Abortion and Critique. Psychology Research Paper Essay

Abortion and Critique
Author’s Name
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Abortion and Critique
Introduction
Abortion is a well-debated topic in bioethics. Philosophers are determined to label it right or wrong depending on the identity of fetus. The alarming rise in abortion rate i.e. 11.8 abortions among 1000 women between the ages of 15-44 years (Pazol, Creanga & Jamieson, 2015), has raised the question of legalizing abortion. One school of thought believes that it is a sin or crime to abort a fetus as it is in itself a human being and no matter how weak and defenseless it is, it still has the right to live. On the contrary, the other side fights with the point that a fetus is not a person and does not, at the moment, have distinct characteristics due to which it can be put down. There have been various arguments leading to the formation of health policies, laws and implementation of punishment based on the degree of crime. In fact, due to abortion rates, it is also fairly common that parents are not informed of the fetus’s gender. Despite the fact, that it is the woman’s body and she has the right over her body, states and countries have put considerable effort in the matter as abortion itself has various medical psychological and social adverse effects.
Fetus’s Identity and Abortion Permissibility
Much of the arguments and debates fight whether the fetus may be termed as a separate human being with its actual identity and relative standing. Once this matter is solved, it may become fairly easy for bioethics professionals to arrive at a single truth. But at the same time, religious scholars, philosophers and medical professionals argue upon the point at which fetus may be termed as a person i.e. immediately after conception, later during the pregnancy or once it is brought into the world (Bisong, Ogar & Asira, 2016). Determining its existence and finalizing the truth may actually make it easier to form policies and moral judgments because if the fetus is termed as a person from the start, abortion may not be permissible but if the fetus is not a person until its birth, the woman may have the right to terminate it at any point during the pregnancy.
Warren’s Article and Critique
Warren’s article focuses on two claims; whether the fetus can be called a human being or not, and whether abortion is morally permissible or not. Warren comments on Thomson’s (1976) analogy of a man stuck with a sick violinist forced to save him because of mere humanity. Warren states that in cases where the abortion was unintentional or forced (e.g. rape), abortion may be justified by the analogy and thus be permissible as the pregnant woman did not ask for it. Contrarily, a woman thinking about abortion due to a planned trip or because she is not financially stable at the moment, or she is just nervous will make abortion fall into the category of criminal activity. Warren also puts the responsibility on the particular woman as in cases of rape, she was forced into unwanted pregnancy, thus is least obligated to carry the baby. But when the woman conceives due to her own carelessness and ...