It has always been the case in the modern world that, technological advancements in any area spark moral issues and a good example of such comes from the subject of abortion. What has prompted this kind of assumption is the fact that whenever technology comes up, there are always questions that come about. It has been proven to be very true that technology has enabled many people to understand where human life begins from. In this case, people have been made to know all that goes on before a baby is born but this has not been taken well by many people though there are those who hold the life of a fetus in high esteem (Monagle & Thomasma 2005). In spite of this, there has not been a clear understanding of the importance of respecting human life and where exactly abortion comes in.
Abortion has proven to be a very sensitive topic when it comes to really looking at the ethics and technology behind it. While it is defined as prematurely terminating a pregnancy and thus ending the life of the fetus, there are those who consider this to be morally right while others think it is wrong (Rae 2009). It is therefore important t respect the views of different people from these two groups, the pro-choice, those people who strongly believe that a woman has a right to choose whether she is going to have the child or not, and the pro-life, those who believe that abortion is not good and it is not right to go through with it. This should be done by looking at their values and what they consider right because both are justified to think what they want. This study is therefore going to delve into the roles played by ethics as well as technology in the subject of abortion.
Objectives/Conceptual Framework
The study of the ethics and technology and their influence in the topic of abortion seeks to find out the credibility of the different arguments that are being pointed at the whole subject of abortion (Mitcham 2005). This is so because there are two different schools of thought that are put to test as seen through the pro-choice and pro-life groups. Once a clear cut line has been drawn between the two then it will be easier to understand why abortion has always been having a problem and therefore a solution to be established if possible. Normally, the pro-life group wants a woman to go ahead and have the child and subsequently live with it whereas the pro-choice group feels that as long as there is a reason that is appropriate to terminate the pregnancy (Purdy 1996). The main objective therein therefore seeks to bring to table a clear balance of the different feelings of the two groups without really compromising any of them. Also, this paper is to illustrate clearly the role played by technology in the whole issue of abortion.
Need of the study (Educational Value)
The need of this study is to help the readers understand the topic and the kind of support and criticism that it has attracted. It will lay bare the feeling of the pro-choice and the pro-life supporters so that both their feelings are well understood. This paper will explain how and why abortion is considered morally ethically wrong and the reason why it can be seen to be legal at times (Dooley et al 2003). Above all, this study seeks to see how technology has helped and also worsened this whole issue.
Literatures
There has not been proven any rightful answer to the whole controversy surrounding this topic, but according to pro-life advocates, abortion is not good and should never be entertained. It does not matter the cause of the pregnancy and who the carrier is (Rudy 1997). This group of people at times relents and allows abortion for women and girls who get pregnant through rape and incest. This is so because they think it is difficult to handle women who have gone through such cases. They always argue that a times, abortion just worsens the situation instead of salvaging it because that ‘wound’ will still remain forever and this may lead to psychological torture.
Studies have been conducted they indicate that victims who have suffered rape or incest will end up in the category of doing an abortion. But after the act, most victims carry with them the trauma and an emptiness that was not even caused by the act of rape or incest. They may at one point forget about the terrible ordeal they may have gone through but the abortion in many proven cases keep tormenting them because they keep on thinking about the aborted embryos that may have turned out to be healthy living human beings. This is what the pro-life believers want to prevent from happening. In most cases, these victims are not told of the aftermath of the abortion and therefore will face the wrath of them blaming themselves for the loss of an innocent life after that (Baird & Rosenbaum 2001).
The pro-life believers tend to argue that most women are seeking to abort unborn babies due to carelessness. They believe that child birth is a symbol of a victory against the evil that may have been committed. That if anything, these women who want to conquer the world proclaim to it that they have lived beyond their trauma and that they are ready to start afresh as they may have also forgiven their oppressors. These victims simply announce to the world that they are not going to let the act of incest or rape ruin their lives and that if a child is born out of such acts, it is not their mistakes, and so they deserve to live. This therefore shows that all in all, abortion will not be providing the wanted solution but rather may turn out to destroy (Luker, 1985).
On the other hand, those advocates for the pro-choice values view this controversy on abortion differently. They propagate the idea of a woman choosing to do what she thinks is right for her. This means that if a person chooses abortion as the best alternative then that is it and no one should infringe that right. They do not just advocate for this policy for the sake of it but they, too, have got substantive reasons why they think this should be the case (Rudy 1997). They say that for the best interests of the woman in question, she should be given room to choose what is good for her without interference from any quarters. So therefore if this woman thinks that abortion is the best solution, so be it.
There is one very common reason why they hold the kind of views they do and that is, when contraception fails, then there should be another alternative that will help them achieve what they want, that is, not keeping an unwanted pregnancy and thereafter bringing into the world, an unwanted child (Luker 1985). If the child was to be born in the first place, it will bring disaster for the mother because if she tried using contraceptives to prevent the pregnancy then it means the mother was not ready for it and if this is the case then, it can be aborted to prevent it from bringing the woman more trouble.
When it comes to the pro-choice advocates, it does not matter the age of the woman because women of all ages in one way or another express different sentiments as the main reasons why they should get an abortion done. For younger women, an unplanned child may interfere with their careers, education and even personal freedom. When older women are asked about the same, most of them say an unplanned child or pregnancy for that matter may interfere with a family set up. They also say that it is not worth it to bare a pregnancy that you do not want for nine months. After all, the major reasons for having the pregnancy terminated is first, the relief that comes with it, it makes these women be very careful about their contraception as well as bringing the woman a sense of maturity as they become more careful with themselves after an abortion (Baird & Rosenbaum 2001).
