Ethical Issue Of Abortion Essay
Abortion: an ethical issue?
The issue of abortion is probably one of the most intensely debated ethical issues in today’s society. Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or of a foetus. It may be either spontaneous — when it is also known as miscarriage — or induced, when it is a deliberate termination of pregnancy. There are varying perceptions regarding the question of whether induced abortion is ethical at all, and if it is, in what situation it is ethical. Since ancient times, most religions have continued to oppose the idea of abortion. In Christianity (Catholic), abortion is considered a sin in all circumstances, including rape, except when an effort is made to save the mother’s life and the death of the foetus is a secondary effect of that effort. In Islam too, abortion is considered wrong, unless when it is performed to save the life of …show more content…
Abortion might be considered ethical if performed within the period in which the foetus is incapable of experiencing pain, theorized to be around the 23rd week of gestation. If the foetus does experience pain or suffering this suffering should be less than the sum total of the suffering that would be experienced by all people had the abortion not been carried out. Practically, it is impossible to measure the emotion of happiness or suffering; however in certain cases the suffering of the foetus due to abortion is far less than the suffering of the child or mother or family. This includes cases when the child would be born with a disorder or handicap, the mother would be killed or injured grievously or the child was a product of sexual assault and would cause severe mental trauma to the woman. In these cases, abortion is completely ethical from a utilitarian
The issue of abortion is probably one of the most intensely debated ethical issues in today’s society. Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or of a foetus. It may be either spontaneous — when it is also known as miscarriage — or induced, when it is a deliberate termination of pregnancy. There are varying perceptions regarding the question of whether induced abortion is ethical at all, and if it is, in what situation it is ethical. Since ancient times, most religions have continued to oppose the idea of abortion. In Christianity (Catholic), abortion is considered a sin in all circumstances, including rape, except when an effort is made to save the mother’s life and the death of the foetus is a secondary effect of that effort. In Islam too, abortion is considered wrong, unless when it is performed to save the life of …show more content…
Abortion might be considered ethical if performed within the period in which the foetus is incapable of experiencing pain, theorized to be around the 23rd week of gestation. If the foetus does experience pain or suffering this suffering should be less than the sum total of the suffering that would be experienced by all people had the abortion not been carried out. Practically, it is impossible to measure the emotion of happiness or suffering; however in certain cases the suffering of the foetus due to abortion is far less than the suffering of the child or mother or family. This includes cases when the child would be born with a disorder or handicap, the mother would be killed or injured grievously or the child was a product of sexual assault and would cause severe mental trauma to the woman. In these cases, abortion is completely ethical from a utilitarian