The Ethical Issue Of Abortion

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Abortion is an emotive and controversial topic that raises political, ethical and social debates. According to Dictionary.com, “abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, usually before the embryo or fetus is capable of independent life; most often performed during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy.” In this paper, I’ll explain the main legal and ethical issues surrounding abortions. Also, I will provide a case that has to deal with abortion. Ethical questions mainly stem from religious, social and professional dimensions. Legal questions are social concerns about the restrictions women have from terminating pregnancies at their own discretion. Medical practices and awareness of personal liberties, debates will continue to …show more content…
The main contention with opposing views is when they believe the fetus is recognized as a person. Some believe that is mortally wrong to kill an innocent person no matter the size/age. “Since the fetus is an innocent being, it is mortally wrong to terminate its life.” There is a universal consensus that terminating an innocent person’s life is wrong but proponents of abortion fault the assertion that a fetus has equal status as a person. There is no real answer to when the fetus is actually a human; it’s just all opinions. People are known for having sympathetic feelings to a child who is visible over the unborn fetus. However, pro-life activists hold that emotions that cannot form a basis for justifying birth. With the fetus being born or not being born; the fetus does have a chance in becoming a full human being. Viability of a fetus to survive outside the womb independently is when the fetus is able to get that ‘full human being’ status. Abortion also raises ethical issues of character. Peoples who have been or are engaging in abortion, have to deal with the dilemma of terminating the life of a person. Usually the peoples that engage in abortion have a diverse reason for there actions. Common reasons include unplanned conception, lack of financial recourses to cater for child and undesirable social stigma among

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