abortion
...fetal life becomes a person only when electrical activity begins in the cerebral cortex. They argue that at the time of conception all major decisions as to what that fetus will become have been determined. For example, whether it will be male of female, what height it will be, what build it will be, and what colour it's hair, eyes and skin will be. In their views, this is enough to determine that a person is living inside the mother, even though there is no brain activity or vital organs formed yet. All people have a right to live and under the pro-life view this includes a fetus from the moment of conception. Some argue that the unborn fetus has a right to its mother's body if that woman voluntarily indulges in intercourse (Jarvis Thomson, p.405). They argue that when the women engages in sexual intercourse she is fully aware of the consequences and the possibility that she might conceive a child. For this they say she is responsible for that life that is living inside her. This argument gives the unborn person a right to the mother's body and gives the mother a responsibility for the life because it is dependent on her (Jarvis Thomson, p.405). It should be noted however, that a fetus conceived through rape could not use this defence due to the fact that the sexual intercourse was not voluntary. Judith Jarvis Thomson in her article A Defense of Abortion has noted that pro-life activists have been so concerned with establishing the independence of the fetus that that have missed the fact that they could argue that the fetus is dependent on the mother and through this she has a special responsibility to it. Pro-Choice Argument On the other side of the abortion issue are those who recognize the right of the woman to choose whether or not she wants to give birth to the fetus in her womb. There are both feminist and nonfeminist approaches to the pro-choice argument. The feminist perspective bases it's ideas on the influence that the unwanted pregnancy has on the woman; whereas, the nonfeminist perspective bases it's assumptions on the moral status of the fetus. Feminists acknowledge the fact that women have abortions for a wide variety of reasons (Sherwin, p.411). Some women are not financially stable to raise a child and have no other means to be able to support that child, some are diagnosed with AIDS and some are addicted to drugs. These are just a few reasons that a woman may not want to bring a child into this world with such disadvantages. Feminists recognize the fact that abortion is necessary for many women if they are to escape the oppressive conditions of poverty (Sherwin, p.411). For women, being able to have the option of abortion helps them to have power over their own sexual lives. Women's inferior role does not always allow them to stop men's sexual treatment of their bodies. If women are not given the choice to end an unwanted pregnancy, the women become even more defenceless to men because having a child reduces their likelihood of advancement in the economic system. This results in women staying dependent on men for their economic advantages. Feminists argue that for women to steer clear of unexpected pregnancies by avoiding sexual intercourse shows no admiration for the empowering of women in sexual politics (Sherwin, p.412). This view encourages the fact that women should have no control over their sexual lives. A direction that feminists argue it not correct. When it comes to abortion for nonfeminists they argue that abortion can be tolerated because the fetus lacks full personhood (Sherwin, p.413). Many argue that a woman should be allowed to make her own decisions and have full control over her body. Nonfeminists argue that the fetus becomes a human much later in pregnancy and that before this point a woman should be able to end her pregnancy if she is fully aware of the consequences and she has a safe abortion. Those who defend abortion argue that the fetus is not a person, but only a bit of tissue that will become a person at birth (Jarvis Thomson, p.403). However, many pro-choice do not agree that a woman should be able to have an abortion at any point in her pregnancy. They recognize that after some point in the pregnancy the fetus could be considered a person and to abort this child would be unjust. There is no disagreement between defenders and opponents of women's rights that "the difference between a late-term fetus and a newborn infant is 'merely geographical' and cannot be considered morally significant" (Sherwin, p.414). The biggest problem with this argument is that there is large uncertainty of where to draw the line of when an abortion is appropriate and when it is not. Many argue that before the 20th week the neural structures necessary to register and record sensations of pain are not functioning. Also before the 20th week they argue that the fetus does not contain an individual human personality (Carrier, p.6). Given this information, pro-choice activists argue that abortion causes no immediate harm to the fetus because it lacks both perception of pain and individual personality. Pro-choice activists also argue that abortion can be a benefit to society. "The harm to a society that is caused by an excess of unchecked population growth is severe and well-document" (Carrier, p.6). There are very few countries in this world that outlaw abortion that are not having excessive overpopulation problems. They argue that abortion allows nations to maintain a stable population with nearly zero population growth. Abortion can also be an advantage for the woman. The risks of death and permanent disability are significantly greater than for a woman who aborts before her third trimester. The social and financial pressures that result from motherhood can be a serious harm, especially for those women who will be raising a child on their own. Although some of this could be relieved by adoption, free medical care for pregnant women, and social assistance for women unable to work because of pregnancy, these solutions are not always as easy as they sound, and they are not so universally available as many people think (Carrier, p.6). My Personal Argument When it comes to the issue of abortion there does not seem to be any middle ground. It must be noted that neither the pro-choice or pro-life arguments are homogenous; neither side can agree fully when a woman should have access to an abortion. When it comes to my opinion as to whether abortion is right or wrong, I often find myself fluctuating between both sides of the issues. I agree that abortion is wrong after the 20th week when the neural structure starts to develop and the fetus can start to feel pain. Since the introduction of modern technology, such as the life support system and pacemakers, the definition of death has had to be refined. Death can no longer be defined as being occurring when both the heartbeat and breathing cease, because with the introduction of the pacemaker a machine can make the heart beat and with the introduction of the life support machine a person can breath with the constant assistance of a machine. Death is now generally defined as when the brain "flat-lines" which means that there is no central nervous system activity and there is no detectable electric activity in the brain's cerebral cortex. After the 20th ...