Human Values And Ethics Vs. Philiosophical Ethics Essay, Research Paper
?They had discussed it,
but not deeply, whether they wanted the baby she was now carrying. ?I don?t know if I want it,?
she said, eyes filling with tears. She cried at anything now, and was often nauseous. That pregnant
women cried easily and were nauseous seemed banal to her, and she resented banality? (p. 389
Alice Walker The Abortion). It could sound familiar to many of us. Either in personal life or while
discussing and debating, whether during college courses or encircled by close friends, I am sure
that each and everyone of us has come across with the issue of abortion, developing a distinct,
individual opinion about that particular subject. What we think about abortion will be a function of
what we think about sex, about reproduction, about the beginning of human life, about
responsibility, about killing, about sexual equality, and about religion. Actually, there is little in life
to which the issue of abortion is not in some way related. It is not surprising, then, that there is so
much disagreement about what abortion is and whether of not it is good, bad, or neither. At the root
of the controversy is a basic value judgment about the human status of the fetus; does it have any
rights, and should the fetus be considered a person. The question of abortion is compounded by a
related issue — the right of a woman to control her own body. First, I would like to say a few words
about the legal issues of abortion. We all know that abortions were prohibited many years ago by
various cultures and countries. Pregnant women, not having a choice, were forced to perform illegal
abortions, sometimes done not by doctors but by herbalists. Without much of technology, they
tried to induce the bleeding, scraping off the walls of the uterus in attempt to remove the fetus. As a
result of internal and external bleeding, blood infection and other side effects, many women died.
Not only through some historical periods, but during the twentieth century it continued to happen.
Even here, in the United States, in 1969, most state laws prohibited abortion, unless the life of the
pregnant woman was threatened. In the mid-1960s, the estimated death rate for abortions
performed in hospitals was 3 deaths per 100,000 abortions; the rate for illegal abortions was
guessed to be over eight times higher than that — 30 deaths per 100,000 abortions was a rough
estimate and almost certainly conservative. For minority and poorer women, it was certainly very
much higher (statistics are taken from ?Moral Revolution? by Kathryn Pyne Addelson, from
Twenty Questions: . . .). My point is that ?abortions will surely continue, as they have through
human history, whether we approve or disapprove or hem and haw? (Barbara Ehrenreich, Is
Abortion Really a ?Moral? Dilemma? p. 425 Twenty Questions: . . .) Therefore, it is much better
for abortions to take place legally and under proper medical supervision. I think that here, a person
committed to utilitarian ethical theory would agree with me because according to my conclusion it
would produce more amount of good for the greater number of people — by doing abortions
legally, more women could afford it and less of them would die. As a result of my little discussion,
I believe that performing abortions should remain legal as it is of 1973. However, whether the issue
of abortion is ethical or not, is the subject of the following discussion. In order to discuss the
ethical issue of abortion, first of all, I would like to turn to and illustrate the central factors, which
might lead a woman, or a married couple, to the decision concerning the termination of her
pregnancy. It could be one (or a few put together) of the following circumstances: 1) a woman got
pregnant due to rape; 2) the health of the woman or the unborn child was at a serious risk; 3) a
woman did not plan her pregnancy; it was ?accidental?; 4) a woman changed or was persuaded by
others to change her mind about having a baby. I don?t think that many people would oppose the
moral status of abortion in pregnancy due to rape. Judith Jarvis Thomson did a beautiful job in
describing the similar situation, where she pretended that you were kidnapped, and without your
personal approval, the famous violinist was plugged into your kidneys, because otherwise he would
die. In elaborating and expanding her essay, Judith drove to a conclusion that ?… nobody is
morally required to make large sacrifices, of health, of all other interests and concerns, of all other
duties and commitments, for nine years, or even nine months, in order to keep another person
alive? (p. 289 Contemporary Issues In Bioethics). Let?s say you have done a good deed, you?ve
suffered through nine month with the violinist. You let him to use your kidneys; he is alive; you are
a hero; everybody is happy. In the case of rape, however, the consequences would not be as nice
and easy. A woman would not know who the father of her baby was: either he was a drug addict, or
an alcoholic, or someone else. She would definitely know though, that he was not a normal person:
he was a rapist. Now she is left alone to take care of this child if she cannot make an abortion.
