Abortion is one of those issues that force a person to take sides. There is no middle ground in this issue. The bone of contention centers on the meaning of human life because once it has been established, one can determine whether abortion is murder or another medical procedure.
It is a procedure that a woman can avail because she owns her body, so the argument goes. Therefore, she has the right to terminate her pregnancy. This paper will examine the underlying issues regarding abortion and then, use virtue ethics to determine the best course of action.
The Problem with Abortion
At the most basic level abortion is the termination of pregnancy (Haney, p.10). This termination procedure can be performed in different ways but the end goal is the death of the fetus or embryo. It must be pointed out that abortion after the third trimester of pregnancy is illegal.
However, abortion prior to the third trimester is legal in many areas in the United States of America. The legal justification is based on a Supreme Court ruling in 1973 – Roe vs. Wade – wherein the Supreme Court Justices agreed that women have a choice regarding their pregnancy and if they want to terminate it or not.
The opinion of the Supreme Court justices was based on the idea that pregnancy can be divided into trimesters (Payment, 44).
They decided that a woman can chose to terminate the pregnancy and in effect kill the fetus or embryo as long as it is still within the first trimester. After the second trimester a woman can still choose to abort the fetus but the State has the right to impose restrictions.
The State also has the option to make the procedure illegal in the final trimester. The main reason given can be summarized in the following statement: “The mother’s right to privacy becomes less important than the fetus’s right to life only when the fetus could possibly survive without the mother – at around six months” (Payment, p.44).
Therefore, the main reason why a woman can choose to end pregnancy is that she has full control of her body and the fetus. But in the third trimester the baby can live without the mother’s support and therefore it is considered murder.
Those who support the right of a woman to an abortion even after the final trimester makes the assertion that the Constitution does not provide any legal rights for a child that is still within the mother’s womb. In other words a child has to be born first before he or she can enjoy the same rights as others.
The logical explanation of legal experts in Roe vs. Wade is full of glaring weaknesses. For instance, legal experts are unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a three month old fetus does not have the capability to feel and hear the various biological stimuli that occurs outside the womb.
In other words they have no way to determine if a three month old fetus is already a living being and should be treated the same way as a baby.
Pro-life groups even insisted that a week old fetus must be considered “alive” and it is difficult to prove them wrong when technology enables people to hear the heartbeat of a fetus even when it is still a few weeks old. In other words there are so many things that are not yet known, now, what if the legal experts made a mistake?
If legal experts made decisions based on incomplete information then members of pro-life groups are correct when they say that abortion is tantamount to murder. This is a serious charge.
Murder must not be taken lightly especially when viewed from the perspective of a hapless human being trapped in the womb of a woman who can decide that this unborn child is an inconvenience that must be discarded. However, pro-choice groups made the counter-argument that a woman has control of her own body.
This argument makes sense when a pregnancy threatens the life of a pregnant woman. There are also those who contend that rape victims who got pregnant as a result of the sexual assault must also have the right to abortion.
It has been made clear that abortion is a polarizing issue. The pro-life groups have the right to contest the judgment made by the US Supreme Court because this is a nation established on the ideals of freedom and human rights. This is especially true for those who cannot fight for themselves.
A fetus has no power over doctors and women who view them as inconveniences rather than human beings. Consider the fact that the United States government sends troops to fight for the oppressed, to break the stronghold of tyrants. It is therefore important to protect hapless fetuses and babies in this country.
On the other hand this nation was also established on the principle that the law is based on reason and not emotion. When forced to choose between a woman’s life and a still unborn fetus, a doctor will not hesitate to choose the life of a dying mother.
The choice is easier when it comes to the possibility that mother and child cannot survive if an abortion is not performed. But in most instances it seems that abortion is considered for no other reason except unwanted pregnancy.
Virtue Ethics
In a dilemma like this one it is helpful to have an ethical framework that can be used to determine the right course of action. It can be argued that in the case of abortion the best tool is virtue ethics. It is different from other moral theories because instead of focusing on duty, virtue ethics focuses on character (Darwall, p.1).
Its emphasis is on how things should be instead of what has to be done (Darwall, p.1). It is about having the “appropriate inner states” (Athanassoulis, p.1). Instead of focusing on doing the right thing, this ethical framework enables the person to focus on a goal. The rationale of the goal makes the action right.
