Abortion during pregnancy is one of the discussed topics of the modern world, which sometimes becomes more acute in connection with certain incidents. At the same time, on an ongoing basis, there are different points of view regarding the permissibility of abortion and certain situations. Some of the most common positions are liberal and conservative, which have different arguments regarding the permissibility of abortion.
In a conservative position, abortion is seen as the destruction of the fetus and the murder of an individual. Conservatives believe the abortion is justified only if there is a direct threat to the woman’s life during pregnancy, when the fetus is inside. In conservative argumentation, the fetus from the beginning is an individual (Elkink et al., 2020). Thus, the elimination of the fetus during pregnancy in a conservative position is permissible only when another life is threatened, otherwise it will be considered murder.
In a liberal position, the fetus is a part of the woman’s body that can be eliminated if necessary or desired at any time. The liberal position only delimits the period before the birth of the fetus and after birth (Elkink et al., 2020). After the birth of the fetus, its elimination is already considered murder if it is not justified, while before that, it was an exclusively personal choice.
In conclusion, the discussion of abortion always has an important part in the argument for the formation of the fetus in terms of personhood. Some argue that the fetus in this formation already has a personhood of its own, which is why termination of pregnancy is murder, while others disagree with this position. I support the liberal position, since choice remains between the woman and her environment, whether to keep the fetus or have an abortion to terminate the pregnancy.
Reference
Elkink, J. A., Farrell, D. M., Marien, S., Reidy, T., & Suiter, J. (2020). The death of conservative Ireland? The 2018 abortion referendum. Electoral Studies, 65, 102142.