The
ethicalEthics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality, such as what the fundamental semantic, ontological, and epistemic nature of ethics or morality is , how moral values should be determined , how a moral outcome can be achieved in specific situations , how moral...
aspects of abortionAn abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species...
revolve around a series of philosophical questions about the status of embryos, zygotes and fetuses, and the
rights of womenThe term women's rights refers to freedoms and entitlements of women and girls of all ages. These rights may or may not be institutionalized, ignored or suppressed by law, local custom, and behavior in a particular society...
. These questions generally include:
- Are embryos, zygotes and fetuses "persons" worthy of legal protections?
- Should the potential to be a person give embryos, zygotes and fetuses a right to life
Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...
?
- Does a fetus gain rights as it gets closer to birth?
- Does a woman have an absolute right to determine what happens to her body?
- Is abortion acceptable in cases of rape, incest, contraception failure?
- Is abortion acceptable in cases where the fetus is deformed?
- Is abortion acceptable in cases where if the pregnancy were to continue, it would pose a direct threat to the life of the woman?
The
feministThe term Feminism can be used to describe an academic discourse, or to describe a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at establishing more rights and legal protection for women...
and theologian Beverly Harrison has said, "...the well-being of the woman and the value of her life plan should always be recognised as of intrinsic nature".
The
ethicalEthics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality, such as what the fundamental semantic, ontological, and epistemic nature of ethics or morality is , how moral values should be determined , how a moral outcome can be achieved in specific situations , how moral...
aspects of abortionAn abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species...
revolve around a series of philosophical questions about the status of embryos, zygotes and fetuses, and the
rights of womenThe term women's rights refers to freedoms and entitlements of women and girls of all ages. These rights may or may not be institutionalized, ignored or suppressed by law, local custom, and behavior in a particular society...
. These questions generally include:
- Are embryos, zygotes and fetuses "persons" worthy of legal protections?
- Should the potential to be a person give embryos, zygotes and fetuses a right to life
Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...
?
- Does a fetus gain rights as it gets closer to birth?
- Does a woman have an absolute right to determine what happens to her body?
- Is abortion acceptable in cases of rape, incest, contraception failure?
- Is abortion acceptable in cases where the fetus is deformed?
- Is abortion acceptable in cases where if the pregnancy were to continue, it would pose a direct threat to the life of the woman?
Comparative rights
The
feministThe term Feminism can be used to describe an academic discourse, or to describe a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at establishing more rights and legal protection for women...
and theologian Beverly Harrison has said, "...the well-being of the woman and the value of her life plan should always be recognised as of intrinsic nature".
Question of personhood
Establishing the point in time when a zygote/embryo/fetus becomes a "person" is open to debate since the definition of "personhood" is not universally agreed upon.
Peter SingerPeter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher. He is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, and laureate professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics , University of Melbourne...
argued that something can only be a
personA person is a legal concept both permitting rights to and imposing duties on one by law. In the fields of law, philosophy, medicine, and others, the term has specialised context-specific meanings....
if it is
self-awareAwareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of...
and has
temporalTemporal can refer to:* of or relating to time** Temporality in philosophy** Temporal database, a database recording aspects of time varying values** The temporal power of the Popes of the Roman Catholic Church...
awareness. Therefore, abortion is morally acceptable, because a
fetusA fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth. The plural is fetuses....
does not meet this definition of personhood. Singer also concluded that
infanticideInfanticide is the practice of someone intentionally killing an infant. Often it is the mother who commits the act, but criminology recognizes various forms of non-maternal child murder. In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...
would be permissible until the 3rd month after birth, because, at that point, self-awareness has still not been acquired.
Christianity and abortion
The intersection of Christianity and abortion has a long and complex history though there is no mention of abortion in the Christian Bible, though early Christians rejected abortion as immoral. Most contemporary Christian
denominationDenomination may refer to:*Religious denomination, such as a:**Christian denomination**Jewish denomination**Islamic denomination**Hindu denominations**Buddhist denomination*Denominationalism*Denomination *Denomination...
s have nuanced positions, thoughts and teachings about abortion and the ethical components of abortion. More generally, some Christian denominations can be considered
pro-lifeThe pro-life movement is a political and social movement focused chiefly around opposition to abortion, and especially support for the criminalization of abortion. Those involved in the movement generally maintain that human fetuses and embryos are persons, and that therefore they have a right to...
while others may be considered
pro-choicePro-choice describes the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete control over her fertility and the choice to continue or terminate a pregnancy. This entails the guarantee of reproductive rights, which includes access to sexual education; access to safe and legal abortion,...
. Additionally, there are sizable minorities in all denominations that disagree with their denomination's stance on abortion.
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