Abortion - Today's Contemporary Moral Issue Essay

Abortion - Today's Contemporary Moral Issue - Essay Example To date no convincing results could be procured rather it emerged as the most contentious of all the existing contemporary societal concerns of the present century (Ethics of Abortion: Is it Moral or Immoral to Have an Abortion). Abortion poses a ethical, societal, and therapeutic predicament that blend up poignant answers among disputants of the topic. Abortion is such an issue that carries two viewpoints encompassing choice and life. Life is present in the fetus right from the moment of conception, a fetus, or human embryo, is considered to be a living individual. Due to the act of abortion, the individual is divested from the survival and therefore for some abortion is considered to be equivalent to murder. The view is supported by the Catholic Church, as it is the moral responsibility to prevent every individual (Ethics of Abortion: Is it Moral or Immoral to Have an Abortion). On the contrary, decision to give birth to the young one is the right of the mother and there should not be any interventions. Thus it is a matter of fetal life but at the same time the issue is concerned with the upbringing of the child and also the consent of the mother who has to give birth to the baby (individual). The present article considers the philosophical facet of abortion, as it encompasses the ethical assessment of the proceedings. History reveals that abortion has always been a contemporary issue, the issue was prevalent even before the birth of Christ. Some traditional methods were prevalent to kill the unwanted fetus, although it was a legal as well as political concern. It was Plato (428- 347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) who maintained the outlook of abortion (Roos). Aristotle developed the thought of "delayed ensoulment" which had far reaching implications amongst intellectuals. He very well discriminated plants animals and humans and framed the view that the soul enters the human body once the body is fully formed. and also postulated the ensoulment as- for males it is forty days and for females it is eighty days. Roman law did not provide any legal standing to the infant till the family head accepts it (Roos). Later with the advent of Christianity life in womb was also considered to be sacred and therefore contradictions started which is prevailing even in the present situation (Roos). Abortion: a Cru cial Ethical Issue Abortion has been debated over the years on the political grounds to make a law and should be regarded as a murder of an individual or it should be left as a permissible issue leaving on the choice of the women. On the other hand it is believed by some that law must not legislate transience. It is also believed that all the laws must be made for good. A breakdown or stoppage to explicitly converse those morals and ethics could incomprehensible vital planning (Fetus, Humanity, Personhood: When Does a Fetus Become a Human Person with Rights). Could fetus be considered as an individual with rights? Debates related to abortion encompass the lawful eminence related to the fetus. Considering fetus as an individual, abortion is equivalent to the murder and therefore abortion is an illegitimate act. On the other hand, it is necessary to understand that it is the part of women's body and any state cannot compel a woman to continue with the pregnancy if the woman is not wil ling to maintain it to the complete term. Thus it should be an ethical choice and should not be a considered as a murder (Fetus, Humanity, Personhood: When Does a Fetus Become a Human Person with Rights). Female does possess Moral Responsibility towards the developing Fetus! In certain cases the contraception fails or the use of contraceptive means may turn out to be improper of