Social Ethics and the Justice System. Should abortion be legalised?

Authors Avatar by petey17790 (student)

- Social Ethics and the Justice System  

Assessment No.2 – Essay

Should abortion be legalised?

Written by: petro mcgoger

Student Number: 275282

Tutor: Dr Phil Young

Due date: Friday, April 25

 

In submitting this work I declare that, unless otherwise acknowledged, this work is wholly my own. I understand that my work may be submitted to SafeAssign and consent to this taking place.

Introduction

Abortion is one of the most contentious ethical issues faced today. It is the issue of whether abortion should or should not be legalised. This essay will critically analyse whether or not abortion should be legalised by incorporating ethical theory. The two theories, which will be highly examined, are Utilitarianism and Deontology. Throughout this essay, it will be argued, from a utilitarian perspective, that abortion should be legalised. Several key scenarios will be examined, such as abortion in the case of rape, restrictive laws on abortion and the effects, and the effects of unplanned pregnancies with regard to the financial burden on families. These scenarios will be reinforced by statistics, theories, and recent research in the area of abortion explaining the negative impact of keeping abortion illegal in societies.

Utilitarianism

As abortion is one of the most contentious ethical issues in Australian society today, it is therefore necessary to analyse abortion through the ethical perspective, in particular Utilitarianism. Under the consequentialism framework, Utilitarianism states that actions are to be evaluated solely on their consequences (Mills 2010, 2). Jeremy Bentham, known as one of the first individuals to fully develop the system of utilitarianism, believes that we should tally the consequences of each action we perform and establish whether an action is morally right or wrong on a case by case basis (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005, 1). This is also known as act-utilitarianism. The second key point of Bentham is that we should tally the results of our actions in accordance to pain and pleasure, which Bentham believed should determine our moral conduct (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005, 1). Another aspect of utilitarianism, called rule- utilitarianism is thought to be a more developed consequentialist theory. This theory accentuates the view that the right action should follow from rules that would maximise wellbeing universally (Mulgan 2007, 129). One philosopher who is aligned to rule utilitarianism is John Stuart Mill. Mill states “an act is morally right if and only if that act causes the greatest happiness for the greatest number” (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2005, 1).

The differences between act and rule utilitarianism lie within the assertion that torture, under act utilitarianism, may be morally acceptable if the benefits outweighed the non-benefits. This is in comparison to rule utilitarianism where moral acts should only be permissible if they were to be universalised                        (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2012, 1).  

Aborting in the case of rape

In addressing the issue of legalising abortion, there are instances where women are raped and as a result, a pregnancy has occurred. This is a sad situation and as anyone can imagine, the victim would be in a very vulnerable situation. Not only is this vulnerability detrimental to the mother, but it may also be detrimental to the child if it were to be born. In many cases, a number of psychological issues arise after a rape has occurred. According to Holmes et al. (1996, 321) post traumatic stress disorder is identified as a major issue relating to rape in 35% to 50 % of all victims in the United States. In addition to post- traumatic stress disorder, many victims have been known to suffer from depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, sexual dysfunction, marital discord, and suicide (Holmes et al. 1996, 321). As Walker (1999, 72) suggests, “Pregnancy due to rape acts against the women’s liberty and in some sense, it’s a perpetuation of the aggression of the rapist. Regardless of the practical problems of pregnancy, rape is a major trauma, and the pregnancy complicates this further”.

Join now!

first point

From a utilitarian perspective, it is clear that the nature of the scenario brings about many issues; for example, the happiness of the mother and also the happiness of the child if pregnancy were to be proceeded. It is clear that rape is harmful in so many ways, especially for the mother. One may argue that it is perhaps just as harmful for the child to be brought up by a mother who has been the victim of rape. A utilitarian may argue that based on the principle of greatest good for greatest number, the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay