Thompson's Arguments Against Abortion

In a modern world the issue of abortion is one of the most controversial because people usually have opposite views about it. From one point of view, abortion is considered to be a sin, murder, and it is condemned. They feel as though each human has a right to live. From the other side, people recognize the right of a woman to manage her body, her life and to decide to birth a baby or not. Some people consider a fetus to be a rightful human being that should be respected, and some people are sure that during the initial stages of pregnancy, a few cells cannot be considered as a real human, and that’s why abortion should be allowed. There are some cases, when abortion should be allowed, as from the ethical points of view they might be considered …show more content…
One of the most substantial and clear thoughts related to abortion belongs to Judith Thompson, who argues with the defenders of abortions. The view of such defenders is usually rather narrow, they claim each fetus to be a personality that needs to be protected and has a right to live; Thompson provides some arguments against. Her position in the aspect of abortion is one of the most sensible, mainly because she pays attention to mother and to her right to decide (Vaughn). The other philosopher, Warren, is also arguing with the defenders of abortions, denying the idea that fetus is a personality. She determines five main features of the personality and states that fetus does not have them: “I suggest that the traits which are most central to the concept of personhood, or humanity’ in the moral sense, are, very roughly; the following: 1. consciousness 2. reasoning 3. self-motivated activity, 4. the capacity to communicate, by whatever means, messages of an indefinite variety of types, that is, not just with an indefinite number of possible contents, but on indefinitely many possible topics; 5. the presence of self-concepts, and self-awareness, either individual or racial, or both” (Warren). As a result abortion is not a killing of the personality and that is why it should be permitted. Every woman should have the right to make a choice, especially in the cases …show more content…
In the case of a rape, the woman has a right to not want to keep a child, who will constantly remind her about the awful action that has happened to her. The woman’s psychological state might be extremely damaged by the necessity to have this child. Women who were raped and kept their babies often do not want to raise them and most of the children suffer by having to live in a foster home and not growing up in a loving environment, and it’s not fair to the child. They didn’t ask to be here. It is painful both for a woman and for children to live this way and abortion should be provided as an option for women. It will provide her with a freedom of choice and she will not feel completely trapped. In the case of incest, abortion should be permitted because the negative genetic consequences of an incestuous union are known by science and they are horrible. Genetic mutations, deviations in both physical and mental development, different kinds of deformities, and health issues are the most common risks for such babies, and to avoid it, abortions should be allowed. It’s necessary to point out that everybody deserves to live, even the unborn baby, but, from the other point of view, a woman, who might die delivering a baby, who was raped or whose child would have some serious issues, should have a right of choice. She should know that she has a possibility to protect her life and