Can Abortion Ever Be Justified?
Religion fuels much of the intensity of the abortion debate. Modern government is purposefully separated from religion. In the Western world, the teachings of any one religion shouldn¡¦t and don¡¦t dominate the laws of a nation. However the morals and beliefs of the people are what establishes the morals and beliefs of a government. And the abortion debate is not just one of religious attributes, it is one of morality, legality, political and scientific concerns too. And it does not just concern the black and white debate of wrong and right, this at least is commonly agreed upon although many sides use many different types of argument to proves their points. Morals are dictated by the beliefs and feelings of society. Society today views life as precious, and as being something that should be protected. This is evident by the amount of ¡¥pro-life¡¦ pressure groups that hold weight. Such as The Association of Pro- Life Obstetricians and LIFE. Polls show that most people think that abortion is wrong in the way it is legal today, but only a small percentage of these are against abortion outright. Many religions that dominate culture have denounced the practice, however every one of these has also outlined extreme circumstances where induced abortions may be permitted, thus not outlawing the science and technology of abortion. The circumstances are similar with regards to political leaders speaking out concerning the issue. If this is a fair representation of society, then the morals dictated by this are confused and unclear. Is abortion morally wrong? Can it ever be justified?
In the UK abortion became illegal in 1861 under ¡¥The Offences Against the Person Act¡¦ when the penalty for 'procuring a miscarriage' was life imprisonment. This was backed up in 1929 in the Infant Life Preservation Act. Women trying to escape the burden of an unwanted pregnancy were forced to use unreliable and dangerous methods, including poisonous drugs, knitting needles, soap or lead
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