By failing to define the terms ‘fetus’ and ‘standard fetus’, he leaves open for interpretation not only the moral significance of the terms, but also their strength in relation to his argument. Marquis assumes that the fetus has a future that is just as valuable as that of an adult yet fails to grant the fetus the same moral status as an adult. This lack of consistency along with the falsity of his claims weakens his argument and leaves a large piece of the abortion question unanswered. Because many of his premises are false, I altered them to be correct which in turn resulted in an illogical sequence of evidence for Marquis’ original conclusion; rendering his argument invalid. After altering the conclusion to follow the revised premises, it only gave a suitable claim for some abortions, rather than the overwhelming majority of abortions.
For many of years, thousands of philosophers have set out to try to answer one question: what makes an individual moral? Whether it be through certain theories that strive to explain what that person looks like or moral obligations that determine one’s character, they are all trying to answer the same question. As we investigate the overarching topic of ethics, one could find it hard for any one theory or moral code to perfectly define what that person looks like. With that said, during Rosalind Hursthouse’s Virtue Theory and Abortion, she has failed in appropriately answering the main objections of virtue theory, thus, leaving the theory open for further interpretation. Throughout her work, Hursthouse addresses nine of the main arguments which object to the virtue theory.
The Keynote Address: Untying the Moral Knot of Abortion, was given by Caitlin E. Borgmann at the Washington and Lee School of law on November 8, 2014. Borgmann’s main goal of her address was to bring back to attention that abortion should be seen as a woman’s own right in making decisions regarding her own body. She talks about how people have become so focused on the morality of the fetus that they have lost sight of the real reason that abortion should be legal. Borgmann feels that it is the woman’s right to have a choice and freedom over their body and the freedom to choose whether or not to have an abortion. The speaker asks why people question the age and status of the fetus, but do not concern themselves to question the rights of the woman that carries the fetus.
Caitlynn Thomas Mrs. Simmons English 3 H 14 December 2015 Rough Draft Late-Term Abortion is Not Wrong or Unethical (too informal?) Late-term abortion has been a topic debated over generations and is still seen as a vital issue today. A majority of the population views late-term abortion as morally and legally wrong, which is mostly due to the manipulation of the government and media. The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act signed by George Bush places the lives and health of women and fetuses in danger, as well as puts doctors at risk for providing safe care (Feldt). As this ban still stands, people listen to the majority of society rather than their personal thoughts on the topic.
We all know about abortion. It is one thing that no one wants to go through, but one day it may happen to the many women out there because of the choses, they have made, but they can stop it. Abortion has become a common thing in our generation because of rape, people who aren’t ready for a baby and many other things so they go to abortion clinics and mainly Planned Parenthood for help, but they can’t always help you and they do many things wrong. Therefore, there is a way to stop abortions because they are wrong and should not be performed.
Breanna Ramirez Mr.Pantoja, Mrs.Ryglicki English 4 11 May 2016 Abortion: Is it Right or Wrong? How would you feel if someone wanted take your life? Imagine the feeling of having a mother that does not want you even before you are born. In 1821 Connecticut was the first state to pass the abortion law in the United States.
The debate whether abortion is morally permissible or not permissible is commonly discussed between the considerations of the status of a fetus and ones virtue theory. A widely recognized theory of pro-choice advocates can be thought to be that their ethical view is that fetus’s merely are not humans because they lack the right to life since they believe a fetus does not obtain any sort of mental functions or capability of feelings. Although this may be true in some cases it is not in all so explaining the wrongness of killing, between the common debates whether a fetus does or does not obtain human hood, should be illustrated in a way of a virtuous theory. The wrongness of killing is explained by what the person or fetus is deprived of, such as their right to life; not by means of a heart beat or function of one’s body, but by the fact that it takes their ability of potentially growing into a person to have the same human characteristics as we do.
An ethical dilemma today in society is that of abortion, which one would define as a deliberate end to a pregnancy. Various arguments exist questioning if an abortion is morally justifiable. Some say the state should decide on the legality of an abortion, some politicians say the federal government should decide, and many believe it should be up to the women since it pertains to their body. In this paper, I will analyze what a utilitarian’s perspective on abortion would be. First, let’s get a clear understanding of utilitarianism.
Abortion is just a technical way of saying the murder of a unborn and should be abolished. Abortion is murder. According to lifenews.com, federal law prohibits the death penalty for a pregnant women until after the child is born. (18 U.S.C.A.S.3596). Doing this means according to the law, a innocent unborn infant cannot be sentenced to death for a crime he/she did not commit.
Why Abortion Should Be Illegal Abortion has been a popular debate in the United States, especially after the Supreme Court ruling in 1973 stating a woman has the right to an abortion. In my opinion, abortion is wrong and very unethical. There are some specific instances where abortion may be acceptable, but for the most part, abortion is an evil act. Abortion should be illegal because it is the killing of an innocent human, even if he or she has not been born yet.
A second reason why abortion is wrong is because it deprives the fetus from his future. When we decide to kill a fetus then we are taking away from him a future like ours. The argument is as follows : (1) it is impermissible to kill humans, who if lived, would have a future like ours, (2) if abortion is not done, the fetus would have future as we do have, (3) so it is wrong to kill the fetus (4) therefore abortion is impermissible. A similar argument was given by Don Marquis in his article “Why Abortion is Immoral”. He stated that what makes killing wrong is neither the effect on the murder, nor the effect on the victim’s relatives or friends, but the effect is on the victim himself.
Pregnancy, giving birth, and abortion are three interrelated topics. They offer moral dilemmas that aren’t easily solved or tackled. In this paper, I will discuss abortion and I will approach it from the point of view of a consequentialist, a deontological ethicist, and a virtue ethicist. I will start by defining abortion, provide some information about the reasons why women opt to abort a fetus, then give a specific example of a moral dilemma that a woman is facing, and explore the dilemma from the different points of view.
If we want to gain further insight into the issue we must review the pros and cons of abortion. Some of the negative aspects of abortion include the stigma around abortion in society. It can appear as an awful crime. It implies denying someone a life because the odds are not in our favor at the moment. In a religious sense is it possible to justify abortion.
“Abortion -should it be a right of every woman in the present context- A critical analysis” 1. Introduction I elected to present my dissertation on a topic based on ‘abortion’ since it is a hidden social menace in our society. It is like an iceberg. The tip represents the reported abortions, which everyone sees.
In Carol Gilligan 's essay, "Concepts of Self and Morality," a college student answers the question of what morality should be by stating, "The basic idea that I cling to is the sanctity of human life" (171). When a woman decides to have an abortion, she overlooks the sanctity of human life and she forgets her morals. Therefore there should not be a question of choice in the matter of