby should not have to lose his or her life because of the parents decisions. A baby is a human just like the mother and father. The parents are responsible for their own actions and should have to deal the consequences. The baby should not be punished because of his or her parents decision. If the mother does not want the baby, they should chose another option.…
From an ethical standpoint the concept of abortion is a polarizing issue. This is in part true because there are those who assert that the fetus is a person who has a right to life which begins at conception. In following this train of thought there are certain considerations which must be made as well as some concessions which become necessary as a means of providing a fetus with all of the same rights that any other person would be granted.…