A Discussion Regarding the Issue of Abortion

Pro-Choice
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Pro-Choice
Abortion remains a controversial issue because of the religious and moral variations surrounding it. The subject of abortion arises two extremes pro-life who condemn and pro-choice who favor it. Different jurisdictions employ laws ranging from permission to prohibition of abortion. Majorly, abortion raises fundamental questions on when life begins and what makes individuals persons with moral rights to life. Abortion remains at the heart of the controversy, which extends to the right of women to control their bodies. For instance, is it justified for a woman to abort following rape? What about where a pregnancy endangers the life of the mother? Evidence demonstrates that permissive abortion can reduce the prevalence of child abuse because it reduces unwanted pregnancy. Despite the apparent dangers pregnancy poses sometimes, pro-life activists demonstrate no justification for aborting a fetus. On the other hand, pro-choice advocates maintain that women should determine what happens to their bodies, including determining the fate of the fetus. Women should have the final say on whether they want to keep a baby or not because a fetus has not developed enough to have the same rights as other members of society.[Bitler, Marianne, and Madeline Zavodny. "Child abuse and abortion availability." Pg. 363]
The terms personhood and human being are not interchangeable. The term human being is a distinguishing factor that simply helps to separate humanity from other species. However, it is the qualifying factor for personhood, and therefore, these two terms should not be used interchangeably. The term being can simply be defined as the quality of existing. Therefore, when used together with the term human, which denotes a species, the meaning retrieved is the existence of a particular species, in this case, humans. However, belonging to a species by virtue of having certain physical features does not qualify any being to belong to the human race or to be endowed with the essence of personhood. Warren notes that there is a need to distinguish between the “concepts of a person with that of genetic humanity.” She states it clearly that people often claim that a fetus is a human being because of their wish to have others treat fetuses decently, not that fetuses have attained personhood. In her article, she introduces five attributes that she considers crucial for personhood. These include consciousness, reasoning, self-motivated activity, communication, and self-awareness. Using these five traits to distinguish between human beings and human beings with personhood, it is clear that fetuses are indeed human beings because of their genetic sense but are not people because they lack a moral sense. Eberl appears to be in support of Warren’s assertions, noting that “the essence of human personhood is an integration of both of its required components: form and matter.” He continues to explain that form is also denoted as the soul of which there are three types: the vegetative, sensitive, and the intellective soul. Eberl makes it clear that matter and form co-exist and that neither exists apart from the other. For fetuses, even though matter could be ...