Introduction: Diverse Perspectives on Abortion
The moral status of abortion is a highly controversial topic that has sparked complicated debates among citizens, governments, medical practitioners, and feminist groups alike. There are major contrasting views in regard to this extremely contentious issue. Some people oppose abortion because they believe fetuses always have a right to live. Some believe abortion is morally permissible in certain situations in particular, such as when carrying the fetus to term poses a significant threat to the woman’s health. Others believe it is always morally permissible. Throughout this essay, I will be supporting the opinions of both Mary Anne Warren and Susan Sherwin, as I will argue the belief that abortion is always morally permissible for several reasons. These reasons are that extending the legal definition of “personhood” to include fetuses would limit women’s access to abortions and as a result, infringe on their right to autonomy, women should have the right to always access abortion because they are the dominant party in their unique, intimate, and asymmetrical relationship with the fetus, and women’s freedom to choose abortion is fundamental to their ability to control their own lives and escape patriarchal oppression in society.
Autonomy and Legal Personhood in Abortion
The principle of autonomy is central to the Categorical Imperative of Kantian deontology. It suggests that in order to act ethically, we must treat others as autonomous agents who are “capable of self-directed, rational action” and respect their autonomy and freedom by treating them as an end in themselves (Gedge & Waluchow, 2012). To begin, I think abortion should always be morally permissible because extending the legal definition of “personhood” to encompass fetuses would restrict women’s access to abortions and significantly infringe on their right to autonomy. Extending the legal definition of “personhood” to include fetuses would essentially cause abortions to be considered infanticide, a form of murder (Warren, 2012). Doing this threatens women’s ability to make their own choices to terminate unwanted pregnancies without criminal consequences, and significantly undermines their right to be autonomous agents and make decisions for themselves. If this were the case, women would not have full control over their bodies, which is an external pressure that limits their ability to act freely by their own will. Take for example, a teenage girl who was raped and became pregnant as a result.
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If fetuses were considered “persons”, she would be considered a murderer if she terminated the pregnancy. Similarly, if a 35-year-old woman was one month away from her due date, and having the baby would end her life due to health complications, she would face death if she carried the baby to term, and risk being liable for infanticide if she wanted to save her own life. This highlights how important it is for abortion to always be morally permissible in order to allow women to make decisions about their lives and bodies at all times and ensure their right to autonomy is consistently protected. Similar to Mary Anne Warren, I believe birth is the most appropriate method of determining that a new legal person exists in society (Warren, 2012). While fetuses that are near birth may share similar capabilities as newborns, allowing them to have legal rights when they are still inside the legal person that is a woman deprives those women of autonomy and control over their bodies, which is unethical and unjust. Warren argues, “There is room for only one person with full and equal rights inside a single human skin. That is why it is birth rather than sentience, viability, or some other prenatal milestone that must mark the beginning of personhood.” (Warren, 2012).
This statement emphasizes the importance of abortion to be always morally permissible because it highlights my argument that women’s right to autonomy during pregnancy should be of utmost protection and respect. Consequently, I believe abortion should always be considered morally permissible because women should continuously have the right to govern their own bodies, even when a body is growing inside of them, because allowing otherwise would be unethical as it would restrict their right to autonomy, to self-govern and make decisions about their own lives and bodies.
The Unique Relationship: Women and Fetuses
In addition, I believe abortion is always morally permissible because pregnant women are the only people who share such an intimate, unique, and asymmetrical relationship with the fetus, and are the dominant one within that relationship, and therefore they know best and should be the only person who has the ability to control the outcome of this relationship at any point during it. Pregnancy holds very unique circumstances which make the issue of abortion a complicated one.
I support Susan Sherwin’s approach when arguing that abortion is always morally permissible, because fetuses’ existence is relational rather than absolute, as they exist within a woman’s body rather than independently (Sherwin, 2012). In particular “their existence is tied uniquely to the support of a specific other” (Sherwin, 2012), which demonstrates the unique and intimate nature of their relationship. Those who oppose abortion tend to describe fetuses as “innocent, vulnerable, morally important, separate being whose life is threatened and who must be protected at all costs”, as Sherwin explains while exploring the woman’s perspective (Sherwin, 2012). Expanding on this, I believe women should have the right to decide whether to terminate the pregnancy at any time, since they are the ones who hold the power in this unique relationship, and it is in fact their lives who is being threatened, in the case that the pregnancy is unwanted, not the life of the fetus since it is not yet a legal “person”.
Because of this unique relationship where the woman holds the power, I believe it is up to her to make a decision on this matter due to the fact that this is such an intimate situation. There should be no external sources, such as laws and government, restricting her access to abortions because she should be the one in charge of her own situation. In regard to the fetus, Sherwin argues that the woman holds “the responsibility and privilege of determining it’s specific social status and value must rest within the woman carrying it” (Sherwin, 2012). I support this because while the fetus is dependent on the woman in this relationship, the woman can survive without it, and therefore I believe she should have the power be able to make whatever decision she wants regarding its value, whenever she wants.
