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The Ethics of Abortion and the Battle of Pro-Life and Pro-Choice
All life is sacred, but are certain lives more sacred than others?
Among the most controversial topics that are still debated about today, the subject of abortion is that of extensive breadth. Every person who seeks to partake in a discourse on the matter will find that it is not exhaustible on the terms of a single field alone. From the physical sciences to the humanities, abortion, as a phenomenon and as a concept, encompasses many fields, and urges one not to isolate himself to any single one of them.
In general, there is a definitive binary division of opinions on the matter: pro-life and pro-choice. The former argues that abortion equates to murder: the merger of the egg and the sperm into the zygote marks the beginning of life, and to destroy it at any stage of its growth constitutes murder. The latter emphasizes more on the livelihood of the child bearer: the circumstances of her life signify nothing else but hardship for the mother herself and the children, and so termination is the only viable option.
Whereas there are other significant perspectives that have a say on the matter, it is these two that have been the dominant forces on the discussion—so dominant that they have established a binary decision which, at its grimiest, is also a dilemma: whose life is being protected, and whose choice is empowered? Suffice to say, however, the clash goes on to this day, and whereas a subject such as racism poses a clear black-and-white situation, vagueness in gray blankets abortion. There is no clear answer—only compromise, and one that always favors one over the other.
Monumental Progression or Another Historic Shift? A Preliminary Discussion on Abortion based on Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton
Monumental in transforming the political landscape amid abortion, the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton cases redefined reproductive rights for women in the US. The impact that the court decisions on each of these cases brought about resounding echoes on the values of American society. Ironically, given the current social climate, to pave the way to “the land of the free” is to hear those over others. The court rulings, hence, would be considered more of a compromise than a decisive solution.
Nevertheless, the proliferation of debates remains unhinged. The rulings decisively settled the cases on legal grounds, but the ambivalence towards abortion in the surrounding cultural landscape of the United States still prevails to this day. Still, there is no doubt that the case of Roe v. Wade and that of Doe v. Bolton shook the grounds of society on a single, imperative decision: the ability of the mother to abort - the freedom of a woman over her own body.
The Question of Privacy: A Focused Addendum to Roe v. Wade
The historic Supreme Court ruling that instigated a decades-long debate, the Roe v. Wade case pioneered a sociocultural, legislative revolution where the right to privacy has been brought to light and used a measure to evaluate and scrutinize laws that infringe it. In some way, Roe v. Wade carved the path to the empowerment of the individual in a traditionalist society through the act of abortion.
Presently, however, its significance is at a great risk. Recent talks were made of overruling the decision. The greatest repercussion: the right to privacy and legislative discourse diminish, and eventually citizens cannot decide for themselves beyond what the government allows. The relevance of abortion is at its peak here. Beyond being a novel act that supersedes tradition, it serves as a gateway for a more cathartic, insightful interpretation of constitutionality in the midst of an unpredictable progression of society.
A Medical Supersession: A Focused Addendum to Doe v. Bolton
While considered a sister case to Roe v. Wade, the Doe v. Bolton decision is not without particular merit. Doe v. Bolton saw a dispute over the constitutionality of currently existing abortion laws in Georgia that, according to the plaintiff Mary Doe, infringe upon her Fourteenth Amendment rights. Doe’s five points of contention were sustained and Supreme Court ruled in her favor.
Though the ruling was overwhelmingly in Doe’s favor, yet were they elucidated in detail. What was only made plain was their violation of the principle enforcing the “equal protection of the laws” granted by the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment. Even deeper is the progression of legislation prior to the ruling, as such laws were put in place for a reason. At the very depths below, however, is a fundamental precept that serves as both as the foundation of legislation and its harbinger of confusion.
Pro-Life: The Case Against Abortion
The case against abortion goes by many designations: anti-abortion and anti-choice—but they generally go by the pro-life movement. Their particular concern in their stance against abortion is the conceived child in the womb over the mother. A pro-lifer’s main objective is to protect the life of a human fetus from abortion regardless of medical and societal consequences. The pro-life movement seeks to discourage and outlaw the procedure to make sure a baby is carried until birth.
