Do you think abortion is a moral issue? Discuss with reference to Tooley, Marquiz and Ann Gary Warren. What do you think, according to you, should be the virtuous middle path in order to deal with it? The National (American) Center for Health Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) define abortion as the termination of the pregnancy prior to 20 weeks' gestation or the birth of a fetus weighing less than 500 g1. Abortion is not new to the human society. Abortion is probably “as old in India as is the Indian civilization itself” (Mohan, 1973)2. In Hinduism the moral deliberations on abortions involve the concept of Ahimsa, Karma and reincarnation wherein abortion “deliberately disrupts the process of reincarnation, and killing an innocent human being is not only in contrast with the concept of Ahimsa, but also places a serious karmic burden on its agent” (Kairash, 2019)3. In Mahābhārata, abortionists are counted along with the vendor of Soma juice4, the weapon maker, the one that injured his friends, the violator of the guru’s bed and ultimately as the slayer of a Brahmin. (Damian, 2010)5. While abortion faces moral turpitude under religious and societal syntaxes, more than 300 contemporary non-industrial societies practice abortion (Devereux, 1955). Many woman have practiced abortion on themselves or have had experienced abortions at the hands of others for over thousands of years (Potts et al. 1977). According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 40-50 million abortions are done annually, however, half of them are unsafe- that is, they are “done by persons who lack necessary training and medical resources”. Of the 70,000 women that die from unsafe abortions, about 95% of them belong to developing nations with severely restricted abortion access. Moreover one in five unsafe abortions results in reproductive tract infection which may lead to chronic health problems or permanent infertility (Warren,1973). Nevertheless, when done properly, abortion is considered as one of the safest procedures in medicine. It is safer than childbirth which has 14 times higher risk of death in the United States6. Schorge, John O.; Schaffer, Joseph I.; Halvorson, Lisa M.; Hoffman, Barbara L.; Bradshaw, Karen D.; Cunningham, F. Gary, eds. (2008). "6. First-Trimester Abortion". Williams Gynecology (1 ed.). McGrawHill Medical. ISBN 978-0-07-147257-9. 2 Mohan, Raj Pal, and Raj Pa Mohan. “Abortion in India.” Social Science 50, no. 3 (1975): 141–43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41885953. 3 Aramesh K. (2019). Perspectives of Hinduism and Zoroastrianism on abortion: a comparative study between two pro-life ancient sisters. Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine, 12, 9. https://doi.org/10.18502/jmehm.v12i9.1340 1 4 In the Vedic tradition, soma (Sanskrit: सोम) is a ritual drink[1] of importance among the early Vedic Indo-Aryans.[2] The Rigveda mentions it, particularly in the Soma Mandala. Gita mentions the drink in Chapter 9.[3] It is equivalent to the Iranian haoma.[4][5]. Wikipedia “ABORTION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF EASTERN RELIGIONS: HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM” Author: Constantin-Iulian Damian. Publisher: Romanian Journal of Bioethics, Vol. 8, No. 1, January – March 2010 5 Access to safe abortion is the need of the mordern health care system however social and political disaggreement towards the same raises the question of it’s ethics and morality. In this essay the morality and immorality of abortion will be critically discussed. Understanding the “virtuous path” over this issue will be examined. 7 According to Mary Anne Warren in her paper “Abortion” (1973), abortion (upto late second trimester or third trimester) is moral considering the socio-economic contexts of the individual in question. Since majority of heterosexual adults (women) are involved in sexual relationships (with or without marriage) during a substantial part of their fertile years then “abstinence only sex education consistently fails”. These relationships are often important to the woman’s “economic survival” (say in patriarchal households where women are economically ‘exchanged’ via marriage) and ability to support her children (as women are primarily responsible for child rearing) because women’s earning power is usually less than men’s. Moreover, while contraceptives as an alternative reduce the risk of an unwanted pregnancy, they nevertheless Raymond, E.G.; Grimes, D.A. (2012). "The Comparative Safety of Legal Induced Abortion and Childbirth in the United States". Obstetrics & Gynecology. 119 (2, Part 1): 215–19. Via Wikipedia 7 Reference from: 1. Graham Collection Archive: http://www.granthamcollection.com/new_index.html 2. Waldo L. Fielding, “Repairing the Damage, Before Roe”, The New York Times (June 3, 2008). https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/views/03essa.html 3. Sean O'Hagan, Interview: “I've seen horrible things': photographer Laia Abril on her history of misogyny”. The Guardian (July 20, 2016). https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jul/20/ive-seen-horrible-things-photographerlaia-abril-on-her-history-of-misogyny 6 have a significant failure rate and their usage is limited due to awareness, (religious and autonomical) freedom and material factors. Finally, some pregnancies are the result of rape or coercion and thus presuming the term raises ethical questions. Consequentialist as well Rights Based Arguments are also forwarded by Warren and Tooley which advocate for the moral permissibility of abortion: Consequential Based Arguments: 1. Since life begins at the conception of human zygote and fetuses are potential humans then fetus have a moral right to life8 and hence abortion is a form of wrongful homicide (a serious moral wrong) a. However, since ovum and sperm have been alive for years before their conception as a human embryo, then this claim is false. Haploid and diploid cells in a body are also already alive and such “human conception” distinctions thus only evoke species membership. (Warren, 1973) b. Since, early embryos “may spontaneously divide, resulting in twins or triplets; alternatively, it may combine with another embryo, giving rise to a single embryo with a mosaic of genetic traits. Thus, it is concluded, the early embryo is not yet an individual human being” (Warren, 1973) c. Also, “fetuses very probably