What answer could she give to the question, ?Mammy, where is my daddy?? posed by the child,
couple of years from that time, if he or she is born. Besides, this child would be genetically
predisposed to become a rapist too. Moreover, the woman in question has already suffered
tremendously from the act of rape and the physical and psychological aftermath of that act. It
would be especially unjust for her to have to live through an unwanted pregnancy owing to that act
of rape. After these kinds of arguments, I do not think that many people would try to convince me
otherwise. ?Can those who oppose abortion on the ground I mentioned make an exception for a
pregnancy due to rape? Certainly. They can say that persons have a right to life only if they didn?t
come into existence because of rape;? (p. 284 Contemporary…). From the readings I?ve done, I
have found out that there are some people, who actually regard abortion as impermissible even to
save the mother?s life. I don?t know who these people might be, but this is ridiculous. I absolutely
disagree with the notion that the act of abortion should be considered immoral, if a mother is trying
to save her own life. In one of our class discussions, we came to a conclusion that it is wrong to kill
an innocent person in order to save your life. Of course this argument is a subject to debates and
quarrels; as Judith Jarvis Thomson has shown that it also depends on a situation. Killing of an
innocent person is undoubtedly wrong, however, the fetus is not a living person. Therefore, ? . . . it
cannot seriously be thought to be murder if the mother performs an abortion on herself to save her
life. It cannot seriously be said that she must refrain, that she must sit passively by and wait for her
death? (p. 285 Contemporary . . .). Hence, I can conclude that a woman can protect her life against
the danger imposed on her by the unborn child, even if doing so causes its death. Utilitarians
would choose abortion as the right thing to do in both of these cases. It would minimize unpleasure
and bring greatest amount of good to the maximum number of people — for a pregnant woman and
her family. To my opinion, a person who is committed to Kantian theory, would argue against
abortion on the premises that a moral act is the one that is done from one?s duty. One of the
women?s duties is to produce and bring up children; therefore, it would be considered immoral,
according to deontological ethical theory, for a woman to have an abortion. Moreover, Kant was
very influenced by the nature and it?s laws. He was arguing that everything in nature operates in
conformity with certain rules and standards. More specifically, Kantian personal moral law –
?categorical imperative? says the following: ?Act as if the maxim [that is the subjective governing
principle] of your action were to become through your will a universal law of nature? (p. 31
Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals). Now, could you imagine what it would be like, if
abortion had became ?a universal law of nature?? The existence of human species would come to
an end. Therefore, I think that deontologists, based on the facts I?ve just given, would consider
abortion in general as an immoral thing to do. Nevertheless, I think, that in two cases I have just
presented (rape and danger impinged on a woman), a Kantian theorist might say that a woman was
raped and stripped out of her autonomy. In order to preserve her autonomy at least for a little bit,
she should be able to make a choice. In these kinds of situations, I think it is better to simply
remain a person, who is not committed to any theories and try to slide in to the other person?s
shoes, try to see how she feels. According to ethical relativism, which views that what is right or
wrong and good or bad is not absolute but variable and relative, depending on the person,
circumstances, or social situation, each society and culture would examine abortion differently,
according to their rules and principles. By the way, much of the opposition to abortion throughout
the time in history had come from religion. For sexual intercourse was procreation the making of a
new life. Thus, anything that interfered with fertility was immoral. This viewpoint changed during
the first half of the 20th century, when many religious bodies accepted new ideas on birth control.
The method chosen by a couple was declared to be their own decision. The Roman Catholic
Church condemns all forms of birth control. Eastern Orthodoxy traditionally permits only
abstinence but has not sought to prevent the distribution of contraceptives. In Judaism there is a
long tradition of the use of sterilizing potions, vaginal tampons, and even abstinence during
famines. In Islam the Koran advocates marriage and procreation but has no clear objection to birth
control, allowing a liberal interpretation. In Japan and Eastern European countries, however,
abortion is used routinely to end unwanted pregnancy and is not regarded as a moral issue. In
Europe by 1992 only Ireland had a complete ban on abortion (this information is taken from the
Compton?s Interactive Encyclopedia). As you can see there are absolutely distinct views upon
different ethnic groups. Moreover, in our society there are people who differ in their opinions: the
prolife activists generally have less education and income than the prochoice activists, but are more
likely to be married and to have more children. I assume that animals do not have these kinds of
problems, and even if they do, they cannot do much about it. If the poor creature is sick, it can only
sit there and wait for its destiny to take place, unless a HUMAN interferes. There is no such a
thing as ?unwanted ? pregnancy for animals. Also, I would assume that no one knows an animal,
except Homo Sapiens. Even though, most of the time animals have more than one newborn, they
try to take care of everyone, especially of those that are smaller and weaker. I personally had been a
witness to these acts a couple of times, when my cat had its kittens. If we (humans) are the
members of the same kingdom (Animalia), what makes us so special and unique that not only we
perform abortions, but also claim to have a right to do that? First of all, human advance in
technology, especially during the last fifty years, makes it possible to engage in protecting oneself
from pregnancy and in disposing the ?unwanted? fetus from mother?s uterus. I think no one
would oppose that no other animal, except us, uses contraceptives and involves in such activities.
Why? Well, I have described two cases already, one in which a mother is raped and the other when
the life of the mother is put at risk because