The Utilitarian and Deontological Discussion of Abortion
Today, abortion has become a heavily debated topic whether socially or politically since the medical procedure was voted legal by the Supreme Court over 40 years ago. It is defined as the purposeful termination of a pregnancy before a normal childbirth (Abortion: Get Facts About the Procedure and Statistics). Whether you find yourself agreeing with it or not, many people have something to say. Abortion is very controversial because of the discussion whether or not a fetus is a person. Many wonder if there is a morally relevant point at some duration throughout the pregnancy or development of the fetus that could justify having an abortion or possibly not having an abortion. This is where …show more content…
It looks at what is morally right and wrong and their consequences. Depending on the pros and cons of this discussion, a utilitarian would choose the option that gives the most pleasure or happiness or “maximizes utility” (Rachels). Topics that are evaluated by this can include moral codes, laws, policies, etc. One of the biggest benefits of utilitarianism is the idea that the approach makes a decision on a case-by-case basis. Classical utilitarianism can be summed up in three statements: 1. The morality of an action depends solely on its consequences. 2. An action’s consequences matter only in so far as they involve the greater or lesser happiness of individuals. 3. In the assessment of consequences each individual’s happiness gets equal consideration (Rachels). Using these three core beliefs, I will evaluate the utilitarian approach to …show more content…
Considering the idea of whether or not a fetus is a human being, Kant or any other deontologists would consider the fetus to have a soul. This soul would make them out to be a human, born or unborn, and termination of the pregnancy would be considered murder (“Deontological Ethics”). What is known about deontology is that murder is absolutely and always wrong. Therefore, abortion would be immoral as well, no matter the situation behind the pregnancy. Overall, based on Kant’s views in the deontological approach, abortion is
Today, abortion has become a heavily debated topic whether socially or politically since the medical procedure was voted legal by the Supreme Court over 40 years ago. It is defined as the purposeful termination of a pregnancy before a normal childbirth (Abortion: Get Facts About the Procedure and Statistics). Whether you find yourself agreeing with it or not, many people have something to say. Abortion is very controversial because of the discussion whether or not a fetus is a person. Many wonder if there is a morally relevant point at some duration throughout the pregnancy or development of the fetus that could justify having an abortion or possibly not having an abortion. This is where …show more content…
It looks at what is morally right and wrong and their consequences. Depending on the pros and cons of this discussion, a utilitarian would choose the option that gives the most pleasure or happiness or “maximizes utility” (Rachels). Topics that are evaluated by this can include moral codes, laws, policies, etc. One of the biggest benefits of utilitarianism is the idea that the approach makes a decision on a case-by-case basis. Classical utilitarianism can be summed up in three statements: 1. The morality of an action depends solely on its consequences. 2. An action’s consequences matter only in so far as they involve the greater or lesser happiness of individuals. 3. In the assessment of consequences each individual’s happiness gets equal consideration (Rachels). Using these three core beliefs, I will evaluate the utilitarian approach to …show more content…
Considering the idea of whether or not a fetus is a human being, Kant or any other deontologists would consider the fetus to have a soul. This soul would make them out to be a human, born or unborn, and termination of the pregnancy would be considered murder (“Deontological Ethics”). What is known about deontology is that murder is absolutely and always wrong. Therefore, abortion would be immoral as well, no matter the situation behind the pregnancy. Overall, based on Kant’s views in the deontological approach, abortion is