Ethical Dilemmas of Abortion

Abstract 

Abortion is legal in the United States as per the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v Wade. However, the matter has been recurring in the country, and many people think that the court ruling is no longer having power over the issue of abortion. The problem with abortion is the ethical dilemma it brings to the mothers and the country as a whole. Despite abortion being legal, some people think that the welfare of the unborn baby should also be a factor of consideration. However, others argue that the mother's interest should be the priority. Therefore, many ethical theories can be beneficial in understanding the right decision a mother should make while facing such a moral dilemma. In this article, the aim is to examine ethical theories such as Teleology, Deontology, Intuitionism, and Virtue ethics, and how they can inform the mother on the best decision to take while deciding on abortion. 

Abortion 

The debate on whether abortion is right or wrong is still unfinished. The arguments on abortion lie on religion, ethics, human rights, and science. The constitutional right of women is at the center of the abortion arguments. Also,the morality of abortion and its religious implications among women is another dimension of the abortion arguments. The concept of life is also another central topic while discussing the matter of abortion. In most debates concerning abortion, defining the exact time a human being’s life begins is a challenge. Therefore, some scholars divide the pregnancy period into first, second, and third trimesters to make it easy to understand the abortion arguments. While supporting their side on abortion, some scholars believe that a women's life should be the priority, and therefore, women should have the right to abort as long as they are not risking their health. However, other scholars argue thatinthe second and third trimesters, abortion means killing an innocent baby. With such arguments and contradictions, the abortion debate is still an unsolved issue. However, understanding abortion from the viewpoint of Teleology, Deontology, Intuitionism, and Virtue ethical theories could help in understanding both consequences of abortion and how people need to approach its arguments. 

The Abortion as the problem 

Abortion is the termination of pregnancy expulsion or removal of a fetusbefore the full development of the embryo and the birth of a live child. Abortion is, therefore, a deliberate act of terminating the development of the embryo. The debate about abortion in the United States began in the 1830s when many states in the country banned the act of abortion. In the 1800s, the rationale for burning abortion was to eliminate competition among the medical providers and also to stay relevant in the religious world. However, Roe v. Wade of 1973 changed the situation of abortion and made it legal for the first and second trimester of pregnancy. Since such a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court, abortion policy has seen a huge debate in the country. As a public policy, abortion is an issue that centers on what the public sees as right or wrong about terminating a pregnancy. As an ethical issue, the government and both men and women face a moral dilemma on the circumstances under which abortion can be ethical or unethical. 

As far as many states in the United States permit the act of abortion, it is a complex issue that revolves around the constitutional rights and the health of both the mother and the unborn baby. Ethics defines the borders of behaviors insociety. Through ethics, people set their unique ways of life that they think is moral and fair to all people in the community. Therefore the society compels mothers to consider many issues other than their lives while considering an abortion. They should consider issues such as the impact of abortion on the family and also religion. Also, there are ethical theories that suggest that people place their interests first, while others suggest minding other people's concerns while making a decision. Since abortion is a tussle between the mother and the unborn baby, people expect mothers either to make a decision that favors them or their unborn babies. It presents a critical ethical dilemma onwhose right to prevail between the mother and the unborn baby. Therefore, abortion is a crucial matter in society since it places the life of both the mother and the unborn baby at risk. Therefore, understanding the ethical theories and how they can be used to interpret the risk involving a decision to abort can be a critical away of designing an excellent policy to guide mothers who face an ethical dilemma relating to issues of abortion. 

Literature Review 

Consequences of Abortion 

The literature review focuses on many issues about abortion. According to Sufrin (2019), legalizing abortion is the best thing the government can do to show that it respects the 14 th amendment of the United States constitution. As stated by Sufrin (2019), the United States Constitution under the 14 th Amendment, claims that every person has the right to privacy and any governmental infringement of that  right  to be justified by a compelling state interest. The author argues that if any state passes a policy against abortion, it will be infringing on the rights of women. Sufrin (2019) further revisits the health benefits that a woman is likely to get after deciding to abort. The author mentions that, to some extent, abortion is about saving women’s life. According to the author, it may not be necessary for a woman to suffer for the sake of a baby that is yet to be born. Therefore, Sufrin (2019) reveals that policies that focus on abortion should place considerations on the health of mothers rather than the unborn babies while formulating regulations on abortion. 

Stewart (2019) evaluates the pros and cons of abortion. According to the author, one of the critical benefits of abortion is that it saves the mother's life, but safety is only guaranteed when the mother follows the right procedure and get the services from an expert. Another advantage, as Stewart (2019) states, is the economic benefits. From the author's viewpoint, there are circumstances where the couple can decide to terminate the pregnancy because they are incapable of catering for the child. From the author's perspective, there is no need for the mother or couple to strain to take care of the baby, yet they can terminate the pregnancy to allow them time to settle financially. The author underlines the situation of Norma McCovey, a woman hailing from Texas whose story led to the landmark case of Roe v. Wade in the United States. The author, therefore, claims that in a situation such as where Norma was, aborting become the best option because of it healthy and save the women from the misery of financial problem. However, Stewart (2019) warns on the health and psychological consequences that comes with the decision of abortion. According to the authors, a lady that decides to abort at her second or thirds trimester is risking her life. 

