An Abortion Is the Deliberate Killing of a Human Being
ABORTION
Biomedical Ethics PHIL 235 EC
Sunday April 16th, 2006
WINTER 2006
"An abortion is the deliberate killing of a human being. As such, it is a murder. When you kill an unborn child, you rob it of its whole future life. Therefore it is never morally permissible and it should be illegal." Critically assess that claim.
Abortion is one of the most controversial and frequently debated topics in the world. The fact that the topic involves a persons right to choice, the ethical and moral question of what's right or wrong as well as what the definition of murder constitutes, it can easily be rejected or approved by a wide variety of people depending on their personal beliefs. Over the past few generations there have been much advancement in women's liberation and their right to choice. They have been granted the right to vote, females are much more accepted and now even welcomed into the workforce, they have the right to an education, and there are much more women in business and politics now than there ever was. Unfortunately, due to the many ethical issues that are brought up in the abortion debate, the fight for women's rights has not yet been settled. It has been suggested that abortion should not only be banned, but that the act of aborting a child should be considered as equally harmful as murder as it is suggested to be the deliberate killing of a human child. This paper will argue that allowing women the right to abortion is vital to their rights as a human being and their self determination. Furthermore it will explain that the ethical issues when dealing with abortion should not be solely focused on what is right or wrong but based on circumstance of the conception and whether or not the woman is prepared to bear a child.
"Millions of women throughout the world live in conditions of abject deprivation of, and attacks against, their fundamental human rights for no other reason than that they are women." Our right to freedom is what we as
Biomedical Ethics PHIL 235 EC
Sunday April 16th, 2006
WINTER 2006
"An abortion is the deliberate killing of a human being. As such, it is a murder. When you kill an unborn child, you rob it of its whole future life. Therefore it is never morally permissible and it should be illegal." Critically assess that claim.
Abortion is one of the most controversial and frequently debated topics in the world. The fact that the topic involves a persons right to choice, the ethical and moral question of what's right or wrong as well as what the definition of murder constitutes, it can easily be rejected or approved by a wide variety of people depending on their personal beliefs. Over the past few generations there have been much advancement in women's liberation and their right to choice. They have been granted the right to vote, females are much more accepted and now even welcomed into the workforce, they have the right to an education, and there are much more women in business and politics now than there ever was. Unfortunately, due to the many ethical issues that are brought up in the abortion debate, the fight for women's rights has not yet been settled. It has been suggested that abortion should not only be banned, but that the act of aborting a child should be considered as equally harmful as murder as it is suggested to be the deliberate killing of a human child. This paper will argue that allowing women the right to abortion is vital to their rights as a human being and their self determination. Furthermore it will explain that the ethical issues when dealing with abortion should not be solely focused on what is right or wrong but based on circumstance of the conception and whether or not the woman is prepared to bear a child.
"Millions of women throughout the world live in conditions of abject deprivation of, and attacks against, their fundamental human rights for no other reason than that they are women." Our right to freedom is what we as