The Moral Dilemmas Of Abortion

Is abortion immoral?
Abortion is a moral dilemma that many have debate for years and even though there are already decisive laws and regulations the philosophical discussion continues. Many ethical theories have used their beliefs to defend either a pro-life or pro-choice view, both sides bringing up logical arguments but all of the arguments have been disputed. In this essay I will approach the topic of abortion from three moral theories and from the either pro-life or pro-choice standpoint they take. The problem of abortion from the perspective of utilitarianism seems relatively straightforward. In order maximize utility the needs of a sentient adult human being, with understanding of the past, and future would be put in front of the need …show more content…
Virtue ethics attempts to present a new theory on the way to approach moral situations by understanding what a virtuous agent would do in the same situation. (Virtue Theory and Abortion, Rosalind Hurthouse) This theory is more personal and regards each situation as unique moral dilemmas, so in Rosalind Hurthouse view of abortion it can be both justifiable and unjustifiable but for the most part even if abortion is the correct moral action the preceding actions were not virtuous. If the abortion decision is due to another action the is worthwhile and valuable then it is a morally just decision, however if the decision is based on petty or insignificant factors surrounding the temporary happiness of the mother than it isn’t valid. Unlike utilitarianism the theory doesn’t measure the utility of the different entities involved but it measure the value of having a child with the other possibly valuable activities. Opposing deontology instead of blanketing all cases of abortion under a pre-determined set of rules it values each case differently and the agent in the situation has to decide if the abortion will be allowing them to pursuit other meaningful experiences. Virtue ethics also encompasses the fact that if a women was raped it would be a moral decision to have an abortion where as in deontological theory even though they understand that it would be morally wrong the theory …show more content…
None of them can be a universal theory because all of them are based on premises that we originally have to morally agree with and everyone has slightly different moral premises. I believe that the best explication for the case of abortion is the consequentialist utilitarianism view that abortion can be morally acceptable. I think that the value of a sentient human being should be greater than the value of a fetus that has no abilities or rationality and never had any. In the demonological theory it is argued that the value of the future is why killing is wrong, but I don’t think that the value of the future of the fetus should inhibit the mother from making decisions that will increase the utility of her future. Abortion isn’t a topic to be taken lightly and people considering it are going to have an increased utility if they don’t have the baby and since they are sentient rational beings it should be morally acceptable for mothers to have an