On one hand, a woman has the right to choose what she does with her body and it is solely her decision. On the other hand, it is the physician’s responsibility to do no harm, and performing an abortion would be the destruction of an innocent life. Of course, both sides of this debate have room for disagreement: at what stage of a pregnancy is a fetus considered a person? What is the morality behind an abortion? To what extent to an unborn child’s right outweigh those of a mother’s? When we come across sex selective abortions, however, the largest ethical conflict becomes an issue between autonomy and justice. While the women carrying a child ultimately has the right to decide what to do with her body, is it ethically right to create a differential treatment of male and female fetuses (Strange …show more content…
A utilitarian approaches this dilemma from what course of action will allow the greatest good and largest societal benefit, rather than each individual scenario. It is argued that abortion is an individual, and private, decision that will have little impact on society (Schedler 1988:310). In the long run, the greatest good would be satisfied: a family can choose if they want the child. This logic, however, becomes flawed if multiple families all participate in such a sex selection abortion, there would be an outnumbering of males to females; causing a personal decision to become a state