Research Question: On whom does the moral imperative lie when considering the question of abortion?
Ethical Theories: Kantian ethics and the theory of the categorical imperative
Abortion is permitted only if there is no chance for the unborn child to have a happy, normal life.
Development paragraphs:
The Categorical Imperative: The moral obligation to decide what is morally right and wrong does not lie within individuals, that is, it is a law which exists independent of any human manipulations.
It is categorically imperative for everyone to save as many lives as possible.
Although the quality of the child’s prospective life within the family must be thought of first, the happiness and wellbeing of other family members, especially the mother, must also be considered.
Since the choice to abort cannot lie with the child, it is the duty of the parents, advised by their doctor and social welfare workers, who should make the decision.
Counter-argument: Since an unborn child cannot be fully classified as a human being, the choice of whether or not it is to be aborted should be based purely on the ability of the parents to look after the child and not on any considerations of human dignity.
Response: To consider an unborn foetus non-human is a fallacy – it cannot be said for sure whether or not it is human and so the safest course of action is to consider it human and act accordingly.
Even if the parents cannot look after the child there are services which can ensure that the child can live and thrive. Abortion should be a last-resort and nothing less.
Work Cited
Baron, Marcia W. Kantian ethics almost without apology. Ithaca: Cornell
Hansson, Mats G. "Human dignity and animal well-being: a Kantian
contribution to biomedical ethics." Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica
Scandinavica 72.1 (1993): 67-68.
Secker, Barbara. "The appearance of Kant's deontology in contemporary
Kantianism: Concepts of patient autonomy in bioethics." Journal of
Medicine and Philosophy 24.1 (1999): 43-66.