Technology may have been invented to bring solutions that have been plaguing mankind for centuries but it has also proven to be the main source of problems affecting man. In this case, technological advancements have been used to determine whether the growth of the fetus is always okay at all stages of development. In many cases when any abnormally may have been detected, potential mothers are always advised to terminate their pregnancies prematurely citing the problems of the fetus posing a threat to the life of the mother. This in the long run leads to an abortion (Winston & Edelbach 2009). Technology can therefore be seen as a curse and a blessing at the same time because one may never know whether the baby could have been cured if he or she could have been given a chance to live (Holmes& Helmich 1992).
Findings/Analysis
The three groups of people who are very important when conducting this research are young women, older women and men. Opinion polls that have been conducted in the past show that men are more geared towards abortion more than women are. In the year 1983, about 51% of men preferred abortion to a 47% of women who were for it. This therefore means that men would rather abortion than women could do (Kaczar 2011). This translates into the fact that most women in relationships and even marriages are coerced by the men in their lives to go for abortion. At times this happens because the men fear to take responsibility, because they were involved in illicit affairs and also because they feel that they will not carry with them the guilty of committing murder of an innocent baby.
When it comes to the young women, 70% would rather abort while 30% will keep the pregnancy and give birth. This means that young women are as fearful of getting pregnant no matter how they get themselves in that situation. About 92% of them believe that if they get a child, their lives would never be the same again if they had babies that they never intended to have in the first place. Another 81% 0f all the young girls may not have reached a child bearing age and therefore if they got the babies, they may not be in a position to take care of the babies. At the same time, these young girls may never have a normal life again if they come face to face with such a situation (Macklin 2012). For older women, about 60% think that another baby may negatively impact her life because she may have planned for her life in advance and any more members in the family can strain the said family.
Conclusion
These among other reasons are the background against which the pro-choice believers are fighting for the legalization of abortion. They have a strong feeling that abortion ‘gives birth’ to more mature women, many of them turn out to be more careful about their sexual activities. On the other hand, it leads to safer sex as one will not want to go through that procedure. But the pro-life advocates think that these reasons given by the propagators of pro-choice advocates do not hold water. That these reasons are not good enough that will warrant the legalization of abortion (MacKinnon 2010). All in all, both groups have got their own ethical believes that need t be respected and whatever that matters is each individual woman t choose what she feels is good enough. They should make the very important decision of choosing between life and choice. The issue still remains questionable as there still is a misunderstanding between what is ethical and that which is moral.
Recommendations
With all the controversy surrounding this subject raising more questions than answers, it is good to look for a solution that seems worthwhile. Although there are different groups presenting their views, abortion is morally as it is ethically wrong. But this does not mean that it should be ruled out to be wrong completely. This is so because women who are victims of such acts as incest and rape should also be given a good hearing and consideration in this matter. In as much as some of these victims claim that abortion will just add to their problems and personal torture, they would rather not inflict more pain upon themselves. They should therefore be given room to choose what they want, if they want the abortion they should not be stopped and if they do not want it, then, so be it. Abortion should be done under very serious circumstances if at all it has to be done.
If a victim of rape does not want to deal with the child born out of such a heinous act, she should then go ahead and terminate the pregnancy. But then, abortion should not be legalized because there are those who will be careless and joke about it whenever they want. Let not people take chances of engaging in sex just like a walk in the park and end up pregnant. If only people were left to take responsibility of their actions, then this will mean that those who just engage in unsafe sex should be ready to bear the consequences of their actions. The solution here then should be that abortion be legalized for only those people who have undergone such ordeals as rape and incest and that is if they choose to. On the other hand, it must have to be totally illegal for all those who engage in sex out of their own free will because they should learn the hard way, that keeping good morals and ethics can be good.
References
Dooley, D, MacCarthy, J. Garanis-Papadatos, T. G & Dalla-Vorgia, P. (2003). The Ethics of New Reproductive Technologies: Cases and Questions. New York: Berghan Books.
Holmes, B. H. & Helmich, J. (1992). Issues in Reproductive Technology. New York: New York University Press.
Kaczar, C. R. (2011). The Ethics of Abortion: Women’s Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice. New York. Routledge
MacKinnon, B. (2010). Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Macklin, R. (2012). Ethics in Global Health: Research, Policy and Practice. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mitcham, C. (2005). Encyclopedia of science, technology, and ethics. Vol. 1. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Monagle, J. F. & Thomasma, D. C. (2005). Health Care Ethics. Critical Issues For The 21st Century. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett.
Purdy, L. M. (1996). Reproducing Persons: Issues in Feminist Bioethics. New York. Cornell University Press.
Pro. Rudy, K. (1997). Beyond Pro-Life and Pro-Choice: Moral Diversity in the Abortion Debate. Boston: Beacon Press.
Pro Baird, R. M. & Rosenbaum, S. E. (2001).The ethics of abortion: pro-life vs. pro-choice. Amherst: Prometheus Books.
Pro Luker, K. (1985). Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Rae, S. (2009). Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Winston, M. & Edelbach, R. (2009). Society, Ethics, and Technology. Boston: Cengage Learning.
