Effects of Abortion
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Abortion in Adolescence
Part One: Introduction
Abortion is referred to as the purposeful removal of a fetus from the mother’s womb through the parent’s agency or request resulting in the fetus’s death. In the current world, cases of teenage pregnancy have significantly grown. More than half of teenagers choose to terminate their pregnancies through abortion. Historically, induced abortion was carried out using forceful massage, sharp tools, herbal medicines, and other conventional methods. In the modern world, abortion has become simpler and safer as individuals use surgery or medication to perform the act. Abortion laws and religious or cultural views differ around the world. In some places, abortion is considered legal only in certain cases, whereas other areas completely prohibit abortion. Drawing from utilitarian ethical principles, abortion should be considered a crime since it harms the unborn’s welfare and rights and should be criminalized on unjustifiable grounds.
Part Two: Ethical Argument
Abortion is ethically wrong since it increases the tolerance for killing. Life starts at conception. That means that a fetus is a living organism. Legalizing abortion is allowing killing in society (Henderson et al., 2013). People in society will have no value and respect for life, increasing murder rates in the world. Abortion, therefore, will change human values; humans will live like animals where killing is allowed. When killing is legalized in the community, it highly affects the victims since several negative impacts on the families of the murdered individual. It may cause mental stress to the families and loved ones of the victim. Mental stress will happen when the breadwinner of the family is killed. The remaining children will have to struggle hard to ensure the family’s young ones get something to eat. Murder, therefore, gives children parental responsibilities when they are still at a tender age which may cause mental stress. Abortion increases killing tolerance in society; thus, it should not be allowed.
Similarly, abortion causes pain to the fetus; therefore is ethically wrong. It is unethical to cause pain and suffering to a living thing. It has been recorded that the fetus is well developed in eighteen weeks to feel pain. Every abortion method involves the destruction of the fetus. They are destroyed through medication, surgery, or traditional methods. Before fetuses are terminated, they are subjected to suffering and pain, which is considered unethical. For instance, when the fetus is removed from the womb through surgery, first, they are subjected to harsh environments, which inflicts pain and suffering to their systems before they die (Henderson et al., 2013). Similarly, unsafe abortions may cause pain and suffering to the mother. Unsafe abortion involves the termination of the fetus without the intervention of the physician. The mother may use the wrong dosage during the procedure, which may cause pain, suffering, and even death. Therefore, abortion is a crime since it causes pain to both the fetus and the parent.
Besides, it is ethically wrong to kill potential people. Every human in the world has a right to live. From conception onwards, the fetus is a potential human being. Abortion terminates the potential of individuals. Parents are not sure what the unborn babies will be when they are born. Their capabilities and potentials are still not understood ((Fischer, Royer, & White 2018). Therefore, the parent should allow the unborn to live and be born to exploit their potentials in the world. The parent might be killing a prominent person who was destined to change the world in some way. Abortion, therefore, when not justified, is a crime since it is against main human rights, which is a right to live.
Furthermore, it is unethical to destroy beings with the same characteristics as ours. In many cases, a fetus, if not terminated, would have features like those of humans. It is wrong to destroy a being knowing it will have the same potentials and features as ours. The fact that the fetus will develop features like ours when they live makes abortion a crime. The mother would not have been who she is if her parent would have aborted her. Therefore, the parents should also give the fetus a chance to live.
There are some cases where abortion can be justified therefore considered morally right. Certain countries have allowed abortion where the pregnancy is a criminal result. Pregnancies can be obtained through criminal acts such as incest, child abuse, and rape. In criminal cases, the pregnancy is not planned; therefore, a parent can terminate the fetus. In such cases, abortion is justifiable therefore is considered morally right. Similarly, abortion can be considered morally right when the mother’s health is at risk (Fischer, Royer, & White 2018). People always argue that the fetus is not necessarily a person; therefore, the parent’s life should be the first and highest priority. Furthermore, abortion due to governmental policies is sometimes considered morally right in some nations. The government may establish abortion as a policy to regulate population size in the country, as a means of improving the existing population, and as a means of improving groups within a population. Therefore, on a justifiable ground, abortion can be considered morally right and therefore justified.
Part Three: Explanation and Defense
The theory that supports the mentioned argument is the utilitarianism theory. It promotes actions that encourage happiness and resist those that cause harm or unhappiness to an individual (Melden, 2013). It is a morality theory. Utilitarianism ethical principles aim to better the society as a whole when shifted towards political, social, or economic decision making. The theory considers an action to be right if it reduces harm and leads to happiness for most members of society. The theory is grounded in the ability of an individual to foresee the negative impacts of an action. Therefore, the choice yielding an extreme benefit to many people in the community is considered the best. The theory stresses that an individual performs the act that is beneficial to the majority in the society irrespective of the societal constraints like laws or individual’s feelings.
When abortion is prevented in society, it benefits the lives of several people in the society. First, killing tolerance is highly reduced in society when abortion is legalized. Every individual becomes safe when killing tolerance is minimized. People start valuing and respecting the lives of others in society. Similarly, the prohibition of abortion gives the unborn a right to live. The child may become prominent in society (Henderson et al., 2013). The child may have several potentials and abilities which may help the community move to another level in the future. When the prominent person helps the community prosper and move to another level, several people will benefit. Therefore, according to utilitarianism theory, abortion should be legalized should be totally illegalized since it has several consequences to society than the benefits it poses.
Part Four: Objection and Response
The utilitarianism theory has some objections and disadvantages. The main objection is that no one can be so sure that their predictions can be accurate even though they may attempt to predict the outcome. Uncertainty may sometimes arise, which may result in unexpected outcomes. It makes the theory appear unethical at some point as the choice made does not benefit the majority in the community as it was predicted (Melden, 2013). For instance, when the parent has pregnancy complications and chooses to continue with the pregnancy despite having a slim chance of survival if the fetus is not aborted. The theory becomes unethical when the parent and the child die during delivery. There was a chance of saving one of them, but the parents did not take it since they predicted some benefits to society.
According to ethical theories based on rights, the rights developed by a community are given higher priority and are highly protected. Most rights are considered ethically right since several people support them (Melden, 2013). People may grant the right to others when they have the resources and ability to do so. For instance, parents have the ability and resources to bestow rights to an infant. They decide whether an infant’s life of dies. The theory is much weaker than utilitarianism since an individual may decide to terminate the fetus even if there are no dangers the pregnancy poses to the mother.
Part Five: Conclusion
Utilitarianism theory is one of the ethical theories that promote happiness and reduces harm to the people of a society. When abortion is highly prohibited in society, several people may be benefited in the long run. If allowed to live, the fetus may become a prominent person in the future who may liberate the community. Similarly, the prohibition of abortion reduces killing tolerance which ensures the safety of people in the community.
References
Fischer, S., Royer, H., & White, C. (2018). The impacts of reduced access to abortion and family planning services on abortions, births, and contraceptive purchases. Journal of Public Economics, 167, 43-68.
Henderson, J. T., Puri, M., Blum, M., Harper, C. C., Rana, A., Gurung, G., & Darney, P. D. (2013). Effects of abortion legalization in Nepal, 2001–2010. PloS one, 8(5), e64775.
Melden, A. I. (2013). Ethical theories. Read Books Ltd.