Most people who identify as pro-life are members of the Christian community or those who practice religion and believes abortion is a form of murder. Their platform often even opposes assisted suicide and embryonic stem cell research, proving their stance to be also anti-science. Their faith is what mostly drives their fight against abortion. Given that the considerable majority of Americans are practicing Christians, their voices play a primary role in forming the country’s government and its laws. Pro-life advocates have the strength in numbers, allowing them to establish a platform for their continued lobbying against abortion. Their voice over the issue of abortion is consistent to their perceived values and morals, and virtually nothing can obstruct a pro-lifer’s perspective on abortion.
An Inquiry into the Morality of Abortion
Given the complexity of the subject of abortion, those who seek to evaluate it in the face of morality will be met with great difficulty. With many standpoints on the matter come a great divisiveness on its morality. To have a definitive, all-inclusive resolution for such a discourse, what must be struck is the very core of what abortion is about, detached from bias and prejudice.
Abortion, however, is inherently biased. Like a scale that always tips to one side but is never balanced, the matters of abortion finds itself favoring one over the other—in this case, pro-life and pro-choice. In such a case, therefore, it is necessary to ascertain which side is best and must be tipped towards. The ultimate clue is found within the connections among actions within the spectrum of morality, and whether, in the first place, abortion is considered as a variant of any such action or as an independent action by itself.
The Grievance of Loss: A Comparative Essay on Miscarriage and Abortion
Grievance follows death—this owes not only to who lived and can no longer live, but also to what could have been but what is now impossible. In such a phenomenon, what is laid to waste, too, is the potentiality with which the passed once bore, not only of his person but also of the impact of the actions that could have been done in life.
Grievance, manifested as such, is stemmed in empathy, its magnitude reaching peak in such instances as miscarriage. Despite never having been able to live at all, the lives lost to miscarriage were the recipients of hope and ambition, of their mothers and of those who laid prepared to support them in the lives that they thought they would experience. In the case of abortion, however, grievance is directed not at the lost time of the child but that of the mother.
Destiny and Project: Abortion beyond the Womb
Some validate the notion of abortion as a matter of a single choice that determines whether the growing life inside the womb will continue on its course, as would any other person. Life, however, cannot be defined as simply "not dead"—life is an all-encompassing phenomenon that no singular framework can completely and successfully apprehend it without compromising the part of living beings in general. Such is especially the case with the growth of children: both by the environment and by their own actions, they have been shaped in the womb and continuously do so beyond.
A fruitful, incisive inquiry would demonstrate abortion as being beyond an expulsion of organic tissue from a reproductive orifice, into the conception of children as both the succeeding stage to the embryonic process and as the precedent to many facets of life. Abortion eviscerates and annihilates life both as biologically ordained and, most of all, as later self-ordained by the human being itself. Great perils lie ahead not only of lives everywhere but of humanity as a whole. The champions of choice will soon be its destructors. To abort concerns not only the life yet to be born—it concerns all of life.
From the Eyes of the Unborn: A Discourse on Abortion and Life
Amid all the efforts towards the case against abortion, what place do the aborted hold? Among the most endearing of thoughts about the unborn is that which envisions a utopian society that could have been established by the unborn—an optimistic perspective on a possible life of the aborted, but this is an imposition at best.
Present life is not directly affected by those which can no longer be. What is the significance, therefore, of making mentions of the aborted, besides mere testaments to strengthen a cause? A discourse on the aborted must serve them not as vessels of pretentious empathy, but with justice to their essence: while never having lived, they, too, were once lives. By directing energy solely to this thought alone, true empathy becomes attainable, and one discovers something about life as a whole a realization coming from those who never lived.
Life versus Choice: Adoption over Abortion
Having other alternatives to abortion is beneficial to drop the rate of women undergoing the procedure. If abortion is to be, even in the slightest, eradicated, then effective laws to strengthen adoption and foster care should be presented to government.
