The Ethics of Abortion

Many people consider abortion to be a conscious murder of a child. This approach encourages pro-life activists to struggle convincing others that prohibition of this operation is necessary. Consequently, abortion is viewed as an unethical and immoral decision that should be considered a crime.

Firstly, abortion can lead to serious complications which in future may make conception and motherhood impossible. Many findings reveal that a fetus and an infant share similar moral status because both of them have the right to live (Giubilini & Minerva, 2011). Abortion provokes infertility and miscarriages in future, and violates women’s menstrual cycle causing gynecological diseases. Abortion increases the risk of ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage, inflammatory diseases of pelvic organs, and scraping may cause infertility in 10 percent of cases (Keeling, 2013). Medical and mini-abortion cause less harm to the tissues, but they also threaten women’s ability to bear healthy children in future.

Secondly, a woman has no moral right to have an abortion because a new individual begins to form in her body. If a woman has the opportunity to give birth, she must necessarily do it because she lets a new person come into the world. Otherwise, if the expectant mother determines to ruin a new life, she is simply a killer. The selfishness of modern parents pushes them to the recognition that they want to live only for themselves, although they bring up the argument that they have no money to raise children as an excuse.

Thirdly, after the birth of a baby, the parents’ life often changes for the better because raising a human is a miracle. And when the father and the mother see themselves in their baby, their happiness has no boundary. It has been observed that women after the delivery of a child become more gentle and patient, and men are proved to be more conscious and responsible (Kaczor, 2010). The birth of a child improves a person’s character and even improves relations in the family.

Thus, abortion is immoral and its opponents put forward strong arguments. Firstly, this medical procedure may lead to serious health complications in future. Secondly, even an unborn child possesses all the rights of a free person.

References

Giubilini, A. & Minerva, F. (2011). After-birth abortion: Why should the baby live? Journal of Medical Ethics.

Kaczor, C. (2010). The ethics of abortion: Women’s rights, human life, and the question of justice. New York, NY: Routledge.

Keeling, J. W. (2013). Fetal and neonatal pathology (3rd ed.). Edinburg, UK: Springer.