A Question of the Sanctity of Life or the Good of Society
The morality of induced abortion is still a highly debated topic. There are ethical principles which serve as guides when making judgments such as these.
It is still debatable whether induced abortions are right or not. In judging the morality of abortions, there are certain ethical principles that can be considered.
What is an Abortion?
“Abortion” is when you take something out of your body that is still in your womb, and that thing dies because of it. An abortion may be spontaneous, due to complication during pregnancy, or induced: the deliberate elimination of an fetus. Such induced abortions can be achieved via herbal abortifacients or physical removal of the fetus.
The pro-life community firmly believes that a fetus is alive from conception and that an abortion is the murder of the unborn child. The pro-choice community, however, allows the fetus no rights and believes that it is the woman’s decision to have a child into the world or to abort the fetus.
True ethicists subscribe to a third school of thought. An ethicist will take into consideration circumstances surrounding pregnancies and use ethical principles as to guide them to make decisions which will be of the best outcomes. Two such principles, which may often contradict each other, are the Sanctity of Life Principle and the Utilitarian Principle.
The Sanctity of Life Principle and Abortion
The Sanctity of Life Principle refers to the idea that life is sacred. In Eastern Culture, the word life here refers to both animal and human life. Western Culture has narrowed down the term life to mean only human life. This is the argument used by the pro-life community: A fetus is a human life and because life is sacred, it should not be intentionally ended.
However, many believe that this is a narrow-minded way of thinking. Although one may claim that life is sacred, some believe that you must consider all circumstances surrounding a given situation. For example, he mother’s life may be endangered by the unborn child. Should the mother then say that her baby’s life is sacred and die carrying the baby? It’s a dilemma that’s been debated many times.
The Utilitarian Principle and Abortion
According to the Utilitarian Principle, “when confronted with a decision, we must examine the possible consequences of alternative actions and then pick what we feel would give the most joy. According to utilitarian philosophy, individuals should try to accomplish the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of others.
This is generally held as a more open-minded way of thinking, but some believe that it compromises the value of human life. For example, the Utilitarian Principle would allow a mother whose health is compromised by a pregnancy to abort her unborn child on the basis that a child growing up without the guidance of a mother could grow up to be a misguided adult. One could also argue that the mother is already making a great contribution to the good of society, making her life worthy of preservation.
In short, no matter how contradictory, the Sanctity of Life Principle and the Utilitarian Principle are two ethical rules which should be considered when handling the question of the morality of induced abortions. The Sanctity of Life Principle considers the value of the human life. The Utilitarian Principle considers the good and up keeping of the entire society. The answers to these questions, however unclear, are issues that will continue to be the subject of much debate.