Generally, having the means to carry out a full-term pregnancy and keeping the mother and child safe should be a priority as a way to deter women from having to consider abortion as an option. Adopting is a way for an unwanted pregnancy to have a better ending for the mother, the conceived child, and even the people seeking to adopt.
The Catholic Church and Abortion
The Catholic Church’s voice in the abortion debate is among the loudest and most influential in the Pro-Life stance. Their argument weighs heavily from the Christian deity's fifth commandment and other Biblical evidence that supports the dogma that abortion is killing an innocent life.
Among the Canon laws of the Catholic Church reserve the right to impose excommunication to whoever participates, procures, or is involved with the act of abortion. With the strong belief that abortion is immoral and sinful, the Catholic Church broadcast their firm stance against abortion as respect to human life.
Pro-Choice: The Case For Abortion
Confronting pro-life in the spectrum is the side of pro-choice: the choice of the mother holds precedence over the child. Its advocates seek to establish an avenue for women who unwillingly became mothers to be empowered in their decision. The ultimate strength of pro-choice stems from the fact that it argues not only for women to be permitted to terminate their unborn children, but also that they are empowered in their possession over their bodies. In sum, pro-choicers do not primarily advocate the murder of the child but the livelihood of the suffering mother.
Should pro-choice prevail and their stipulations effected, it would impact society in ways never before seen. One of the first to be affected, of course, are the women. The topic of abortion involves the possibility of the infringement of a woman’s right over her own body. When the Constitution rules in favor of the pro-choicers, not only would they be permitted to the singular practice of abortion, but they may also see a great deal of empowerment on their part. Given the current social climate, such a development would be seen more of a deviation than an improvement, a compromise more than a solution. With enough time, however, the empowerment of choice would eventually become the norm.
Abortion and Pro-Women Rights
One cannot deny the significance of politics within the nuanced reality of abortion in society. Frequently does the Constitution serve as a shining beacon of secular morality. Ethics and legislation are certainly not mutually exclusive, however, as the latter had proven to err more frequently. Still, the Constitution deals a heavy hand in regulating what is right and wrong, especially in relation to the rights of an individual.
As it stands, the Constitution pursues what is best for all of society. Its progression in history is marked by the current issues that spring up in society, as well as the amendments to accommodate them in favor of the public—abortion is no different, and in which case it seems that it rules in favor of women, where a mother has every right over her own body.
- Sample essay on Abortion and Women's Constitutional Right
- Sample essay on Abortion and the Pro-Women Movement
My Stance on Abortion
Abortion has proven to be a prevalent societal phenomenon. Both its proliferation and the protestations against it are rooted mostly in the values upheld by society, whose foundation is established firmly by present norms. As such, they are defended zealously, and regardless of the circumstances, those who do not fit the mold are rejected. Tenacious, too, are the efforts to revolutionize it, in indignation towards a system that is unamenable and insensitive to individual circumstances and experiences which deviate from its imposed norms.
Yet, abortion is essentially and ultimately a personal affair. In this fashion, the demarcation of pro-life and pro-choice falls apart in the face of a personal stance on abortion. If it were to be given the discourse for which it is deserving, all focus must be directed towards the mother making the decision, the body that bears the unborn baby. As such, what come into play are the personal factors that truly and deeply influence her into making the choice: the circumstances, the current situation, and the personal stance on abortion in particular. Society should not meddle in such intimate matters. In the end, it is the mother's own body, not anyone else's—it is and should always be her own choice.
Abortion and Women's Freedom of Choice
One of the hallmarks of human life is the ability to deliberate critically, with one of its products being the conception and advocacy of the freedom of choice as an inalienable right of every individual. Among them is a woman's right to have the freedom of choice over whatever to do with their own body—the birth of the growing child included. Of course, it is necessary to regulate this freedom to ensure, as well, the security of society as a whole, its values, principles, and constituents considered.
