Nietzsche On Abortion Essay

In this day and age, everyone has their own opinion, especially when it comes to topics such as abortion. Abortion is something that is heavily debated in today’s society. It is more than just labeling someone who is a Democrat as being for abortion and someone who is a Republican as being against abortion. Most everyone has his or her own opinion for why he or she thinks abortion is moral or immoral. This paper is going to address how three important philosophers would view abortion. The three philosophers that are going to be addressed are Friedrich Nietzsche, Aristotle, and last but not least John Stuart Mill. It is important to note that these three philosophers are not living today. Therefore, their views are conducted based off what they …show more content…
This phrase ultimately means that people are capable in going above and beyond and past their capabilities. Also, everyone can improve and better him or herself. Nietzsche believes in something called an overman. An overman is someone that can be characterized as overcoming who they are. It is important to note that this is not an endpoint but a journey. One other thing Nietzsche believes in is not giving up. This would ultimately result in not having the “will to power”. With all of this prior information, I believe that, in most cases, Nietzsche would agree the abortion is immoral. For example, if a child were diagnosed with a disorder like Down syndrome or something of that sort then that child would obviously have a hard life growing up. Not only that but also the mother may be too young and might not be able to provide an adequate life for the child. I still believe Nietzsche would agree that abortion is immoral in this case. This is because the mother would be essentially giving up and not demonstrating the “will to power” by deciding to have the abortion. Using …show more content…
He is one to believe in Eudemonia. Eudemonia is something that brings happiness. According to Aristotle, happiness is the chief good of human beings. In order to achieve Eudemonia you must die. I don’t believe that Aristotle would agree that abortion would lead to Eudemonia for the child, in most cases, because it is essentially taking the child’s life away without giving the child a chance to achieve happiness. If a woman chooses abortion then her child will never have the opportunity to have virtues instilled. When speaking in terms of the mother, she will never be able to achieve Eudemonia. This is because she will never be able to be an ideal person as she has taken the life of her own child in a sense, whether there was good reason for her choice or not. Aristotle believes that people’s experiences can give them character or virtue. For example, if a woman who was raped decided to have the child she would have the chance to develop a strong will power. However, if she chose to have the abortion she would never have that character or virtue. Aristotle would agree that abortion is impermissible or good to not practice. However, I do believe that Aristotle would agree that abortion would only be permissible if it occurred before the onset of life. Overall, I believe Aristotle would agree that abortion should be illegal unless it somehow leads to happiness, which could possibly occur in a rape