The Ethical Issue Of Abortion

The field of ethics involves questions of how people should act, and the search for a definition of right and wrong behaviour – the choice that causes the greatest good. It encompasses the search for the ‘good life’ (in the sense of a life worth living or a life that is satisfying or happy). Ethics is different from morality because ethics denotes the theory of right action and the greater good, whereas morals indicate their practice. Ethics is not just specific acts, but encompasses the whole of moral ideals and behaviours – a person's philosophy of life. An idea or situation is considered an ethical issue when an individual must make a decision about which course of action is best; where, no matter what course of action is taken, some ethical

The abortion debate deals with the rights and wrongs of deliberately ending a pregnancy before normal childbirth – killing the foetus in the process. Abortion is a painful topic for people who find themselves facing the ethical dilemma of whether to terminate a pregnancy. Abortion is a significant ethical issue because it touches upon many important, fundamental ethical questions: like the nature and rights of human beings, human relationships and personal autonomy; and the extent of state authority over personal decisions. Most people feel particularly strongly about abortion because there is no way of getting any opinion from the foetus – the potential “victim” – about the issue (unlike in most moral dilemmas, such as euthanasia, where the “victim” can be asked their opinion) and because the foetus can easily be portrayed as an entirely innocent and defenceless

Some argue that ensoulment occurs at the moment of birth; while some argue that a formed foetus had received a soul whereas an unformed one had not – St. Augustine said ensoulment didn’t happen until between 40 and 80 days after conception. Despite saying this, St. Augustine taught that all foetuses needed to be treated with respect and that it was gravely wrong to kill any foetus. The Catholic Catechism states that “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.” [Catholic Catechism, 2270] “You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish. God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.” [Catholic Catechism, 2271] The bishops of New Zealand are also primarily pro-life, stating that “Today, our country is greatly influenced by the view that a pregnancy need be nothing more than an easily disposable nuisance and that parenthood is