The goal must be the development of character and the appropriate inner state. These two must go together as one. By eliminating the need to perform a certain duty or to obey a particular set of rules, the anger and frustration felt by women who wanted abortion suddenly dissipates.
There is less tension and there is less conflict because no one is forcing another person to adhere to a particular belief system. In the land of the free, human rights and the right to choose are sensitive topics.
No matter how convincing the argument is with regards to scientific basis of abortion in the final trimester, there is no way that it can be used against pro-life groups. The same thing can be said for people who force their ideas on those who believe that a woman has the right to choose to end her pregnancy.
Now, using virtue ethics, a woman contemplating abortion is asked to determine her life-goals in terms of character and having the right inner state. If the principles of virtue ethics are applied to this situation then the woman has to determine if abortion leads to character or a state of well-being that she will not regret for the rest of her life.
In this stage of introspection – using the virtue ethics framework – it is possible that some of the women contemplating on terminating their pregnancy will come to realize that they wanted abortion for no other reason than to get rid of the fetus because it is an obstacle to financial and career success.
These women are convinced that an unexpected pregnancy can derail their plans. But through the guidance of virtue ethics they will also realize that the reason why they were struggling with unwanted pregnancy is that they lead a promiscuous lifestyle.
This awareness leads to another realization that terminating their pregnancy at this point in their lives does not guarantee that they will not need another abortion in the near future. The goal therefore is for them to alter their lifestyle and not to abort the fetus within their womb.
Using the same ethical framework, there are women who will realize that another important thing to consider is not the inconvenience that an unwanted pregnancy brings but the long-term effects of abortion to their mind, body, and spirit. The goal is not just character but a healthy mind and inner-peace and these are more precious than anything else in the world.
Consider for instance the phenomenon known as postabortion syndrome. It is a form of posttraumatic stress disorder “and its symptoms can include: a) anxiety, depression, suicidal feelings, difficulty sleeping, guild, a feeling of numbness and alcohol or drug abuse” (Haney, p.67). A woman can easily discard a fetus or full-term baby but the after effects of abortion can stay with her for the rest of her life.
It is easy to understand why there is such a thing as a postabortion syndrome. A woman feels the living thing inside her. It is more dreadful if the fetus has become a baby after entering the final trimester of pregnancy. The woman already is well-acquainted with a full-grown fetus inside of her.
Therefore, there is such a profound effect when she could feel the doctor’s tools forcing the fetus out of her body. The feelings are suppressed but the mind has a way of dealing with the stress and manifests itself into different forms of symptoms (Lee, p.25). It is critically important to consider both character and the inner-state of the woman.
Discussion
Virtue ethics is a perfect tool for analyzing a deeply polarizing issue like abortion. By using virtue ethics there is no need to force others to follow a certain path. By doing so every woman desiring to terminate pregnancy is given a choice. The ability to choose is not based on her desires but in accordance to the pursuit of character and inner-peace. Thus, there is freedom of choice and there is no room for regrets.
In application the woman who wanted to get rid of the child she is carrying in her womb would have to think twice before deciding to terminate her pregnancy. But the woman who is fully convinced that her life is in danger can opt for abortion because she believes that the baby cannot survive without her.
Thus, after the abortion there is no inner-struggle that can trigger a wave of depression and anxiety. The only weakness of virtue ethics is that it is dependent on the mindset and character of the person. It requires insight to know the value of character and inner-states – an ability absent in many people.
Conclusion
Virtue ethics is the best tool to use when it comes to dealing with abortion. The underlying issues of abortion are based on freedom of choice.
However, this ethical framework reminds everyone that the freedom to choose is useless if the decisions made does not build character and help people become the best that they could be. The importance of virtue ethics is based on the fact that it helps guide women to do what is best for them without the feeling that they are being coerced to do something against their will.
Works Cited
Athanassoulis, Nafsika. Virtue Ethics. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2010 Web.
Darwall, Stephen. Virtue Ethics. MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2003.
Haney, Johannah. The Abortion Debate: Understanding the Issues. NJ: Enslow Publishers, 2008.
Lee, Ellie. Abortion, Motherhood, and Mental Health: New York: Walter de Gruyter, Inc., 2003.
Payment, Simone. Roe v. Wade: The Right to Choose. New York: Rosen Publishing.