Abortion and Ethical Theories

Abortion, also referred to as induced abortion, is the intentional termination of a pregnancy by surgical or medical means.
Therapeutic abortion is performed to protect the life or health of the mother and is generally not considered morally problematic.

Roe versus Wade (1973):
- The US Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to abortion, but not unlimited.
- First Trimester: Women have the full right to choose abortion.
- Second Trimester: The state may regulate abortion procedures, but not ban them.
- After Viability: After the fetus can live on its own outside the womb, the state may regulate or prohibit abortion, except when the mother's life or health is at risk.
Dobbs versus Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022):
- Overturned Roe versus Wade.
- Gave individual states the power to create their own abortion laws.
- States are not required to follow the Supreme Court's decision.
- Demonstrates how abortion is both a legal and moral issue with ongoing disagreement.

Act Utilitarianism:
- An action is right if it leads to the greatest overall happiness.
- Abortion is morally right if it produces more happiness for the mother, family, or society than unhappiness.
Rule Utilitarianism:
- Focuses on rules that lead to the greatest good when generally followed.
- Supports different rules based on which one brings more happiness.
- Example 1: Abortion is not permissible except to save the mother's life.
- Example 2: Abortion is permissible in the first trimester or in cases of rape or health risks.
Kantian Ethics:
- Moral actions are based on duty and universal principles, not outcomes.
- Self-defense justifies killing, including therapeutic abortion when the fetus threatens the mother's life.
- Abortion is generally not morally justified unless it protects the mother's life.
- If the fetus is not considered a person, Kantian ethics may justify abortion to protect the dignity and autonomy of the mother.
Natural Law Theory:
- The fetus is a person with full moral status from conception.
- It is always morally wrong to directly kill an innocent person.
- Abortion is always morally wrong, even to save the mother's life.

Pro-Life Position:
- Abortion is never or almost never morally permissible.
- Belief that the fetus is a person with full moral rights.
- Argument:
  - The unborn is a human life.
  - It is wrong to kill a human life.
  - Abortion is the killing of a human life.
  - Therefore, abortion is wrong.
Pro-Choice Position:
- Abortion is always or almost always morally permissible.
- Belief that the fetus is not a person with full moral rights.
- Argument:
  - The unborn is not a person before birth.
  - It is only wrong to kill an innocent person.
  - Abortion before birth is not killing a person.
  - Therefore, abortion before birth is morally permissible.

Even if a fetus is granted full personhood and moral rights, abortion can still be morally permissible.
A right to life does not include the right to use another person's body without consent.
Key Arguments:
- A right to life does not equal a right to use another's body.
- A fetus has the right to life, but that does not give it the right to use the mother's body to sustain that life against her will.
- A pregnant woman has a right to defend herself against unwanted use of her body.
- Includes cases of rape, incest, or failed contraception.
She does not claim that abortion is always justified and instead offers a moderate view.
Abortion is permissible in some cases, particularly when pregnancy is nonconsensual.

Argues that even if a fetus is a person with full moral rights, abortion can still be morally permissible.
Violinist Analogy:
- You wake up back-to-back in bed with an unconscious famous violinist who has a fatal kidney ailment.
- The Society of Music Lovers has discovered that you alone have the right blood type to help.
- They kidnapped you, and last night, the violinist's circulatory system was plugged into yours so that your kidneys can be used to extract poison from his blood as well as your own.
- The director of the hospital tells you that to unplug you would be to kill him, but it's only for nine months, after which he will have recovered.
- This analogy is used to show that the right to life does not necessarily outweigh the right to bodily autonomy.