Final Paper
Abortion is a passionately debated topic in philosophical, political, and religious circles. Values in relation to life are the fundamental debated considerations in regard to abortion. Such values include beliefs about when life begins, assessing the quality of life for children who are unwanted, and concerns about the mother’s life and health. The differing views comparing the respect of autonomy for either the woman or fetus and the ethical principle of non-maleficence are also considerations that are heavily debated.
Respect for autonomy can be defined by this quote, “Autonomy-literally self rule, but probably better summarily described as deliberated self rule- is special attribute of all moral agents, including …show more content…
With millions of American families wanting to adopt a child, there is no such thing as an unwanted child. Pro-life believes that instead of having the option to abort, women should give their unwanted babies to people who cannot conceive. On the other hand, adoption is not an alternative to pregnancy. Pro-choice argues that adoption does provide a place for a baby, but adopting families do not have to birth the baby. The mother still would have to give birth and that is one factor abortion prevents. A second argument against adoption is that some women tend to think of adoption as an abandonment of their child. Women may think that they are not strong enough to give away their children because it is too great of a sacrifice, and that abortion is actually easier than adoption. Many children get mistreated by adoptive parents so many families disagree that giving them up for adoption is better than aborting the child. Essentially, pro-choice sees that children aren’t guaranteed a better life in an adopting family, and would almost have better chances to be …show more content…
Comparing the two sides of the argument to non-maleficence and the respect for autonomy, both have strong and compelling arguments. As Pro-life continues to stand for the autonomy and non-maleficence against the fetus, Pro-choice stands for the autonomy and non-maleficence against the women. Abortion is an overall gray area in terms of ethicalness for what is best for the women and fetus. Pro-Life supporters usually form from a religious point of view which can be contradicting to the law, because the law is supposed to be kept from church ideologies. Pro-Choice is questionable because the killing of innocent babies is unquestionably unethical if the mother’s wellbeing is not in danger. The most ideal way to decide if an abortion is ethical will vary case to case because of the various outlooks abortion can