Abortion and the Concept of a Person
Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court Roe vs. Wade case in 1973 legalized abortion, it has continued to be one of the most highly debated issues in the country. According to Mario Derksen, “Abortion is the unnatural termination of a pregnancy by killing (at least) one human fetus” (Derksen). There are two main sides to the abortion argument. Conservatives believe the life begins at conception; thus abortion is murder. On the other hand, liberals believe that life does not begin until birth and a woman may do what she pleases with her body. Jane English, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill believes that the concept of a person is not clear enough to resolve the debate on abortion. …show more content…
Many professionals have tried defining what constitutes personhood. Some examples provided by English include: Baruch Brody, who uses the presence of brain waves to define a person, and Paul Ramsey, who believes that a particular gene structure is definitive characteristic (English 766). Due to the plethora of different considerable qualities, English states that “…a conclusive answer to the question whether a fetus is a person is unattainable (English, 767). Even though there is no list of sufficient features that makes a person, typical features that make up a person include: biological, psychological, rationality, social, and legal factors. In tandem with the typical factors that define a person, the developmental process of a human is gradual. Thus, there is no definitive point in which a fetus is considered a person (English, …show more content…
Deontology is the determination of right and wrong from given rules of conduct. Also, “good will is good not because of what it performs…but simply by virtue of the volition” (Kant, 295). Based on this definition, deontologists would disagree with English’s views by stating that abortion is wrong under any circumstances. The mother ought to treat the fetus as a rational, autonomous being, not as a means to an end (Lake). Next, Utilitarianism seeks to achieve the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of individuals. Thus, the fundamental approach of utilitarianism is the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Therefore, a utilitarianist would see abortion as circumstantial. If keeping the child would cause too much pain or hardship for the mother, a utilitarianist would find abortion justifiable. However, a utilitarianist would not justify abortion just because it would create an inconvenience for the mother. Finally, virtue ethics considers whether the act would be on that a virtuous person would carry out. Rosalind Hursthouse, a virtue ethicist explains, “some abortions, done for certain reasons would be callous or light-minded; that others might indicate an appropriate modesty or humility; that other would reflect a greedy and
Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court Roe vs. Wade case in 1973 legalized abortion, it has continued to be one of the most highly debated issues in the country. According to Mario Derksen, “Abortion is the unnatural termination of a pregnancy by killing (at least) one human fetus” (Derksen). There are two main sides to the abortion argument. Conservatives believe the life begins at conception; thus abortion is murder. On the other hand, liberals believe that life does not begin until birth and a woman may do what she pleases with her body. Jane English, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill believes that the concept of a person is not clear enough to resolve the debate on abortion. …show more content…
Many professionals have tried defining what constitutes personhood. Some examples provided by English include: Baruch Brody, who uses the presence of brain waves to define a person, and Paul Ramsey, who believes that a particular gene structure is definitive characteristic (English 766). Due to the plethora of different considerable qualities, English states that “…a conclusive answer to the question whether a fetus is a person is unattainable (English, 767). Even though there is no list of sufficient features that makes a person, typical features that make up a person include: biological, psychological, rationality, social, and legal factors. In tandem with the typical factors that define a person, the developmental process of a human is gradual. Thus, there is no definitive point in which a fetus is considered a person (English, …show more content…
Deontology is the determination of right and wrong from given rules of conduct. Also, “good will is good not because of what it performs…but simply by virtue of the volition” (Kant, 295). Based on this definition, deontologists would disagree with English’s views by stating that abortion is wrong under any circumstances. The mother ought to treat the fetus as a rational, autonomous being, not as a means to an end (Lake). Next, Utilitarianism seeks to achieve the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of individuals. Thus, the fundamental approach of utilitarianism is the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Therefore, a utilitarianist would see abortion as circumstantial. If keeping the child would cause too much pain or hardship for the mother, a utilitarianist would find abortion justifiable. However, a utilitarianist would not justify abortion just because it would create an inconvenience for the mother. Finally, virtue ethics considers whether the act would be on that a virtuous person would carry out. Rosalind Hursthouse, a virtue ethicist explains, “some abortions, done for certain reasons would be callous or light-minded; that others might indicate an appropriate modesty or humility; that other would reflect a greedy and