Introduction
Abortion is an ethically controversial issue that has both supporters and opponents. In all cases, there is no unified opinion concerning the right of a woman to stop pregnancy in the early term. From the divine command theory perspective, it is unacceptable to end the unborn child’s life, while from Kant’s categorical imperative, abortion is “morally problematic” because it is the deprivation of human life (Rowland, 2019, p. 15). These two theories are used to discuss this topic because they emphasize the importance of conventional morality that the proponents of abortion often disregard. It allows one to state that Kant’s categorical imperative and the divine command theory prohibit abortion as violating moral laws.
Background on Abortion and Ethical Frameworks
The public discussion concerning women’s right to abortion is comparatively new, and it was not ethically acceptable until the second half of the 20th century. It is vital to mention that the views on morality that were dominant in the United States and the Western world, in general, were Christian until recent decades. Therefore, depriving the unborn child of their life was unacceptable for the Christian believer.
With the secularization of society, the dispute concerning the right of women to make decisions about their bodies has emerged. The unborn child is regarded as “the fetus or the embryo” instead of the human being on the initial terms of pregnancy, which is the crucial point that the supporters of abortion promote (Rowland, 2019, p. 20). In their turn, the traditional views on ethics regard the unborn child as a living creature, meaning their life is sacred (Rowland, 2019). Kant’s categorical imperative and the divine command theory are examples of the traditional view on morality, which foregrounds their perspectives on abortion.
Application of Divine Command Theory to Abortion
Religious people are actively against the normalization of abortion rights in society. They claim that these views destroy the morality that people say, and such laws contribute to the tolerant attitude to grave sin. According to the divine command theory, God provided people with rules to follow, and their responsibility was to obey the divine laws. As a result, it is acceptable from an ethical point of view for people to follow and unacceptable to infringe on the laws of God (Doyle, 2018).
The theory of divine command is accepted by believers who think God exists, leading to a significant gap between faithful individuals and atheists. It is critical to mention that the roots of these views can be found in other monotheistic religions, and in fact, they develop a similar perspective on problematic questions. It is possible to illustrate this idea with the following lines: “Christianity derived its ethical conceptions from the Torah, and so conceived ethics in terms of divine commands” (Doyle, 2018, p. 24). The quote shows that the divine commands theory is of great importance in forming the believer’s worldview.
These views are proven by centuries of experience, and they are tested not only by time but also by humans. It allows the assumption that the decision to follow the divine commands is the wise solution to ethically problematic issues. It is possible to state that from the perspective of the divine command theory, abortion is synonymous with infanticide.
The following logical steps can illustrate this position. For example, the Bible prohibits killing the human being and insists that the human soul exists from conception, God’s gift and blessing. Therefore, the child’s life is sacred from the moment God blessed his parents with pregnancy.
The divine law to preserve the life of human beings is the fundamental rule for all individuals who believe in God. Christian thinkers of the past explained this issue in detail, including the works of St. Augustine (Doyle, 2018). For instance, the philosopher claimed that people should seek wisdom in the Holy Scripture and apply it to their thoughts and actions (Doyle, 2018). Only in this case would their lives be pious, and they would not sin against the divine laws.
Application of Kant’s Categorical Imperative to Abortion
According to Kant’s categorical imperative, human life is sacred, and the philosopher does not emphasize from which moment existence begins. It is possible to assume that Kant had the typical Christian views on the life of the unborn child because he lived in a society where all people believed in God. It is possible to define the right to abortion as the “moral innovation” of recent times that used to be unacceptable in the times of Kant (Biss, 2019, p. 252). Humans have obligations to themselves as reasoning creatures.
Kant contends that the basis for the obligations of virtues is the recognition of logical nature, especially its ethical ability, as the foundation of human worth and that every human being likewise deserves what is considered essential basic dignity (Burton, 2021). He argues that individuals ought not to consider their ability to establish, arrange, and follow the duty as something that can be correctly laid down for arbitrary, inclination-based goals (Burton, 2021). According to Kant, Esteem for logical individuals serves as an inspiration of direction for morally upright people by restricting what they can do to achieve their objectives and inspiring them to work for their excellence and the well-being of humanity (Burton, 2021). Human life, in turn, is regarded as a sacred value, which makes Kant’s categorical imperative similar to the Christian views on this question.
It is also necessary to mention that the view of abortion as an unacceptable decision contributes to fulfilling the individual’s moral duty. The birth of the child is good for the development of humanity in general because it guarantees that society will be stable. The child will grow and become a person who can improve the well-being of others, which is also part of the individual’s moral responsibility. Therefore, preserving the unborn child’s life corresponds to the principles Kant articulates in his theory of the categorical imperative.
Conclusion
Abortion is ethically unacceptable from the perspectives of the divine command theory and Kant’s categorical imperative. It is possible to define these two views on morality as the traditional ones that insist on the Christian perception of the value of life. As a result, they support the initial hypothesis that ending a pregnancy, even on early terms, is synonymous with killing a human being even though the child is not born yet. The emphasis on tradition is critical in the case of abortion because this action violates both divine and human moral views.
No one will agree that it is ethically possible to kill the infant because their mother does not feel she is ready to take care of them. When people do not see the unborn child, they tend to imagine that the infant does not exist and that they can stop the pregnancy. The divine command theory insists that the child is born at the moment of conception, and the soul exists from the first moments of pregnancy. Kant’s categorical imperative, in turn, emphasizes the intrinsic value of human life that cannot be stopped.
References
Biss, M. (2019). A Kantian response to the problem of reception. Social Theory and Practice, 45(4), 525–547. Web.
Burton, H. (2021). Conversations about philosophy, Volume 2. Open Agenda Publishing, Inc.
Doyle, J. (2018). No morality, no self: Anscombe’s radical skepticism. Harvard University Press.
Rowland, W. (2019). Morality by design: Technology’s challenge to human values. Intellect.