Utilitarian View On Abortion

There have been various arguments for and against abortion. But it is imperative to define the term abortion as this would throw more light on the debates on abortion by moral philosophers and others on the issue. Abortion is the deliberate removal of a woman’s foetus in a medical procedure (Grimes and Stuart, 2010). Abortion can be debated from various angles, especially from the pro-choice and pro-life advocates. The pro-life advocates are of the view that no foetus should be terminated, irrespective of the situation surrounding its birth. This argument is from the belief by Christians in the sacredness of life and that every child has the right to live. The pro-choice campaigners on the other hand are of the premise that a woman should be
Philosophers with utilitarian views would argue about whether abortion would be for the greater good for the family, individual and the society at large. With utilitarianism, there is no wrong doing in denying a woman an abortion, if it is for the good of society. John Stuart Mills, one of the strong advocates of the utilitarian theory, fought against age- long beliefs that abortion was demonic but rather the end results make allowances for the action (Mills, 2003). These philosophers hold the belief that a person’s action can be termed right, if it gives joy and not right if it produces sadness. They hold firmly to the view on the greater good for all. Utilitarian view on abortion would be that a foetus should be aborted if it would benefit the world’s population. For instance, they believe if parents cannot cater for the needs of a child, there should be no need to bring the child into the world, rather than the child being a burden on society. Also, utilitarianism would not allow abortion if it would hurt the society (Anon, 2013). They are in support of the end results, if a woman having an abortion would change the society for good. To these philosophers, to have an abortion for one’s gain would not be good for society. They believe it would be to the advantage of the society to deny a woman an abortion if it would benefit others (BBC,
Hinduism is one among the various religions that advocates for abortion. They view abortion in the context of utilitarianism. Hinduism would observe the whole process of abortion and decide which process would be less harmful to the couple, baby and society at large (BBC, 2013). This religion view abortion as violating the right of an individual to perform their duty of reproducing to preserver linage of the parents and increasing the population of the society. However, there are some cases in Hinduism, especially in India, when this view is changed because of the culture of preferring male children to female ones (Anon,