Roe v. Wade Case 

Roe v. Wade was a landmark case that had a significant impact on the legality of abortion in the United States. According to Fodor (2019), the topic of abortion was already controversial in the United States in the 1830s before the case of Roe v. Wade. Before the 19 th, abortion was legal, but with a lot of restrictions for mothers. For instance, a mother could not terminate a pregnancy after four months ( McDonald, 2019). However, things changed in the 1850s when the American Medical Association came in advocating for the termination of the legality of abortion among mothers. According to Lantz (2019), the American Medical Association did not have an interest in the life of the mothers or their health while advocating for the abolition of Abortion. However, they were against the competition from other healthcare staffs that were offering the abortion services to mothers in the states where abortion was legal. According to Fodor (2019), some natives were also anti-abortion because of the immigrants that were within the country during that time. In their opinion, the growing population of immigrants was becoming dangerous for the natives ( McDonald, 2019). Therefore, the best way was to advocate against abortion so that their native population would grow. The Catholic was also another group that did not want an abortion. In their view, the Catholics claimed that abortion was immoral in society ( McDonald, 2019). 

On Jan 22, 1973, the United States legalized abortion and struck down all the states such as Texas that were illegalizing the act. In a 7-2 decision, the judges Supreme Court declared that it was against the U.S constitution to deny the lady the right to abort. The 14 th Amendment was the reference. It states that people have the right to privacy, and the government should not interfere with such a right unless the issue is at the state’s best interest ( McDonald, 2019). While analyzing the matter of abortion, the court divided the pregnancy stage into the first, second, and third trimester. In the first trimester, the choice to end a pregnancy lies with the women. However, safety should be the priority of the lady. Therefore, they should find the right people to carry out the process. In the second trimester of pregnancy, the government could regulate abortion, although not ban it, to protect the mother’s health ( McDonald, 2019). Regulating abortion, in this case, means finding the right process of enhancing safe abortion. It includes insisting that the lady must visit a professional to carry out the abortion process. In the last trimesters, the court stated that the state could prohibit abortion from protecting a fetus that could survive on its own outside the womb, except when a woman’s health was in danger ( McDonald, 2019). 

The Ethical Analysis of the Abortion 

A close analysis of the Supreme Court ruling on Roe vs. Wade reveals a lot of issues about abortion that are at the core of ethical arguments in the current world. The first issue is the protection of the mother's health. In Roe v. Wade ruling, the priority is on the protection of the mothers’ health while discussing issues of abortion. Therefore, it implies that the mother's health needs to come first when deciding whether to have an abortion or not. The second idea on abortion is the constitution that rules in favor of the ladies and createsfree space for them to abort as long as their health is not at stake. The last is the life of the unborn baby. Since the SupremeCourt ruled that mothers are free to terminate pregnancies in the first trimester, it can be assumed that life does not begin at the early stages of the pregnancy. The Supreme Court state that the mother should not terminate a pregnancy at the last trimester because, at this point, they risk killing a child that can survive on its own. Therefore, it is evident that the argument the court present lies in important issues on abortion arguments such as when to consider that life has begun in the womb and the health benefits the mother gets after abortion. Some ethical theories support the arguments that the Supreme Court used while ruling the Case of Roe vs. Wade while others are against it, but explore more on the topic of abortion dilemma. 

Teleological ethics are concerned with the consequences of abortion ( Amer, 2019). There are three types of the Teleological ethics. Egoism is the first teleological ethics, and it states that an action is ethically right if it maximizes the self-benefits or addresses to its maximum, an individual interest (Amer, 2019). The foundation of egoism is the notion that it is always moral to promote one’s good, but at times avoiding the personal interest could be a moral act too. Therefore, as much as it encourages self-benefits and individual attention, egoism restraints a person from harming others when making an ethical decision. Consequently, it does allow the person to harm others while pursuing a person's objectives ( Amer, 2019). Therefore, it is clear from the egoism point of view that a lady has the authority to abort as long as the decision will be beneficial in her case ( Amer, 2019). However, she has to consider the impact the decision will have on others. Therefore, Egoism supports the lady to abort only when her life is at risk. At that time, the lady can assume that her life is much important than the life of the unborn baby. 

The second type of Teleological ethics is the utilitarianism that holds that an ethical action should result to the happiness of the majority ( Amer, 2019). The foundation of the utilitarianism theory is that an action is morally upright when it addresses the needs or the interest of the majority of people that it affects. Regarding abortion, it implies that while deciding to terminate a pregnancy, the mother needs to consider society as a whole. It further means that while deciding to end abortion, any person affected must be considered. Therefore, the family, the unborn child, and the mother all must come to consideration before a lady decides to terminate the pregnancy. Even though utilitarianism allows for abortion, it places a lot of restrictions on the mother ( Amer, 2019). The Utilitarian, therefore, bring more conflict. For instance, there are cases of sexual assault such as rape that results to unwanted pregnancies. In such a case, the mother may find it challenging to carry a pregnancy that of such nature even though the unborn baby is innocent. 

