Ethical Question
Should abortions be allowed when the mother’s life is at risk or when pregnancy results from rape or incest, but not in other cases?
Is it effective to address utilitarianism to define abortion as morally permissible if the mother’s life is at risk or pregnancy is an outcome of rape or incest? This question bothers millions of people around the globe and provokes multiple discussions in health care, medicine, and ethics. Abortion is a termination of an embryo/fetus in a pregnant woman (Berer, 2017). This decision remains ambiguous because individuals have different opinions on human life. Some people support abortion as a right for any woman to protect her physical or emotional health (Clarke & Mühlrad, 2021). According to the Center for Reproductive Rights (as cited in Barry, 2022), 24 countries still prohibit abortion, and 37 countries offer restricted access considering other health conditions. Abortion activists faced a rough ride with the Supreme Court’s intention to derail the Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, through which women could terminate pregnancies (Zolot, 2019). Therefore, people need to understand how to build the most appropriate understanding of the topic and address their rights.
On the one hand, abortion is the woman’s right to protect her life; on the other hand, abortion touches upon two lives minimum. There is the never-ending argument that abortion violates the right of the individual that has not yet been born, who has a right to live, and hence should not be killed through abortion (Shaw & Norman, 2020). It is also obligatory to emphasize the social context connected to the issue. People do everything possible to maintain happiness and support each other. Utilitarianism is an ethical doctrine that defines happiness as the core aspect of human relationships and the right to minimize unhappiness. People generally discuss the notions of abortion from a more independent and pragmatic point of view. This paper will examine utilitarianism to decide if this theoretical perspective is enough to allow or prohibit abortion for women at risk of death or other health or emotional complications.
Explanation of the Ethical Theory
It is critical to learn ethical theories to justify or disregard matters happening in society. One of the best doctrines on such grounds is utilitarianism with its moral consideration to equally maximize human happiness (Scarre, 2020). The historical background can be properly tracked in the writings of John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham about happiness as the absence of pain (Smart, 2020). Even though the theory’s roots were noticed in hedonists Epicurus and Aristippus, who outlined happiness as the ultimate good, most ideas were developed by Bentham and continued by Mill, Peter Singer, and Henry Sedgwick (Smart, 2020). The idea is that utility-approved actions should be based on their ability to diminish or augment the happiness of the parties involved.
According to utilitarianism, three main moral principles serve human satisfaction or happiness. The first principle is that happiness or pleasure is the one thing that has intrinsic value (Smart, 2020). Utility in utilitarianism denotes pleasure or joy, and intrinsic value denotes good. A happy world is a better world, and anything done to achieve that world is justified as morally right. Another principle is that actions are morally right if they promote happiness and wrong if they promote sadness (Smart, 2020). It makes the theory appear consequentialist because the output determines the morality of the input. The last principle explains that everyone’s joy counts equally (Häyry, 2021). This principle is the backbone that gives everyone the right to determine and fight for what makes them happy, even if this approach challenges other individuals.
Utilitarianism can be applied to deciding various moral questions and dilemmas. One common example of using utilitarianism is a common family decision and the different preferences of partners. When a man wants to buy a fast car, and a woman prefers choosing a big car for their future family’s convenience. Addressing equal happiness and joy, it is better to find a common option because if a wife/husband is unhappy with the purchase, further quarrels might occur and affect their relationships. They can gather more money to buy two cars or find an alternative when speed and size are combined. Thus, the third principle of happiness counting equal for everyone will be addressed in applying the theory to the question of abortion.
Application of the Ethical Theory
Abortion is never a simple decision for a woman, even if there are many grounds to support or oppose this decision. Therefore, applying well-defined ethical and moral theories is a solid decision for most people. Utilitarianism defines equal happiness of the involved parties regardless of the effects the actions have on other people’s lives (Lan, 2021). If pregnancy results from rape or another unpleasant situation, the supporters of utilitarianism will justify abortion through the prism of two lives’ pleasure and happiness – the mother and the child (Räsänen, 2021). The mother will not be happy to give birth to a child resulting from a case of forced coitus or one that is from incest. The advantage in this case is a specific focus on happiness for society’s members and the identification of harm as something wrong. On the contrary, no other aspects except happiness are considered, questioning the worth of utilitarianism.
When the mother’s life is in danger, there will be no happiness when the child is born. The mother dies or develops complications that will affect her and the child afterward (Perritt & Grossman, 2021). Even though the child will be born and have a chance to be happy, there is a huge possibility that equal happiness is impossible because the mother is either dead or regards the child as unwanted (Smart, 2020). Besides, unhappy mothers could abandon or hurt their babies with time. The benefit of utilitarianism, in this case, is the creation of the highest good for all participants, but the shortage is evident – unrealistic perspectives for society emerge.
Happiness or pleasure for the mother to choose abortion should be approved in certain cases to predict the development of negative outcomes. Utmost happiness will be experienced through abortion for both the mother and child (Erdman & Cook, 2020). Therefore, as supported by utilitarianism theory, it is right for women that have been raped or whose lives will be in danger upon giving birth to be allowed to choose abortion. Because of one of the principles of utilitarianism, equal happiness, modern society should use this theory to consider abortion as a free possibility for women to conclude that all parties are happy.
References
Barry, E. (2022). The state of abortion rights around the world. Time.
Berer, M. (2017). Abortion law and policy around the world: In search of decriminalization. Health and Human Rights, 19(1), 13–27.
Clarke, D., & Mühlrad, H. (2021). Abortion laws and women’s health. Journal of Health Economics, 76.
Erdman, J. N., & Cook, R. J. (2020). Decriminalization of abortion – A human rights imperative. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 62, 11-24.
Häyry, M. (2021). Just better utilitarianism. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 30(2), 343-367.
Lan, N. T. (2021). The right to life of a fetus: Abortion is a serious moral and social problem of the young people in Vietnam. International Journal of Research, 10(15), 47-63.
Perritt, J., & Grossman, D. (2021). The health consequences of restrictive abortion laws. JAMA Internal Medicine, 181(5), 713-714.
Räsänen, J. (2021). Liberal utilitarianism – Yes, but for whom? Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 30(2), 368-375.
Scarre, G. (2020). Utilitarianism. Routledge.
Shaw, D., & Norman, W. V. (2020). When there are no abortion laws: A case study of Canada. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 62, 49-62.
Smart, J. J. C. (2020). Utilitarianism and its applications. In J. P. DeMarco & R. M. Fox (Eds.), New directions in ethics (pp. 24-41). New York, NY: Routledge.
Zolot, J. (2019). How will recent abortion legislation affect womenʼs health? American Journal of Nursing, 119(8), 15.