Legalizing abortion has been at the center stage of a heated debate and policymaking in the US for the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The debate revolves around the conditions allowable for the termination of women’s pregnancy. Most national and international communities' incapability to formulate fair laws of abortion arises from several variables related to the inherent dignity of life, moral, ethical, and religious values. To resolve the controversial issue, examining the various controversial concerns arising from abortion rights with the lenses of ethical principles such as ethical egoism and the social contract is potent in understanding the people's varying views. Ethical egoism relates to the doctrine that everyone should exclusively pursue their self-interest. On the other hand, social contract relates to the view that people’s obligations are based on a contract or agreement with others to build a harmonious setting and reciprocal gains. As argued in the essay, the difference between men's and women's abortion is explored on ethical egoist and social contract ethicist views.
The social contract approach protects the fundamental principle of human rights, such as the right to gender equality. As such, a social contract ethicist would support that women universally should have the freedom to decide whether they are ready to have a child or not. Ban of abortion denies women entitlement to safe procedures necessary for their sexual freedom and proper health (Wurth, 2019) . The ban denies them the right to receive health services that would grant them the fundamental right to control their fertility. Further, a social contract ethicist would be unfair that the ban on abortion subjects the woman only to the unwanted pregnancy consequences. As illustrated, the social contract ethicist argument of freedom of the women to regulate their fertility is critical to achieving gender equality.
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However, the social contract theory does not exclude the father's contribution in taking part in the decision of whether to terminate the woman’s pregnancy or not. The social contract theory promotes harmonious social living as it advocates one person to forego self-centered designs to work for what benefits everyone (Rachels, 2015, p. 85) . The fetus is genetically made from the contribution of man and woman. As such, both have equally significant roles to play in deciding whether to get a child or not. However, the fetus is part of the woman's body. Like everyone else, she has the right to decide for her body, giving her a higher dominion of the fetus in her womb. However, the theory suggests the woman should involve the man on whom it is incumbent to be the child's provider. As such, the theory helps create a consensus between the woman and the man in abortion.
An ethical egoist would argue that though men constitute the fetus's formation, the abortion law should be centered on the woman’s dominion over the child's pre-viability. A mother's natural ability to grow a child inside her womb is their distinct natural capability that their male counterparts do not possess. Further, pregnancies and the need to raise the conceived child are a responsibility that primarily falls on the woman's part. Among the factors that pregnancy mainly affects in women's lives are their health, education, and career pursuit. Ethical egoism supports women to pursue their self-interest exclusively (Rachels, 2015). Education significantly impacts the social opportunities available for women than for men (Oláh, 2018) . Generally, men's social roles are the same whether they are educated, and having children does not interfere with their career goals. Education provides women with many options to adopt apart from the domestic roles. Women’s choice to further pursue their careers implicates that they are likely not to have children as it would interfere with their priority. Therefore, it is ethical egoism that justifies women if they consider abortion to explicitly pursue education and career goals to benefit and improve their life in society.
Subsequently, an ethical egoist would support women's dominion in making the abortion choices based on the inherent health risks involved by the abortion procedures. According to research, abortions pose a broad range of health risks to women, including reproduction systems and mental well-being (National Academies of Sciences, 2018) . Similarly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020) reveal that pregnancies are associated with various health risks during the various stages of pregnancy. In the worst scenario, pregnancies can pose a deadly threat to both the woman's life and the unborn child. On the contrary, men do not face any health risks from the pregnancy or the abortion procedure. In this case, also, women have a dominant choice about abortion to serve their best interest in terms of their health, safety, and well-being.
Critics of ethical egoism argue that if the overstated female jurisdiction in choosing abortion will not maintain traditional gender-based divisions' status. The propane that exclusion of the fathers of the fetuses from participating in the abortion decision implies they are irrelevant and denies them the choice of either becoming a parent or not. They argue that it is unfair that men do have a similar choice and further argue that it would be fair for the men to be excused from the responsibilities for their wives' independent choice consequences. As such, that will have a negative outcome on general society.
Health professionals are bound by a professional code of ethics founded on preserving life and not destroying it. In nearly all the fifty US states, abortion is legalized, and as such, women have the right to receive nonjudgmental abortion procedures from health care centers. In some cases, pregnancy termination is against some health professionals' moral, ethical, and religious values (Connolly, 2019) . However, abortion laws in the states are legally binding to the health care system, and the American Medical Association, in response, does not prohibit physicians from conducting voluntary abortions as stipulated in the code of medical ethics opinion 4.2.7 (AMA, 2017) . However, according to the American Journal of Nursing, the medical assistants should also have the right to refuse to participate in the abortion process unless in emergencies (Sullivan, 2012) . As such, the professional codes acknowledge the health professionals who, due to ethical, moral, or religious beliefs, hold a different opinion on abortion.
In conclusion, the debate on the legalization of abortion still raises opposite opinions in social contract ethicists and ethical egoists' views, as demonstrated. Based on the woman's interest and her inherent domination in making the abortion choice, the ethical egoist argues that she should choose that best serves her interest. On the contrary, the fact that a man also plays a role in impregnating the woman and later obligated to provide for the child's needs creates the basis for a social contract ethicist to argue that abortion should be made by both the man and the woman.
References
American Medical Association (
AMA). (2017). Abortion . https://policysearch.ama-assn.org/policyfinder/detail/abortion?uri=%2FAMADoc%2FEthics.xml-E-4.2.7.xml
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020, August 13). Pregnancy Complications . https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pregnancy-complications.html
Connolly, M. &. (2019, September 26). Abortion: Hundreds of healthcare workers oppose new law. BBC News . https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-49831856
National Academies of Sciences. (2018). 4 Long-Term Health Effects . In National Academies of Sciences, The Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in the United States (pp. 133-152). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24950
Oláh, L. S. et al. (2018). The new roles of men and women and implications for families and societies . In: Doblhammer G., Guma J. (eds) A demographic perspective on gender, family and health in Europe. Springer, Cham.
Rachels, J. (2015). Ethical Egoism. In J. Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy (8 ed., pp. 64-81). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Rachels, J. (2015). The Social Contract Theory. In J. Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy (Eighth ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Sullivan, C. (2012, June). Postoperative Abortion Care. American Journal of Nursing, 112 (6), 13. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000415106.18672.
Wurth, M. (2019, June 10). What Life is Like When Abortion is Banned . Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/06/10/what-life-when-abortion-banned
