Abortion

Abortion

Introduction

The paper attempts to discuss the concept of abortion in a holistic context. The moral aspect associated with the act of abortion is discussed. The paper is basically a representation of a personal argument in favour of abortion and aims to consider abortion a moral act.

Discussion

The word "abortion" comes from Latin “abortus”, past participle of the verb “aboriri”, meaning arise or be born. Thus, "abortion" means not arisen or unborn. Abortion is basically the act of termination of a human pregnancy that results in death of the embryo or fetus (Haney, 2008). The abortion may be spontaneously or induced; however, the paper discusses about the moral association of abortion as an act of induced abortion. Three major points in favour of abortion are discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.

Abortion cannot be considered morally incorrect due to the fact that a fetus, and not a complete human being, is under consideration. A fetus cannot be considered a human being due to various reasons; however, the basic reason being the absence of the possession of sentience (Kaczor, 2011). Aristotle mentioned that for something to be considered a human being, in the metaphysical terminology, it is essential that it has various psychological and rational abilities. A fetus does not think, nor has memory, or self-consciousness (Reese, 2010). It has no life plans, interest or desire or the capacity to act intentionally or relate emotionally with others, which is why it cannot be considered a human being. It is not before six months when a fetus is capable of feeling cold, hunger, pain, discomfort and thus, be considered a person in the metaphysical sense (Haney, 2008). Due to the fact that immature embryos and fetuses have none of the hallmarks of metaphysical and moral people, they are not the type of entities for which we ...