Abortion: Right or Wrong?

There are a lot of opinions about whether women should undergo abortion, both negative and positive ones, even from moral perspectives.

Justice principle and altruistic principle are the basic value that guides us to face any moral dilemma, in this case - abortion. The concept of justice principle concerns all actions and conducts of a person that are fair to him as well as to others. The actions and conducts must also be rational. Is abortion a rational thing to do? Is abortion fair to the mother-to-be? Or is it even fair to the 'human-to-be'? The foetus, I meant. Abortion usually comes into the mind of a woman when she felt that it will be burdening to bear a child and to nurse him in the future. However, abortion will cause the loss of the foetus's life, which is unfair to 'him'. So, according to justice principle, abortion wrongful and should be banned. From the perspective of altruistic principle, which according to Thomas Nagel is an action which pleases or benefits other people, abortion is also wrongful. As said above, abortion takes the life of the foetus, which is counted as a valuable human life. It causes mental disorder to the mother-to-be in certain cases too. Thus altruistically, abortion should be banned.

Now let's discuss the topic of abortion using moral theories - social morality theory, to begin with. Social morality theory encompasses social taboo to ensure social harmony. It is generally the theory of normative values and societal regulations becoming a measure or criterion on determining a matter or action. For certain societies, abortion is allowed but contritely disallowed for other societies. Abortion is generally accepted in the Western nations, where people are said to be more open-minded. And in the Eastern regions, especially the Islamic nations, abortion is considered sinful and should not be done as it is considered as killing.

Next, let's look at it through the theory of personality virtues. It emphasizes the personal attributes towards attaining a good life. Abortion, if being thought using the theory of personality virtues, is considered as wrongful and unacceptable. Abortion is an act which is irresponsible - irresponsible in a sense that the parents should bear the child and nurse him with love as the foetus became their burden they must carry as a result of their sexual interaction, and definitely cannot be terminated. Abortion is also contradictory to the value of love. We should love all living things, even a foetus - a baby-to-be, and shall not kill them.

According to the teleological theory, also known as consequentialism, the final result of an action determines whether the action is right or wrong. What are the consequences of performing an abortion? Mental break downs of women regretting and not able to forgive themselves for their act, physical post-abortion health problems, heart-ache for the future grandparents longing for a child, and rarely, the gladness of parents terminating a burden in their life are among the consequences of abortion. It is clear enough that abortion brings more negative results than positive ones. Thus, abortion is not a right thing to do from the perspective of teleological theory.

Deontologists would consider abortion as wrongful and thus disallow the practice. A deontologist would consider the basic duties and rights of individuals or groups and act in accordance with those guidelines. Love making without cost often brings unwanted pregnancy. It is the basic duty of the couple who created a live due to their action to nurse and look after the new life. Abortion definitely crosses this principle. Thus deontological saying, abortion should never be performed or done.

Following up is the perspective of utilitarianism, where actions are right if they for the greater happiness of the greater number of people. Using the Hedonic Calculus to resolve the dilemma of abortion:

• Intensity of pleasure derived from abortion: The woman that undergoes abortion will suffer a lot both mentally and physically.
• Duration of pleasure: The suffering will be long and hard to forget, as evidenced by an extract - "Gripping my hand, the female patient asked, 'Doctor, can I ever be forgiven?' She was talking about an abortion done decades before."-Mark Houghton analysing a recent public policy failure.
• Certainty of pleasure: However, it is very uncertain that it will be suffering to have an abortion due to a variety of abortion cases.
• Propensity of the experience of pleasure: not applicable in this case.
• Tendency to be followed by more pleasure: Neither suffering nor pleasure will follow.
• Tendency for an action to produce opposite effect and pain: Not applicable too in this case.

Therefore according to the Hedonic Calculus, utilitarianism says that abortion is absolutely wrongful.

However egoistically, abortion can be rightful and also wrongful, depending on each different abortion cases. Egoism is a theory which consider a value as good if it benefits the individual himself, and bad or cruel if it harms or causes him to suffer a loss. In a case where the woman feels that having a child will cause her problems and add to her burden, abortion is considered rightful as it benefits her. In a case where the woman is forced to undergo abortion due to many difficulties such as health problems or even financial problems, abortion is considered cruel as it brings her suffering.

Undoubtly, abortion is an act where almost all the moral theories deny of its rightfulness. To me, abortion is also a wrongful act to perform. It clearly brings about a lot of negative effects and crosses the practice of religious believes. Thus, abortion should be illegalised in all nations globally. All couples should plan ahead instead of being careless and irresponsible in their actions. After all, abortion should not be done even at primary stages of pregnancy.