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The Moral and Ethical Controversy of Abortion

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The Moral and Ethical Controversy of Abortion
Abortion is a much-argued medical procedure that has been the subject of legal debates as well as medical developments. The decision to have an abortion once raised legal issues, but this was changed with the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. Roe’s argument that most laws against abortions violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment resulted in the legalization of abortions (Cornell Law School). However, although most legal and medical issues have been argued and decided upon, women today contemplating an abortion still must consider the consequences in terms of physiological consequences and ethical concerns, and both must be addressed when a decision is made to abort a fetus. In this essay I will examine both the physiological and ethical consequences one must consider when contemplating an abortion along with the question of who is considered to be a persons.

There are different methods of abortion, and so different consequences for the women who make use of those methods. According to Dr. J.C. Willke, there are three main categories of abortions; the first category includes invading the uterus and killing the fetus by instrument through the cervix. Suction aspiration is the common form of this type of abortion during the first 12 weeks. This procedure involves inserting a tube through the cervix and sucking the fetus out. One major consequence to instrumental abortion is the result of infection if not all fetal remains are removed. This required full dilation of the cervix and the scraping out of the womb leaving the woman in more pain and a longer recovery period. Another category of abortion is inducing birth by the use of different drugs. Saline injections are injected into the fetus resulting in the poisoning and the birth of the dead fetus. According to Dr. Willke, there have been many cases where the baby is born alive and left to die. There is also a risk of death to the mother along with


References: • Engelhardt, Tristram H. “The Foundations of Bioethics: second edition” 139-145, 255-2631996. Oxford. • “Supreme Court Collection: Roe VS Wade”, Cornell Law School , 1973. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0410_0113_ZO.html> • Engelhardt HT. Introduction. In: Bondeson WB, Engelhardt HT, Spicker SF, Winship DH eds. Abortion and the status of the fetus. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1984: i-xxxv. • Mason, Kate and Grey, Dale. “The controvery of Abortion”, 1998. < http://www.uky.edu/Classes/PHI/305.002/abrt.htm> • Mamers, Pam M; Lavelle, Anna L; Evans, Amanda J; Bell, Sandra M; Rusden, Jen R and Healy, David L . “Women 's satisfaction with medical abortion with RU486”. The Medical Journal of Australia, 1997. < http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/sep15/mamers/mamers.html > • “Abortion Methods:Surgical Abortions”. Niagara Region Right to Life Association, 1985. < http://www.lifesite.net/abortiontypes/> • McDonnell, K. (1986, Summer). "Not an easy choice." Whole Earth Review, 58-61."Methotrexate for the termination of early pregnancy-_a toxicology review" (1997, May 1). Reproductive Health Matters, 162_167.
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