Philosophy 133 - Abrtion

Douglas E. Jones

Philosophy 133

21 April 2005

Does a mother have the right to take the life of her unborn child, never giving it a chance to walk this earth and fulfill its God given purpose? Or is it God's will for that child to be taken at that time, to play an ever constant reminder to the mother of her past decisions, having God use that guilt or experience as a source to steer her life? We neither have the ability to create nor destroy life, as it is God who ultimately decides whether the person terminates that life. From a non-biblical standpoint, it is based on whether a woman finds it ethically right to terminate a pregnancy and what effect it would ultimately have on her happiness. Therefore, abortion is not philosophically incorrect. In this paper, we will discuss the cosmological argument, individual relativism, and act-utilitarianism, all as they pertain to abortion, and how natural law and ethical relativism cause opposition to these theories.

As humans, we cannot create nor destroy life, as nothing we do is of true free will. God is who dictates what comes into existence, and our actions, according to cosmological argument, are not self-caused. According to this argument, a person cannot kill what it didn't create because is it ultimately the creation of God, not us, and it is up to Him as to how long each of his creations are in existence for. In this light, abortion cannot be viewed as wrong, as it is God who leads a woman to the decision to terminate a pregnancy, part of his will and divine path for her and the unborn child (Moore and Bruder 346).

If a woman does not believe in God or a higher power, what justifies her right to an abortion? With the theory of individual relativism, it is up to the woman whether she believes the abortion is morally right or wrong, not the morals of society. Some might ask how a woman could possibly feel that it is a just decision. In cases where the woman is financially, emotionally, mentally, or physically unstable, she may feel that abortion is morally acceptable. After all, if she is not in the position to be able to support the child and give it a good life, what is the purpose of bringing the child into a miserable environment where it has no chance to thrive? Other instances where she may feel termination is the right way to go is cases where the child may have been conceived as the result of rape or by an abusive partner. Therefore, if a woman feels the child is wrongfully or illegally conceived, to her it would be wrong to bring the child into the world, and the philosophy of individual relativism would support her decision (Moore and Bruder 212, "Post-Abortion Syndrome".

On the same token, act Ð'-utilitarianism would also support a woman's right to choose, as the "rightness of an act is determined by its effect on the general happiness" (Moore and Bruder 547). In 1989, the American Psychological Association conducted a study, led by US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, to determine whether abortion hurts women physically or mentally harmed women, and it was found that not only did it have minimal impact on a woman's mental health status, majority of women found it to be a relief to be rid of the pregnancy. This has been confirmed many times, recently so by a study at the University of California at Santa Barbara, which also showed that serious post abortion