In Thomson book on “A Defense for Abortion,” many perspectives arises about the issue of abortion. Different people have different views on this matter more so, concerning ethics issues associated with this topic. In this topic, I would base my arguments on the fact that both the mother and the developing child are entitled to the right to life. The right to life outweighs the mother's to make her personal decisions regarding the survival of the fetus. Because life is God-given, so should not be terminated by anybody except God.
According to Thomson, those who are opposed to abortion believe that the fetus becomes a human being from the moment its conception. So distinguishing the stage at which a fetus becomes a human being is just an arbitrary choice. Other people view that an acorn that develops on an oak tree does not become part of the tree and applies the same case to a developing fetus, indicating that a fetus is not a person at its early stages.
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In Thomson discussion, we encounter a case where one finds himself in a bed with a famous violinist’s circulatory system plugged into his system, and the research shows that it is only the victim’s blood type that would help this musician. The fact that one was kidnapped and all this process was done involuntarily denies this person the right to make the decision, but it saved a life of the musician. So in this case, no matter how ignorant the perpetrators were to the person’s right to choices, the violist has been given the right to life which could not be possible the person was not available.
The violinist’s case is the same as a pregnancy acquired as a result of rape. In this case, the mother to the fetus is not willing to get pregnant with a rapist, but it happens. But the fact is it does not matter how the pregnancy occurred, and the fetus is a human being who is innocent with the right to life. Therefore, it is unethical to terminate a sinless life from the situation that resulted in that pregnancy.
Various ethical theories can support the case against abortion, such as the Deontological ethics in moral philosophy that views the morality of action from whether rightness of that action itself, rather than based on the consequences of a decision. It is a moral philosophy that guides and assesses the kind of moral choices that people should make. It explains the type of options regarded as morally permitted or forbidden. According to deontology ethics, the action is more important than the consequences. According to deontological ethics, a moral obligation may arise externally or internally from a set of rules from the universe, cultural values or from religious laws.
Kantianism theory which one of the deontological theory argues that people must act from duty for their actions to be morally right. He also claims that it is the motive of people doing things that make them right or wrong but not their consequences. He adds that the implications of a willing act cannot determine a person's goodwill because good effects can arise from an action intended to cause harm. Besides, he affirms that bad consequences can result from moral action.
Kant’s theory agrees with the view that a wrong action such a rape may result in a reasonable consequence. The motives of a rapist were not good, but they result in a conception of a fetus that is innocent and a human being with a lot of potentials if allowed to live. So the Kantianism theory would discourage abortion of unwanted pregnancies because the intention may not be right but the results are good. Besides, according to Kant, the determining factor of moral action is the will. Therefore, it would be immoral for a mother to decide to terminate a child because it is a product of rape or any other case. Kant adds that people should act according to their respect for moral law, and a good will is good when a person does something because it is his duty.
Divine command theory is another deontological theory that would be against abortion. This theory is a collection of related theories that argue that an action is right if God commands. Majority of philosophers who support this theory hold a view that moral obligations originate from the command of God. Therefore, any action that is against Go’s commandments is immoral even if they are beneficial to a human being. Concerning divine command theory, abortion is immoral because according to the holy books, it is only God who has a moral authority to make or to destroy life. So terminating a life of anything created by God is immoral. So killing an innocent life of even helping one to do so is wicked because it is acceptable by God.
Drawing from deontological theories, it is evident that it is only God who can understand the process of child formation. People believe that God who is a divine being controls all natural occurrence. Human beings are commanded by God to act in different ways for God to accomplish his plans. Therefore, regardless of the circumstances under which a conception of life happens, God has control over it. Besides, it is God who understands the purpose of God’s creation of human beings, so no one has a moral authority of destroying God’s work.
There are individual cases where the pregnancy may threaten the life of the mother, such as ectopic pregnancy. In such as a case, the mother has a right to life because even though the developing fetus has the right to life too. Aborting because of this case is reasonable because if this condition is ignored, both lives would be lost eventually, as the embryo cannot develop in such a situation. Therefore, assisting the mother would be a moral action rather than losing both of them.
Another cause of abortion is unwanted pregnancies, which happen as a result of unplanned human actions. Abortion is morally unethical whether it was acquired willingly or as bad or good luck. The intentions that resulted in the conception of a baby can sometimes be bad according to Kant, but the outcome of the action is good. So it is the moral duty of the mother to give such a life a chance to grow and live because whatever happened in the process of conception was not its fault, and the mistakes of the parents are and not result from the baby.
Many people terminate the lives of a fetus due to reasons like tough economic challenges and wrong time. All these reasons cannot be justified because a person can control economic problems but not life. A murderer who slaughters people and one who kills a young life have no difference. Any form of killing is a crime and immoral because it causes pain and suffering to the fellow human being.
It is also illegal for medical practitioners who are bound by Hippocratic Oath to defend life, to assist a person to commit abortion, unless under extreme medical reasons. More so, the developing baby has a portion of both parents; thus it is like killing oneself. Therefore, my stand is that the life of any human being is sacred and it should be treated with respect.