The third teleological ethics is Eudemonism,which states that an action is right if it results in the    fulfillment of goals along with the welfare of human beings ( Amer, 2019). The theory claims that an ethically upright effort should fulfill the goals and needs of human nature and happiness. Regarding abortion, the question that comes in is that does the killing of an innocent kid brings happiness? Is it the goal of nature? What about the mothers' health? In case of issues such as unwanted teenage pregnancies or rape cases resulting in pregnancy, do such actions warrant abortion as far as this theory is of concern? Therefore, Eudemonism is not clear even though its philosophy seems to incline towards upholding abortion. 

Deontology is another ethical viewpoint that can make it easy to understand abortion as either wrong or a right act. According to this moral point of view, an action is correct as long as it follows the rules ( Anthony & Sterkens, 2019).Deontology ethics further states that there are rules or duties in the society that people follow. It assumes that every person in the world has the dignity to follows such responsibilities. Therefore, an act that is according to the rules is good, and that which is against the rules is unethical ( Anthony & Sterkens, 2019). Regarding abortion, killing is something that society regarded as evil. In the Ten Commandments of the bible, killing is prohibited. In the legal viewpoint also, killing is prohibited. Therefore, deontology views abortion as an unethical act since it does not follow the societal rules. However, there are many issues that deontology is not addressing. For instance, it is not addressing the health of mothers or a situation when their lives are at risk. Deontology and religious viewpointslooks at abortion in a similar way, but they do not consider many issues that can shape the decision on abortion. 

The Intuitionism ethical theory states that some morality is self-evident; therefore, people do not need to refer to things or cases to understand such morality ( Boylan, 2020). Regarding the discussion on abortion, moral intuitionism provides two ways of looking at the matter. The first is the nature of abortion in society. It all depends on the societal viewpoint on abortion. In a community where abortion is legal, it should be natural for people to view it as a normal thing, and therefore, it cannot be unethical in such a community. However, in a society where abortion is regarded as killing an innocent child, abortion should be immoral, and there should be no much debate on it. Another way of looking at the issue of abortion from the intuitionism angle is the consequences of abortion. For instance, if abortion risks the life of the mother, then it should not be practiced, and this should be natural things for all people. However, if it does save the life of the mother, then it can be ethical. Also, the welfare of the unborn and the motheris another way to look at the issues of abortion through intuitionism. For instance, If the mother’s life is more vital than that of the unborn, then abortion should be practice, but if the mother's life is less important, then abortion should illegal. 

Virtue ethics claims that it is the individual traits and not the rules that define ethics. Therefore, if a person acts ethically, it depends on their choices and not the limits they have in society. In this sense, abortion depends on the decision the mother has and the goals she has with her life or the kid. The ethics of care claims that the mother will not involve in abortion if she thinks she is being unjust to the unborn kid. On the other hand, a mother who sees the unborn kid or the pregnancy as an obstacle to a better life or happiness has the right to terminate the pregnancy. 

Conclusion 

The discussion pinpoints the ethical dilemmas that face a mother upon deciding to terminate a pregnancy. From the discussion, it is clear that abortion is legal. However, the mother faces a lot of tough times to determine whether they are acting ethically or unethical when terminating a pregnancy. Therefore, it is advisable that the mother thinks through such actions, and review the ethical theories before deciding on matters concerning abortions. 

References 

Amer, A. B. (2019). Understanding the Ethical Theories in Medical Practice.  Open Journal of Nursing ,  9 (02), 188. 

Anthony, F. V., & Sterkens, C. (2019). Religion and the right to (dispose of) life: A study of the attitude of Christian, Muslim, and Hindu students in India concerning the death penalty, euthanasia, and abortion. In  Euthanasia, Abortion, Death Penalty, and Religion-The Right to Life and its Limitations  (pp. 13-63). Springer, Cham. 

Boylan, M. (2020). The abortion debate in the twenty-first century.  Global Bioethics and Human Rights: Contemporary Perspectives , 190. 

Fodor, J. (2019, October). Roe v. Wade and the Appointment of Justice Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. In  Proceedings of International Academic Conferences  (No. 9712298). International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences. 

Lantz, P. M. (2019). State Laws Restricting Abortion: The Need to Document Their Impact.  The Milbank Quarterly ,  97 (3), 645-648. 

McDonald, T. (2019). Maternal Mortality, Race, and the Abortion Reforms of the 1960s and 1970s.  Race, and the Abortion Reforms of the 1960s and 1970s (September 30, 2019) . 

Stewart, E. J. (2019). Reshaping a Moral Dilemma: A Historical and Moral Investigation of Abortion in the United States and the Republic of Ireland. 

Sufrin, C. (2019). When the Punishment is Pregnancy: Carceral Restriction of Abortion in the United States.  Cultural Anthropology ,  34 (1), 34-40.