Is abortion not morally justifiable - Essay Example

of the of the of the Abortion is not Morally Justified Thesis ment Abortion is not morally justifiable. Introduction The opponents of abortion contend that human life commences at conception, which can be established by examining the number of chromosomes present in the fertilized egg. Consequently, abortion at any phase of pregnancy is murder from the moral perspective. This contention has been vehemently opposed by the proponents of abortion, who contend that a fetus is not a person. In order to prove this contention, these entities state that the fetus lacks some of the specific features of personhood; namely, consciousness, self – awareness, reason and mentation. (Jones). However, abortion is morally unjustifiable as life commences at conception, and this has been unambiguously demonstrated by scientific research. Those who support abortions during the first two and a half months of pregnancy, base their stance on their observation that the embryo, during that stage of development, does not resemble a human being. This makes it less objectionable to terminate pregnancy during that period. Such psychological perspectives account for the objection that people raise regarding the destruction of a new born child (Hillar). This is due to the fact that there is marked resemblance between the new born child and a human being. Consequently, it can be contended that abortion is only justifiable when the life of the pregnant female is in danger and in instances where there is a medical basis for destroying defective embryos. Nevertheless, in the latter case, the defect should be definite and not because the fetus has a defective gene (Hillar). Abortion is justifiable only if there is grave danger to the mother’s health. Moral objections to research in the area of embryonic stem cells are founded on the contention that adult humans and human embryos enjoy the same status from the moral perspective. This contention is unacceptable, unless it is conceded that adult humans had once been embryos. In other words, this contention is acceptable, only if the developmental history of adult humans includes embryos that are arithmetically the same as the adult humans (Montague 307). It is incorrect to contend that embryos are not human beings. This is due to the reason that in the later stages of growth, embryos develop into adult humans. The free availability of abortion to women is supported by 30% of the females. However, around 68% of the females oppose abortion without any restrictions. Of these 17% advocate abortion, but insists upon the imposition of stricter conditions than what are applicable at present. An equal number oppose abortion under any circumstance and 34% are in favor of this intervention, if pregnancy was the outcome of sexual molestation or incest, or if the life of the mother is at risk (Franz). In addition, a 2010 Gallup poll disclosed that most of the respondents considered abortion to be morally unjustifiable. This survey was conducted between the 3rd and 6th of May 2010. These respondents were required to indicate whether the list of issues provided to them were, in their opinion, morally right or wrong. With regard to abortion, 50% were firm in their belief that it was morally incorrect (Ertelt). These polls revealed the fact that it was strongly believed by the majority that abortion is morally unjustifiable. Moreover, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention produced a report entitled Abortion Surveillance – United States, 2003. This report revealed that most of the induced abortions in the year 2003, specifically 88% had been conducted during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. It was also disclosed in this report that the risk to the mother increased with advancing pregnancy. Thus, there were very few abortions performed after 15 weeks of pregnancy had elapsed. Furthermore, it was disclosed that between 16 to 20 weeks, 4.2% of abortions had been conducted. Subsequent to 21 weeks the proportion of abortions was just 1.4% (Alters). Hence, abortion is harmful to the mother’s health in the advanced stages of pregnancy. As such, abortion is immoral and unjustifiable. In the words of Lugosi, the contemporary US consists of two classes of human beings. The first class consists of those who are protected by the Constitution. The second relates to the unborn, who can also be referred to as depersonalized humans. The latter class of people is not recognized by the law as humans. The members of this class cannot live, unless their mother consents to bear them (Lugosi 226). As such, embryos and fetuses do not have any constitutional protection from being experimented upon, cannibalized for parts or being destroyed. Initiatives in the areas of cloning and embryonic stem cell research constitute a modern form of slavery (Lugosi 226). This is due to the fact that there is exploitation of the powerless by the powerful members of society. Slavery was well entrenched in the US and the slaves were dehumanized and ruthlessly exploited, in order to promote commercial, political, personal and societal objectives. The slave owners had justified their iniquitous ways by contending that slavery provided immense benefits to society and the nation at large. A similar argument is now being made with regard to the utilitarian exploitation of incipient human life. There is an insidious move to promote abortion, in order to achieve goals that have been portrayed as being beneficial to mankind (Lugosi 226). All these trials are at the cost of harmful exposure of fetuses, which is morally unjustifiable. Conclusion As such, the above discussion and statistics available on abortion reveal the truth that majority of the people in the US are of the opinion that abortion is morally unjustifiable. It can be surmised that abortion is not justifiable on moral grounds for the reasons brought to the fore in the above discussion. Work Cited Alters, Sandra M. "Abortion—An Eternal Social and Moral Issue." 2008. Web. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. 28 November 2011 . Ertelt, Steven. Poll: Abortion Morally Wrong, Embryonic Research OK, Assisted Suicide Split. 28 May 2010. Web. 28 November 2011 . Franz, Wanda. "From the President Immoral Decision – Making." December 2003. Web. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. 27 November 2011 . Hillar, Marian. Philosophers and the Issue of Abortion. 2000. Web. 28 November 2011 . Jones, Jeff. "Abortion is Immoral." 2010. Gale Opposing Viewpoints. 27 November 2011 . Lugosi , Charles I. "Respecting Human Life in 21st Century America: A Moral Perspective To Extend Civil Rights to the Unborn from Creation to Natural Death." Issues in Law & Medicine 20.3 (2005): 211 – 258. Print. Montague , Phillip. "Stem Cell Research and the Problem of Embryonic Identity." Journal of Ethics 15.4 (2011): 307 – 319. Print. Read More