For the past decades abortion has been a commonly debated topic among ethicists and civilians alike. Depending on the country in which you find yourself, the laws can be drastically different. In Ireland the Eighth Amendment prohibits abortions unless the mother’s life is directly at risk. While in the United States, abortions are legal and quite common. When examining the ethical systems, the differences between fetuses and infants or other adults, and the common arguments for each side of the abortion debate, it becomes clear that a fetus is a human being and therefore the act of abortion is morally wrong.
Deciding whether the act of abortion is right or wrong hinges on two questions. Are fetuses considered human beings, and is killing innocent
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The S stands for size. It can be argued that fetuses in the beginning are too small to be human beings. Does size make someone more or less human? The tallest player in the NBA is no more a person than the shortest gymnast, yet he can be double her size in reality. The L represents level of development. Since a fetus is not as developed physically or mentally, pro-choice advocates state that this is the separation that keeps them from being human beings. To this one can argue a similar position as for size. Are those individuals who are less developed less human? This would justify exploiting those that are less intelligent or intellectually developed. In this case, it would seem as though “we are on a bell curve of personhood” in which our worth as humans increases over the prime years and decreases again in old age. When the elderly begin to lose their mental capacities, it is not acceptable to claim that they are in any way less human than they once were, just as developing babies are no less human than they will be in the coming months. Environment is the next commonly used argument. Whether an infant is inside or outside of the womb does not change their title of human being. Where you are does not determine who you are, therefore a short journey through the birth canal is not some liminal space in which there is a transformation from fetus to human. If that was the case, then what happens if that journey was not possible and a caesarian delivery was called for? While an Obstetrician has his or her hands around the infant inside the womb, can one argue that it isn’t a baby for another ten seconds until it is pulled into the cold air? Perhaps it is not so much where the infant is, but rather whether it can be seen. It is emotionally easier to allow for the death of something that you