This is a point of contention in the debate on abortion. For a mother to be free to abort her child has gone beyond an individual choice into the affairs of society, as its values are, as pro-life proponents claim, assailed, and as such, so is society itself. The individuality encompassing abortion is compromised and, at the expense of the woman's freedom of choice, societal values are being upheld. In so doing, the multifarious circumstances of abortion, all ungraspable by any structure, are ignored. The ultimate resolution is to return to the freedom of choice, a right to which women are entitled over birth and, by extension, abortion.
Politics and Abortion Clinics
Pro-lifers have put forward the motion that abortion is murder and it should not be allowed in a religious country and its laws should be associated with Christian values. However, this concept tramples over the first amendment which highlights a separation between church and state. A proposal to close down abortion clinics in the US is proving to be a detrimental action against women and their rights. Additionally, it overturns a woman’s right to have control over their own body to benefit the sole purpose of decreasing the number of women who undergo abortion procedures.
The politics in abortion has been construed to an image that it has to cater to those of Christian beliefs and secularism. Furthermore, more grave concerns need to be addressed besides the “life” of a conceived fetus, including the health of the mother and their capability to raise a child. Abortion clinics present the idea of a safe and clean abortion for women seeking to undergo the procedure. Closing abortion clinics would hinder a woman from escaping a risky pregnancy, may be it due to health concerns or a more personal risk.
Abortion and Society: Worldview on Life versus Murder
The Pro-Life and Pro-Choice debate have presented arguments that have benefited their fight against or for abortion in society. However, in the end, the decision will solely be on the woman who is expected to carry the pregnancy.
Regardless of the many viewpoints and opinions towards abortion, the discussion would ultimately reach a point wherein the right of the woman and the fetus living inside her as humans is the main point of contention. If the world is moving towards innovation, then multiple options should be in place for a pregnant woman to choose how they want to go about their pregnancy. Furthermore, the options should be able to cater to the many varied instances as to how or why a woman is pregnant.
Should Abortion be Restricted?
The case for abortion is not only for women’s rights, but also makes a practical argument for the conceived fetus. If a child was conceived out of “mistake,” chances are the young couple lacks the capabilities to raise the child, meaning their resources will not be enough to raise them properly.
In an ideal world, abortion in society will not be an option because everyone would have the means to raise a child, but that is not the case in the world we live in. The proposed restriction on abortion would mean giving a woman less freedom to decide for herself, and another unwanted pregnancy which will likely contribute to increasing number of child poverty.
Other Sociocultural Perspectives on Abortion
In the ongoing debate over abortion, aside from the pro-life and pro-choice stance, many people choose to label their position with more complex and non-binary concept. It can be argued that other perspectives are a consolidation of what is either good or bad from the two general contradicting views. However, some perspective is influenced by personal beliefs, religion, economical attributes, and many others as they choose to look at the issue through wider lenses or through a microscope.
In what sense can these varying perspective on debate contribute to the overall discussion remains to be seen. Moreover, neutrality in abortion is nonexistent because it is simply not a black-and-white issue. An individual, regardless of how they display or broadcast their views, will have an opinion over the matter—even in apathy, a stance has been chosen.
Is Abortion Moral?
The subject of abortion has been deliberated upon by multiple, various sectors of society, bearing witness to the existence of whole groups in cooperative efforts to deem it as either moral or immoral. While it carries heavy implications about the values that society upholds, as do the matters of racism, such a phenomenon is unprecedented by scale, for it essentially delves upon a singular, delicate choice: to keep the baby, or not.
Worse, still, is that this choice also makes a considerable deal of impact on women in general. History speaks much of women being subjected to submission, stripped of their rights over themselves—and the discussion on abortion is one manifestation of this. In the grand scheme of things, abortion cannot be considered in isolation; whatever society ultimately rules for it will also indicate and determine the operational moral framework under which the state of women in general is weighed.
