The controversy of abortion has been around for decades and for decades to come. Some suppose that an abortion is never acceptable, while others believe it is always acceptable. The first of the two extreme views, is considered a pro-life or conservative view and the latter is a pro-choice or liberal view. Most conservatives and liberals discuss abortions as if it is a clear black and white issue, but it is clearly a more difficult and gray matter that requires for deeper thought. In other words, one should consider the complexity of abortions because abortions vary from case to case. One must consider both the justifying reason for the abortion and the stage of fetal development. Some abortions are ethically justifiable depending on the stage
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Killing the embryo or fetus would be equal to murder. Putting religion and politics aside, a major medical concern would exist if all abortions were banned. Whether abortion is legal or illegal, they will be performed and “[t]he prevalence of high mortality rates at illegal “abortion mills” strengthens, rather than weakens, the State’s interest in regulating the conditions under which abortions are performed” (Blackmun 53). On the opposite side, supporters of pro-choice may suppose an abortion is acceptable at any time throughout the pregnancy. If this is true, then the fetus has no moral status. Liberals then claim the fetus “…has no more right to life than a piece of tissue, such as an appendix, and an abortion is no more morally objectionable than an appendectomy” (Mappes, Zembaty, and DeGrazia 3). However, pro-choice advocates cannot compare a fetus to an appendix or any other bodily organ because they fail to acknowledge that the fetus has at least the potential to become human and the organ does not. The potential of the fetus to become human cannot be denied because it in fact “…has the genetic makeup characteristic of human beings” (Lee and George 36). Because the fetus has potential to become …show more content…
It is possible to draw the line of when it is ethically acceptable to abort between the first and second trimester. It is scientifically supported that brain activity happens around the second trimester. This suggests the fetus is capable of feeling pain and pleasure, or sentience. For further support, “… somewhere around the sixteenth to the eighteenth week there usually occurs quickening, the point at which the woman begins to feel the movements of the fetus. And somewhere around the twenty-second week, viability becomes a realistic possibility. Viability is the point at which the fetus is capable of surviving outside the womb” (Mappes, Zembaty, DeGrazia 3). The second trimester is from week thirteen to twenty-seven. The fetus actually starts to move before the woman is capable of feeling it, which puts this before the sixteenth week. Only for a couple circumstances should an abortion be performed after the first trimester. Additionally, the procedures performed after the first trimester are brutal and unjust. The procedure commonly performed during the second trimester is known as dilation and evacuation abortion or D&E abortion. “In D&E… a forceps is used to dismember the
Killing the embryo or fetus would be equal to murder. Putting religion and politics aside, a major medical concern would exist if all abortions were banned. Whether abortion is legal or illegal, they will be performed and “[t]he prevalence of high mortality rates at illegal “abortion mills” strengthens, rather than weakens, the State’s interest in regulating the conditions under which abortions are performed” (Blackmun 53). On the opposite side, supporters of pro-choice may suppose an abortion is acceptable at any time throughout the pregnancy. If this is true, then the fetus has no moral status. Liberals then claim the fetus “…has no more right to life than a piece of tissue, such as an appendix, and an abortion is no more morally objectionable than an appendectomy” (Mappes, Zembaty, and DeGrazia 3). However, pro-choice advocates cannot compare a fetus to an appendix or any other bodily organ because they fail to acknowledge that the fetus has at least the potential to become human and the organ does not. The potential of the fetus to become human cannot be denied because it in fact “…has the genetic makeup characteristic of human beings” (Lee and George 36). Because the fetus has potential to become …show more content…
It is possible to draw the line of when it is ethically acceptable to abort between the first and second trimester. It is scientifically supported that brain activity happens around the second trimester. This suggests the fetus is capable of feeling pain and pleasure, or sentience. For further support, “… somewhere around the sixteenth to the eighteenth week there usually occurs quickening, the point at which the woman begins to feel the movements of the fetus. And somewhere around the twenty-second week, viability becomes a realistic possibility. Viability is the point at which the fetus is capable of surviving outside the womb” (Mappes, Zembaty, DeGrazia 3). The second trimester is from week thirteen to twenty-seven. The fetus actually starts to move before the woman is capable of feeling it, which puts this before the sixteenth week. Only for a couple circumstances should an abortion be performed after the first trimester. Additionally, the procedures performed after the first trimester are brutal and unjust. The procedure commonly performed during the second trimester is known as dilation and evacuation abortion or D&E abortion. “In D&E… a forceps is used to dismember the