Abortion as a Highly Discussed Topic Around The World

What is Abortion? Why is it such a HUGE topic? Abortion is killing a fetus inside a mother’s womb. In politics, religion and even ethics, abortion is a highly discussed topic. Judith Thomson and Don Marquis have their own views on abortion and the factors surrounding the topic. Thomson is in favor of abortion, and tells what we as humans should do to help each other. Marquis is more against what Thomson is trying to portray. The morality of abortion is discussed by Marquis and Thomson. In, “A Defense of Abortion,” Thomson argues that, “abortion is morally permissible even if the fetus is considered a person.” Even though she is going for abortion she implies there are still moments when it is impermissible. Her first analogy she compares a growing fetus to a famous violinist who has unknowingly been attached to a person. The violinist example, for instance focuses on the fact that his life depends on yours. Is the person morally obligated to be hooked to the violinist? Thomson says no, because the person was kidnapped, and they didn’t volunteer for the violinist to be attached.

Thomson states “it would be very nice of you if you did, a great kindness”. I agree with Thompson here no one should be forced to have a stranger plugged into them unknowingly for nine months. A growing fetus inside a woman is hardly a stranger to her it is her own flesh and blood. Secondly, a fetus is not unknowingly plugged into a woman, Except for in the cases of rape no one was kidnapped or forced to have sex. When people have sex, there is always a risk that the woman might get pregnant. I agree a woman has a right to her body but, I disagree with Thompson’s analogy of a violinist to a fetus. She then speaks on the right to life, some say it is the right to not to be killed she says it is the right not to be killed unjustly. Don Marquis, in his article “Why Abortion is Immoral” argues that, many of us would agree that it is wrong to kill a human, and if you believe that then you should also have that view on abortions.

If you think killing is wrong then you think all killing is wrong and the persons biological state, whether it is when a person is a fetus, one years old, or thirty years old, makes no difference. He then explains that killing is wrong not only because it is immoral, but wrong because it deprives the victim of life and the enjoyments one would have otherwise experienced; which Marquis believes is the greatest lost one can suffer. Given certain circumstances Marquis agrees there are cases where killing is acceptable, but nonetheless it is immoral. Granted that killing is wrong; the act of killing alone is not enough to make it immoral, and Marquis argues that it is not the effect it has on the murderer, or the effect of the victim’s family or friends, but the effect on the victim that makes killing wrong.

The fact he/she is deprived of life experiences is the ultimate loss. He uses the example that when people are diagnosed with cancer or any terminal illness they experience firsthand what it means to deprive someone of their life and future. The experience of a premature death is one of the hardest challenges to face. This argument supports why abortion is immoral because we get to form a picture of what a fetus would feel if it was aware of what was happening, and Marquis uses pathos to helps create a deeper understanding and a paint a picture that everyone could understand. To strengthen the argument, I will try to look from a Kantianperspective. However, that does not imply that either Thomson, Marquis or I am correct. Abortion is a sensitive matter and is open to great argumentation. I will use Kant just to make sure things that I say make sense. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher who believes that all humans have certain dignity and commands to respect.

According to Kant, all behaviors and actions are done by people simply because they are the right things to do. Second, people do things based on whether it is moral rather than on any purposes. Kant would believe that an abortion is morally incorrect because it is not right to kill a person and it is considered as a murder under any circumstances. In other words, no matter what is the situation that the pregnant women encounter, it is always not morally correct to have an abortion to the fetus. Here in Sandel’s video “Mind Your Motive” and “The Supreme Principle of Morality,” this American political philosopher who teaches at Harvard University as a professor points out that Kant thinks any human actions should have certain moral worth instead of doing the right thing for the immoral reason.

On behalf of this view, an abortion does not have any moral worth because it is considered by Kant as a murder to another person no matter what are those reasons for the pregnancy. Also, in Kant’s view, he believes that a fetus is a human person because it has a soul which emphasizes the reason why he thinks that an abortion is not permissible. To doing an action, Kant believes that the moral worth of an action is neither the expectation for it nor in any principle which requires to borrow its motive from this expectation.

Therefore, even if the pregnant woman was raped and she cannot afford to raise this child, she cannot have an abortion in terms of Kant’s perspective on the moral worth of an action.