Introduction
Abortion is a medical practice that has been in use for hundreds of years. It commonly refers to intentional termination of pregnancy and extraction of the embryo or fetus from a woman’s uterus. The first historical evidence of abortion dates back to ancient times and civilizations such as Mesopotamian, Vedic (ancient Indian), and Greco-Roman. Over time, abortion methods have been refined to ensure the patient’s safety and successful completion of the procedure at the first attempt.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019) report up to 700,000 cases of abortions per year, with the rate of 13.5 per 1,000 women. Indeed, the practice of abortion has long become commonplace, and yet, its relative normalization did not remove the ethical controversy. This essay argues that abortion is a necessary evil as while being ethically wrong, it does provide value and present advantages to society.
The Moral Case Against Abortion
The argument against abortion often revolves or is primarily based on the idea of inarguable sanctity of life. Both religions and secular humanism insist on respecting human life in all forms and protecting it from harm and intrusion. The opponents of abortion, otherwise known as pro-life activists, are convinced that life starts at conception. Therefore, a person receives human rights after the union of male and female gametes or germ cells.
The sanctity of human life is not conditional and does not lose meaning at someone’s whim. From this perspective, legalizing abortion, but considering the killing of a pregnant woman double murder begets a contradiction.
Interestingly enough, the opponents of abortion find it justifiable in some cases, for instance, if conception resulted from sexual violence. This way, the issue of abortion embarks on the territory of justice – a concept defined by Gray (2011) as the fair treatment of individuals. The idea of justice is inherently linked to fairness, entitlement, and equality (Gray, 2011).
All people are equal before the law, and no-one’s merit and value as a human being should be questioned. Following this logic and assuming that life indeed starts at conception, one shall conclude that all fetuses are equal. A child conceived as a result of rape is no different from a child who was expected by his or her loving parents. In this case, abortion is unacceptable, no matter the life circumstances of a woman or family seeking it.
The argument becomes even stronger if one considers that abortion is often a way of extrapolating bias onto innocent children. For instance, in China, sons have long been valued more than daughters as they are thought to continue the family line. When the technologies that make possible sex determination before birth reached China, the country succumbed to the trend of selectively aborting fetuses. Mackenzie (2019) estimates that selective abortion may have prevented the birth of 23 million daughters.
Surely, some may argue that the Chinese should be left to their own devices as the medical procedure based on an embryo’s gender must have become a part of their culture by now. However, as emphasized by Sikka (2012), cultural moral relativism fails to consider the power structures enabling unjust treatment. It is clear that abortion is a result of a system that values some lives more than others.
The Moral Case for Abortion
Human actions are largely driven by their own moral conscience that justifies a means to an end. Freedom of conscience is an element to be respected when it comes to ethical decision-making (Vélez, 2009). Building on this argument, it is safe to conclude that abortion makes a part of the women’s rights that protect their freedoms in society. No matter how liberal a country is, there always remains an unavoidable confrontation between the state and the individual.
The legislation is instrumental in the state’s infringement on the individual’s choices. The legalization of abortion creates a precedent that limits the power of the state and enables female residents to choose a life of their own liking. In the United States, Roe v Wade (1973) was a landmark Supreme Court decision that pushed back against excessive government restriction. From this perspective, the right to make reproductive decisions without the government’s involvement is a building block of civil rights.
Another moral argument for abortion stems from suffering-focused ethics that encompass moral views that put the highest priority on the reduction of suffering. When approaching the moral issue of abortion, one needs to keep in mind that not all abortion decisions are the same. Indeed, the reality of pregnancy and childrearing is unflattering: while for some individuals, it is a miracle and a source of happiness; for others, it is an unbearable burden. Therefore, ignoring the nuances of women’s decisions means ignoring their lived reality.
Chae et al. (2017) report that women decide to terminate pregnancy for various reasons, with the most common being limiting socioeconomic conditions. Another major, though less common motivation is trauma if pregnancy occurred due to rape, incest, or child abuse. Forcing such women to carry a pregnancy to term would mean multiplying their suffering. Similarly, bringing children into the world of poverty, deprivation, and toxic family dynamics would mean causing them unnecessary pain.
Apart from the impact of abortion laws on individual lives, one needs to consider their impact on society on the whole. In this case, an approach that could be useful for understanding the issue would be moral utilitarianism. Utilitarianism seeks to find a solution that would increase the net profit, even if it means making sacrifices or disregarding someone’s interests. Chae et al. (2017) point out that abortion ban is almost always followed by an increase in the illegal abortion rate.
When done by non-professionals or outside clinical settings, abortion can cause complications and even lead to death. Therefore, by keeping it legal, society can up the net profit by promoting women’s health and quality of life.
Conclusion
The moral debate surrounding the issue of abortion seeks to answer the question as to whether it is justifiable to terminate a pregnancy before natural childbirth. After considering both sides of the debates, one may conclude that abortion is hardly justifiable from an ethical perspective. It negates the idea of the sanctity of human life and makes the value of personhood conditional based on circumstances. On the other hand, however, the long history of abortion reflects a social need for this medical procedure.
Legally, it creates a precedent of the power of an individual in the face of the state. In some cases, the decision to abort a fetus means reducing suffering across the board for everyone involved. Besides, compared to non-certified fetus extraction, professional abortion services mitigate complications and significantly diminish the risks of adverse outcomes.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). CDCs abortion surveillance system FAQs. Web.
Chae, S., Desai, S., Crowell, M., & Sedgh, G. (2017). Reasons why women have induced abortions: a synthesis of findings from 14 countries. Contraception, 96(4), 233-241.
Gray, J.W. (2011). What is morality? Web.
Mackenzie, D. (2019). Sex-selective abortions may have stopped the birth of 23 million girls. New Scientist.
Sikka, S. (2012). Moral relativism and the concept of culture. Theoria, 59(133), 50-69. Web.
Vélez, J. R. (2009). Freedom of conscience in ethical decision making. The Linacre Quarterly, 76(2), 120-132. Web.