Similarly, because of the intimate and unique nature of the relationship, I believe there is no one better suited to make this decision than the woman, as it will largely be her responsibility to deal with the consequences of childbirth, whether she cares for the baby herself or puts it up for adoption, and therefore she should be able to make such decision at any point in the relationship. Like Sherwin, I believe that even if a woman regrets her moral decision to end a pregnancy in the future, this type of decision was unique and intimate and therefore it’s unlikely anyone could have come to a better choice at the time (Sherwin, 2012). Because there is no one else who shares this same relationship as a woman does with a baby growing inside of her, she should have full control over the relationship, which includes allowing her to terminate it without interreference at any point in time. Therefore, I believe abortion should be always morally permissible.
Abortion: A Tool Against Patriarchal Oppression
Lastly, abortion should always be considered morally permissible because women’s freedom to make this decision is tied significantly to their ability to control their own sexuality and lives and escape from patriarchal oppression, and therefore they should be able to make their own choices regarding this matter to promote their equality in society. In many countries around the world, women’s autonomy is restricted when it comes to accessing abortions because of laws and other sources of power in our patriarchal society. Susan Sherwin takes a feminist approach and looks at the experiences that women face in relation to pregnancy and abortion, and the effects unwanted pregnancies have on their lives (Sherwin, 2012). She recognizes that women have abortions for a number of reasons, such as health problems, childbearing is not compatible with their life plans, unwanted pregnancies, and so on, and that child bearing involves a great amount of economic, emotional, and physical changes to a woman’s life (Sherwin, 2012).
Supporting her argument, I believe that failing to consider abortion to be always morally permissible would likely cause women to face continued oppression as they would be unable to make their own choices regarding their bodies and lives and forced to experience changes that they do not continually consent to or want. For example, consider the extreme circumstance where a lower-class pregnant woman who is due to deliver her baby in two months loses her job and her husband takes off with all of their money. She may want to get an abortion because of the economic stress and negative outcomes she may face raising a child on her own with no money, as it would be hard to pay for the child, properly take care of them, and get a job at the same time. Restricting her access to abortion would undermine her ability to control the things she values in her life, such as happiness, safety, and money. I believe abortion should always be considered morally permissible because women should be able to control the outcome of their lives and ensuring women’s control over their own lives and reproduction is vital to their success and equality in our patriarchal society.
Sherwin makes a vital point when she discusses the issue that women’s right to abortion is tied to their control over their sexuality (Sherwin, 2012). So often women are considered subordinate to men, and if they lack access to abortions to terminate unwanted pregnancies, “their sexual vulnerability to particular men can increase, because caring for an(other) infant involves greater financial needs and reduced economic opportunities for women. As a result, pregnancy often forces women to become dependent on men” (Sherwin, 2012). Because of this, I believe allowing women to have access to abortions at any point throughout their pregnancy is critical to reducing the oppression they face and increasing their independence and governance over their own lives and bodies. This is because if they can access abortions, they can essentially become more powerful in society, less dependent on men, and escape from oppressive situations.
Conclusion: Upholding the Morality of Abortion
Therefore, it is critical to consider abortion always morally permissible because doing otherwise would further contribute to the oppression women face because they would be unable to make choices regarding their lives and gain independence from men. In conclusion, I believe abortion should always be considered morally permissible for several reasons. First, this allows for women’s right to autonomy during pregnancy to be consistently respected as they can self-direct and govern their own bodies however, they see fit. Second, the unique, intimate, and asymmetrical nature of the relationship between a woman and the fetus makes the woman the only person fit to make such a decision based on how much she values the relationship with the fetus. Lastly, considering abortion as always morally permissible ensures women have primary control over their own lives and allows them to mitigate the patriarchal oppression they face in society. As a result, I support Mary Anne Warren and Susan Sherwin in the belief that abortion is moral at all times as it is completely the woman’s choice whether or not she wants to keep the being that she helped to create and is carrying.
References
- Gedge, E., & Waluchow, W. (2012). Ethical Reasources for Decision-Making. In In Gedge, E., & Waluchow, W. (Eds.), Readings in Health Care Ethics (pp. xxviii). Toronto, ON: Broadview Press.
- Sherwin, S. (2012) Abortion Through a Feminist Ethics Lens. In Gedge, E., & Waluchow, W. (Eds.), Readings in Health Care Ethics (pp. 238-246). Toronto, ON: Broadview Press.
- Warren, M. (2012). The Moral Significance of Birth. In Gedge, E., & Waluchow, W. (Eds.), Readings in Health Care Ethics (pp. 225-236). Toronto, ON: Broadview Press.
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