Abortion: Problem-Solving Project
Addressing the issue of abortion is becoming more and more taxing for those who are of neutral stance. The discussion on abortion has encompassed many opposing sides with various opinions. Instead of consolidating the many perspectives, most of the debate on abortion are only contributing to the stigma around it. One study even suggested that out of the 36 million reported cases of abortion around the world, almost 10 million are illegal. The statistics presented only prove abortion to be a procedure women would seek regardless of its legal implications.
The more people debate over abortion, the more fake information is disseminated against and for it. Up until today, even though many people are involved with the conversation of abortion, a fundamental action is nowhere in sight. This may be because a single solution will not satisfy every worldview towards abortion, and both side has to end with a compromise to provide an amenable panacea.
Abortion: All Sides of the Issue
Pro-life advocates ceaselessly argue that human life begins at the conception of the fetus and it must be protected from there. Meanwhile, pro-choice advocates have fought a woman’s right to abort their pregnancy.
Contraceptives is presented to be a way to appease the two contradicting sides of abortion. But pro-life organizations believe contraceptives are another form of abortion. Pro-life and pro-choice groups have engaged in a long ongoing debate about abortion, and there seems to be no ending to it just yet. Regardless of their opposing beliefs, they still have one objective overall: to lessen the number of women undergoing abortion procedures.
Islam and Abortion
Islam is among the world's most prominent faiths. The Middle East is mostly composed of countries who strongly practice Islam, and their laws permit them to deny women to undergo abortion to terminate a pregnancy because Islamic practices have strong regard for the fetus and they believe it is sacrilegious to harm it.
The continuing disagreements towards the role of abortion in society can be attributed to the differences in culture, opinions, and religion of the people who voluntarily offer their voice into the conversation. Although the pro-choice movement brings forward valid points to legalize or decriminalize abortion, the pro-life movement is backed up by most religious organizations because of their respect to a common belief of different faiths.
Abortion in China
Four years ago, China abolished its controversial one-child policy as it observed the country has finally gained control over the economy. Moreover, abortion remains to be legal and the services are offered by its government, along with other contraceptives. However, China now faces a looming population decline.
China's government is notorious for making policies that undermine the basic morals and beliefs of the large population. There is no doubt their actions and resolution towards the issue of under-population would later prove to be controversial as well. Would the two-child policy be enough to stipulate population growth and save the country's economy?
Below the Line: Evaluation of Abortion and Poverty as represented by Africa
Primarily, the discourses surrounding abortion are predominantly led by those who reside in middle-income countries and those who are "well off." Abortion, however, is a social issue that concerns not only people who live in such places but also those whose circumstances are not as fortunate. Otherwise, abortion cannot be spoken of with authenticity.
Hence, it is necessary to include the impoverished, those who live in developing countries where societal norms and current technological inadequacies have deemed it difficult for its citizens everywhere to experience life with ease. It is essential to have discussions over abortion that makes, at the very least, an attempt to accommodate many, if not all, of those affected by the present issue. As the significance of this is not yet known, it is seminal to provide a preliminary discussion of abortion and poverty as represented by Africa, where turmoil is rife across its current politics, agriculture, and society.
Centrality and Imposition: An Analysis on Abortion and US Christian Fundamentalism
Taken to the extreme, beliefs can pose a danger. This is not because the beliefs themselves can inflict harm on an individual or on society, but because those who uphold these beliefs eventually uphold themselves, instead, in the process losing sight of other pertinent vantage points. Such is the case with abortion and American Christian fundamentalism.
Beliefs are not inherently detrimental. On paper, they provide a structure or framework under which people can operate or through which they can view reality. In a way, it also imposes a kind of centrality, where people are forced to act and speak in accordance to a system, to the point of losing all critical thinking skills. The danger underlying in this, especially with abortion and American Christian fundamentalism, is that people who firmly believe in their advocacy’s superiority will also be lead to believe in their own illusory superiority. In doing so, all ideas become eventually defeated and, in the case of abortion, all manner of logical discourse would be fruitless.