The argument of whether it is ever permissible to abort a pregnancy, and under what circumstances, is a long running and contentious one. On the topic of abortion people can usually be separated into three main viewpoints: firstly, the extreme conservative view (the thought that under no circumstance is abortion morally acceptable); secondly, the moderate liberal (that there are certain circumstances in which abortion would be morally acceptable); thirdly, the extreme liberal (that it is the woman’s right to always choose whether or not she wishes to terminate the pregnancy). This paper will argue the moderate liberal view; that is, while every person has the right to life, there are some cases in which abortion is a morally acceptable course
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The United Nations has stated under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that, “every human being has the inherent right to life… No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”
This right should be, and to a certain degree is, accredited to foetuses as well. Like everything in life, though, there is a long running debate over when a fertilized egg becomes a person and should be awarded these rights.
A woman is able to attend an abortion clinic in Australia up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. After that point, she would require the consent of two doctors, which is generally only obtained if there is a risk to the health of the mother. This is a long time to wait considering the brain starts developing in as little as eight weeks from conception. It is my view that the point of conception should be the point at which an embryo is given the right to life. When does an embryo become a person? Is it the point it begins developing? Once it has its own heart beat (as little as six weeks)? The point the brain develops? Or is it the point that the baby is fully developed? The answer is unclear, and the answer a person may give will depend largely on his or her own beliefs. As such, it would be a terrible injustice if, in fact, an embryo was already a person, at any stage of pregnancy, and had its life taken from it. It is for this reason that an embryo should be considered in the eyes of the law as …show more content…
To do so would be to breach an internationally proclaimed human right. Therefore, abortion is never morally
The United Nations has stated under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that, “every human being has the inherent right to life… No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”
This right should be, and to a certain degree is, accredited to foetuses as well. Like everything in life, though, there is a long running debate over when a fertilized egg becomes a person and should be awarded these rights.
A woman is able to attend an abortion clinic in Australia up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. After that point, she would require the consent of two doctors, which is generally only obtained if there is a risk to the health of the mother. This is a long time to wait considering the brain starts developing in as little as eight weeks from conception. It is my view that the point of conception should be the point at which an embryo is given the right to life. When does an embryo become a person? Is it the point it begins developing? Once it has its own heart beat (as little as six weeks)? The point the brain develops? Or is it the point that the baby is fully developed? The answer is unclear, and the answer a person may give will depend largely on his or her own beliefs. As such, it would be a terrible injustice if, in fact, an embryo was already a person, at any stage of pregnancy, and had its life taken from it. It is for this reason that an embryo should be considered in the eyes of the law as …show more content…
To do so would be to breach an internationally proclaimed human right. Therefore, abortion is never morally