Introduction
Utilitarianism – is the philosophical standpoint that advocates for the morality of actions that cause happiness and the amorality of actions that cause harm. There are two approaches inherent in this philosophical position – rule utilitarianism and act utilitarianism. Rule utilitarianism implies that people should follow specific sets of rules inherent in cultures and societies, and these rules will govern them to act morally (“Act and rule utilitarianism,” n.d.). Act utilitarianism suggests that every act can be judged separately in terms of its morality or immorality. This paper argues that abortion should be justified since a woman’s body, health and future should depend on her own consensual and conscious decisions.
How Utilitarianism Applies to the Issue
Utilitarian ethics asserts that there is the single most important dimension of morality or good and this dimension is happiness. Therefore, the actions – or rules – that lead to happiness are good, and those that lead to unhappiness are bad. However, there is a great fallacy in this approach – as it does not give further restrictions on where the happiness of one being ends and the happiness of another begins. In the late 18th century when the philosophical standing was invented and developed it was revolutionary, as it supported the ideas of equality, and saw itself as a tool to ensure it (Tardi, 2022). Utilitarianism accentuated that every human being is equally eligible to be happy since this was not common knowledge at that time.
Therefore, when applying the principle to solve real-life or hypothetical problems, it should be considered that this philosophical position is too simplistic, and it is normal considering historical circumstances. However, it is still applicable to solve the moral dilemma of abortion. This is because this moral situation requires attention to the woman’s happiness which should be seen as equally important compared to the potential happiness of the society with having a new member that will bring benefit to it.
Justifying Abortion
Abortion is often discussed from the position of bioethics which lies in the space of medical ethics. In other words, the health and well-being of a woman are considered a priority. Importantly, bioethics generally stands based on utilitarianism, but it is a more modern concept invented in the mid-20th century (Barman, 2019). There are circumstances in the woman’s life that may contradict severely her decision to have children and her motherhood instinct. For example, sometimes there is a medicinal restriction for women to give birth, such as fetal abnormalities – which means that the newborn child will have a severe illness and suffer greatly, until it dies, also in suffering.
Women who were raped and got pregnant are another example when both the life of the future child and the woman will turn into suffering due to severe psychological trauma of the mother and her natural emotional inability to care decently for the future child. In other words, giving birth to a child conceived through rape is another rape, and any human being should not demand a woman to go through such suffering. The financial aspect is also sometimes considered to justify abortion. For example, if the mother does not have money and can not provide for her child, in some environments it will most likely die from hunger, malnutrition, or some infectious diseases due to the lack of healthcare. In such a case abortion can be seen as a more human decision.
Conclusion
Thus, it was argued that abortion should be justified since a woman’s body, health and future should depend on her own consensual and conscious decisions. This is especially true from the utilitarian standpoint because the woman and her health, happiness, and well-being are equally important to the well-being of the society whose interests are violated in a case of abortion. The child’s happiness, health, and well-being are considered important as well, and in most cases, mothers make the positive decision in cases when the future child is doomed for undeserved suffering, or is dramatically undesired, as in the case of rape.
Works Cited
“Act and Rule Utilitarianism.” IEP.
Barman, Mayuri. “Abortion: The Utilitarian View Towards Society.” Think India Journal 22.14 (2019): 15101-15105.
Tardi, C. “Utilitarianism: What It Is, Founders, and Main Principles.” Investopedia, 2022.