Ethical Issues on Abortion: Rights of Women Vs Unborn Fetus

When writing essays about abortion, ethical issues are a critical consideration. Late-term abortion, in particular, is a hotly debated topic, with religious and non-religious groups and individuals expressing a range of viewpoints. Utilitarianism is a popular ethical decision-making method, but it is not suitable for those who believe in the absolute moral standards espoused by the Catholic Church. Situation ethics, on the other hand, evaluate actions in their particular context, making it a more flexible approach to ethical decision-making.

Introduction

Abortion is the medical process of ending a pregnancy, so it does not result in the birth of a baby. Depending on how many weeks you have been, fertility, the pregnancy can be ended by taking medication or by having a surgical procedure. Different from early-term abortion, at ten weeks pregnant, a baby has a working arm joint, cartilage, and bones are forming. The 10-week fetus' vital organ develops fully, and they are starting to function. From week 10, the baby can swallow and kick in your belly. Therefore, we can call 10-week fetuses, an alive human, so the Catholics oppose it as they believe that God gives those fetuses and we as humans do not have the right to kill them. Early medical abortion, which occurs in the first ten weeks, involves taking medication to intend an early miscarriage, and no surgery or anesthetic is needed. As the pregnant time extends, there will be more harm to the mother if abortion is conducted. 'Late-term abortion' a hotly debated ethical issue. In our society, a range of viewpoints expressed by both religious and non-religious individuals and groups debate for late-term abortion, such as the Catholic Church, the president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Vijay Roach, and the Medical Director of Family Planning NSW, Deborah Bateson. We can also use different ethical methods such as practical and situational ethics to help us to judge late-term abortion.

The ethical issue of late-term abortion

The debate in our society regarding the ethical issue of late-term abortion has seen a range of viewpoints expressed by both religious and non-religious individuals and groups. The Liberal National Party propose that 'we should uphold the value of human life' which shows their stance against abortion. For example, On the online news website, The Sydney Morning Herald, Amelia Paxman indicates that religious groups especially oppose late-term abortion. Amelia says that when Dr Mehreen Faruqi's bill to decriminalize abortion was before Parliament, The conservative columnists and religious leaders protested. Not only this happens in Australia, but also in America, President Donald Trump dedicated a surprising amount of time to anti-abortion rhetoric during his State of the Union address. He said 'let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life' and 'Let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: All children — born and unborn — are made in the holy image of God'. It is not hard to see, whether it is individuals or groups, there are opposing voices. The dean of Sydney's St Mary's Catholic Cathedral affirms that legalizing abortion is another attack on the conscience rights of Catholics. This is because Catholics believe that 'human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception'. However, supporters are also reasonable. The president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Vijay Roach, stands for late-term abortion, after lots and lots of research, they find that 'a lot of medical conditions in pregnancy will only become apparent in later pregnancy.' He also states that women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies and that this makes our society stronger. The Medical Director of Family Planning NSW, Deborah Bateson also supports late-term abortion. She believes a doctor should provide checkings and inform the results honestly to women about their actual bodies and provide advice to them. Patients can make decisions by themselves rather than disfranchise their rights of choice. It is clear from these contributions to the late-term abortion debate that there exists a range of views from both religious and secular individuals and groups.

Utilitarianism

In the field of ethics and morality, there exist methods of ethical decision making which are frameworks through which ethical problems can be examined and evaluated. An example of an ethical decision-making method is utilitarianism, which is a concept in which action should always produce the greatest good for the greatest number even though it might not be the most pleasuring one. Moral principles within religious traditions like Catholicism to late-term abortion does not utilize utilitarianism as they believe that everyone has the right to live. This starts from the moment of conception, which means they are counted as a new life. However, based on the method of utilitarianism, people only consider the consequences of late-term abortion. Utility avoids the problem because it does not share the assumptions - it does not say that it is never right to kill a healthy baby. Utilitarianism suggests that the future happiness of the child, combined with the estimated value of the effects on others, should be the prime consideration when deciding whether an abortion is the best course of action. People who use utilitarianism as a method to make decisions will also consider the consequence of late-term abortion. A late-term abortion can protect the mother's health and may decrease an unhealthy child's pain in the right way, but it is also ruthless for the innocent child as their lives are deprived. People who use utilitarianism will consider these problems and makes choices based on which consequence he/she worried more. Comparatively, everyone's considerations are different, and our concerns are sometimes the opposite, such as a cheaper cost of labor and birth control. Utilitarian decision-making is very suitable for a country to make decisions for the future because it only concerns the consequences. Nevertheless, it is not ideal for the Catholic Church as utilitarianism does not consider moral issues. Another ethical decision-making is that of situation ethics, which takes into account the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it according to absolute moral standards. If we consider late-term abortion based on situation ethics, then what the president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Vijay Roach said is acceptable. The baby in the mother's womb may lead the mother's body severely damaged. Under this circumstance, late-term abortion is reasonable because if we indulge the baby, the mother and the baby may both die. So in this example, situation ethics would say that the most loving decision might be for the woman to have an abortion.

Liberal Party and Catholic Church

In our society, various individuals and groups represent different opinions of this ethical debate, and they all influence our opinions of late-term abortion. For example, the catholic church only represents the viewpoint of the catholic. Therefore, they are not as influential as the Liberal Party as the catholic party can only impact the Catholics. However, if most citizens believe in Catholicism, then the objector has a predomination. An example of this is that under the impact of the Catholic Church, Argentina's ban on late-term abortion is maintained by voting. Besides, our society and the political party influence each other. According to the research, most citizens are opposed to late-term abortion; they would like to vote for the liberal political party because of the liberal party advocates for banning late-term abortion. In the meantime, the Liberal party has a supreme position in Australian society, citizens are more likely to be convinced in regards to late-term abortion; under the massive propaganda of the forbiddance. As mentioned earlier, experts can also influence people's perspectives, for example, Vijay Roach, the president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He provides full reasoning of his endorsement. As a famous expert in both Australia and New Zealand, his opinion represents many doctors and impacts many doctors. When he gives the reason for late-term abortion is used to protect women and stand for women's rights, his high credibility brings him a lot of supporters. Simultaneously, those doctors who support late-term abortion but are afraid to stand out may be inspired and call out their opinions. People who have limited knowledge about abortion tend to believe the experts of that field much easier. Hence, when Deborah Bateson, the Medical Director of Family Planning NSW voices and directs her views, she gains agreement by the wide population. Ultimately, these array of individuals and groups influences most citizens' perspectives on late-term abortion.

Conclusion

In Australian society, most citizens oppose late-term abortion, some of them are Catholics and may be influenced by the Catholic Church, they believe that 'safeguard the right to life of all, especially the weakest and most vulnerable'. The Liberal Party also impacts a lot on their supporters as they have a high position in Australia. However, as late-term abortion is a hot debated ethical issue, the positive sides are also influential. The experts of this aspect persuade the audiences through their specialized knowledge and the appeal for women's rights. In the face of such a variable but drastic debate, we should use situational ethics to help our decision-making. Situation ethics tells us that if a mother is dying because of her pregnancy, then we should consider whether she should have a late-term abortion to save her life. Overall, I suggest that we should keep the late-term abortion in case those late-term antenatal examinations indicate some gravida's safety is under threat. Nevertheless, the doctor should suggest late-term abortion cautiously because this takes a toll of life even if it is in the mother's womb, which can harm the mother as well.

Bibliography

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