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Abortion: Ethical Issues

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Abortion: Ethical Issues
ABORTION: AN ETHICAL DILEMMA
Nicole Simpson
Values Seminar Summer 2014
June 6, 2014

Abstract
This research paper will focus on the ethical dilemma of abortion. The Supreme Court decision of 1973 (Roe v. Wade) made abortion legally available to women within the first two trimesters of a pregnancy. Abortions are legal in many states, but are they ethical? Does the healthcare industry consider the ethical dilemma of abortion as ending a life? Do individual practitioners have a choice when it comes to performing an abortion? If the language of Roe v. Wade was to be read literally it would imply that a physician has no grounds on which to deny or refuse an abortion, with the exception of a clear and imminent threat to the woman’s health if the abortion procedure is completed. There will be discussions of abortion out of necessity, abortion as the woman’s right, as well as the thought that the use of abortion is a contraceptive. Also presented in this paper are the ethical challenges when looking at abortion as an act of mercy, an act of killing, and pregnancies as a result of rape or incest that are aborted. The main focus of this paper will be to address the ethical issues and standards in regard to abortion.

Roe v. Wade details what is legal and illegal regarding abortion, but it does not lay out exactly what an abortion is. Merriam-Webster defines abortion as “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus.” This definition is very to the point as far as what is considered an abortion and the end result of abortion. But this definition does not take into account the ethical issues regarding abortion or the physical and mental health of the patient and of the health care professional performing the procedure.
There are many reasons that women choose to have abortions, including the responsibility of having a child, the financial stress of having a child,


References: Definition of Abortion . (n.d.). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved June 6, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/medlineplus/abortion Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (n.d.). Abortion []. Retrieved June 6, 2014, from http://www.iep.utm.edu/abortion/#SSH5aii The Connection between Contraception and Abortion. (n.d.). lifeissues. Retrieved June 10, 2014, from http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/smith/smith_02contraandabortion.html . (n.d.). . Retrieved June 12, 2014, from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3711005.pdf Abortion, Conscience, and Health Care Provider Rights. (n.d.). Public Discourse. Retrieved June 7, 2014, from http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2012/07/5902/ Emergency contraception: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (n.d.). U.S National Library of Medicine. Retrieved June 8, 2014, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007014.htm
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