Abortion is the deliberate removal of human pregnancy with respect to the mother’s agency, in order to achieve a death result of a fetus (Tatalovich, 2015, p. 85). The morality of abortion encompasses arguments that are against and for the practice of abortion, such as a woman’s stage of pregnancy. Consequently, the stages of pregnancy include the first trimester, which is the period of conception to week 12 of pregnancy. The second trimester includes the 13th to 27th week, while the third and final trimester ranges from week 28 to birth. The stage of pregnancy dictates and influences the moral status that attaches to a fetus, which equally determines whether a fetus has rights to life or not. Therefore, the pregnancy stage plays a great role in determining the morality of abortion.
P1: Brain development has not yet taken place in the first trimester of pregnancy; hence, the fetus has no awareness.
P2: A series of developments take place in the second trimester of pregnancy, and the fetus develops humane features such as gender and body movements.
P 3: A fetus at the third and final term of pregnancy superficially resembles a human being, since at this stage the fetus’ emotional connection with the mother is extremely strong.
P4: Abortion at all stages of pregnancy is risky and constraints both the mother and fetus’ right to life.
C: Therefore, the morality of abortion depends on the stage of pregnancy, which equally dictates the level of development of a fetus.
According to Tatalovich, (2015), the first premise is valid, since the first trimester dictates the justification of abortion, owing to the fact that the fetus does not have any developed features, which include the brain (p. 83). Therefore, the fetus does not have qualities of a human being, despite being a member of the human biological species. Additionally, the fetus develops strong emotional connections to the mother, which implies that whatever damages may equally affect the fetus. Consequently, humans enjoy the right to life owing to their owing to their humane mental features such as self-determination and self-awareness, which a first trimester fetus does not possess (Tatalovich, 2015, p. 82).
The second premise is justified, since the second trimester of pregnancy is a battleground of legality of abortion or not, owing to the humane features attached to the fetus (Butler, 2011, p. 15). Therefore, the fetus at the second trimester has a developed mental capacity, and is fit to enjoy the rights of a human being, such as the right to life. Additionally, the fetus develops strong emotional connections to the mother, which implies that whatever damages may equally affect the fetus. Abortion at the second trimester puts the life of the mother at risk, which presents a deviation from the mother’s right to life (Butler, 2011, p. 12).
The third premise is justified owing to the full development of a fetus at the third trimester of pregnancy (MacKinnon & Fiala, 2015, p. 149). Few nations allow the practice of abortion unless the health of the mother is at threat. The fetus in the third trimester of pregnancy has a mental capacity of a human, in addition to its attachment to the human biological species. The doctrine of self-defense would apply in the event of poor health of a mother at this stage. Otherwise, an attempt to interfere with the life of a fetus at the third trimester of pregnancy would risk the life of the mother and deviates from the right to life (MacKinnon & Fiala, 2015, p. 151). Abortion at the thirs trimester is immoral.
According to Butler, (2010), the final premise justifies a human being’s right to life, which results to illegality of the practice of abortion (p. 15). Abortion at whichever stage of pregnancy is equally dangerous to the mother, owing to the probability of death.
References
Butler, D. (2011). Abortion, Medicine, and the Law. Fideli Publishing Inc: Martinsville.
MacKinnon, B., & Fiala, A. (2015). Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, Concise Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Tatalovich, W. (2015). The Politics of Abortion in the United States and Canada: A Comparative Study. London: Routledge.