lack the neurophysiological structures and functions that are necessary for the occurrence of pain and other conscious experiences, as well as for thought, self-awareness, and other mental activities” (Burgess and Tawia 1996) and it is virtually certain that first-trimester fetuses are yet to develop structures and functions to “suffer pain, unhappiness, or the loss of anything that they enjoy, desire, or value. They are biologically alive, but they do not have what James Rachels called a “biographical” life– one that includes feelings and experiences. While we may value their lives, they cannot value their own present or future existence”. (Warren, 1973) d. Moreover, since the desire presupposed by the right to life is to continue as a being with a psychological state, and neither animals, infants nor fetuses can meet this concept (lack of self-consciousness, continued subject of experiences through time), Then, according to Tooley, it is not prima facie seriously wrong to abort a fetus or kill an infant, though it may be prima facie seriously wrong to kill some adult animals, namely, the ones that meet both of the above conditions (Serious Rights to Life Claim) (Tooley, 1972). → The conditions one applies to personhood include “rationality, consciousness, the attitude or stance taken by society, capacity for From conception onwards, this development is gradual and continuous. Thus, it is argued, conception is the only time at which the life of a human being can rightly be said to begin. If this is true, and if all human beings have a right to life, then it follows that the zygote has this right. Neither its early stage of development, nor its social invisibility, nor its dependence upon the woman’s body for life support can justify the denial of this right (Noonan 1970). From Abortion, Mary Anne Warren 8 reciprocity, capability for verbal communication, and a selfconsciousness” (Dennett 1981, 269–271). e. Also, the toll taken on fully actualized “women’s lives and health by the lack of access to safe and legal abortion is extremely difficult to justify” (Warren, 1973) →“Even if a potential person does have some prima facie right to life, such a right could not possibly outweigh the right of a woman to obtain an abortion, since the rights of any actual person invariably outweigh those of any potential person, whenever the two conflict” (Warren, 1973) 2. Rapid population growth “magnifies the difficulties that developing nations face in eradicating poverty and disease”. Moreover, it administers serious threats to global biodiversity and ecological sustainability. Rights-Based Arguments: 1. In prohibition or restriction to abortion access, women’s inherent freedom rights are violated a. “The freedom to seek or reject particular medical interventions is a vital part of human liberty”. If there are basic human rights, then this must be warranted to them, because “without it other basic rights are negated” (Warren, 1973). b. As competent adults, women have the right to decide what happens to their bodies, control their own fertility, and protect their own life and health. To deny these rights to pregnant woman is to infringe upon this “vital freedom” (Warren, 1973) 2. Since parenthood involves responsibilities a. Thus, for an individual to pursue good life for themselves and those for whom they are responsible is important. b. Many times surrendering their own children for adoption does not fulfill the psychological and social needs of the individual in question. c. The continuation of the term may lead to psychological deterioration of the parent and offspring. → A long term study in Czechoslovakia on offsprings of abortion denied woman cites the “adjustment and developmental difficulties of the children” (David et all,1988). Nevertheless, for some theorists like Don Marquis, killing a being with a right to life is seriously morally wrong since it robs such a being of its future. According to him, abortion is, except possibly in rare cases (say in threat to mother’s life, illness), “seriously immoral, and falls under the same moral category as that of killing an innocent adult human being” (Marquis, 1989). This understanding stems from the idea that killing someone would deprive the person from their goals, achievements or experiences and would prematurely end the value of their life and future. Tooley’s seperation of personhood from a fetus helps meet this critique of abortion since it separates and falsifies this inherent addition of values and consciousness of a fetus (Tooley “Abortion and Infanticide”, 1972). fig 2: Summary of the Arguments Anti-abortion arguments in general (falsely) dwells on the wrongness of destroying a person (=fetus) connected in some way with the value that an individual’s life has, or potentially has, for that individual. The first episode of a Japanese psychological horror animation: “Mononoke” depicts such anxieties. In the episode the forcefully aborted children of prostitutes are shown to have resurrected as Mononoke (spirits that cause suffering/ disease/ death in Japanese folklore) whose wish is to have a mother and be born. Nevertheless the regrets of these ‘Mononoke’ are ambiguous and free of interpretation. It is important to note that the typical reaction to cases of infanticide or abortion is like that to incest or cannibalism, where the “response, rather than appealing to carefully formulated moral principles, is primarily visceral”. fig 3: Screen Stills from “Mononoke”: Episode 1, directed by Kenji Nakamura (2007) As Warren puts it, “it is difficult to find evidence that access to safe abortions harms the society” (Warren, 1973). While late abortion may be morally more problematic, nevertheless it may be justifiable in certain cases. The World Health Organization stresses that "access to legal, safe and comprehensive abortion care, including post-abortion care, is essential for the attainment of the highest possible level of sexual and reproductive health". Since if it werent for pregnancy there would be no abortions, then the regulatory or restricting practices only against abortions just polices woman’s bodies and protects coercive and abusive practices against women. The virtuous path of abortion thus lies on the grounds of the contextual analysis of the said situation. Understanding that the practice of safe abortions helps maintain balance and provide security to women, families, the nation and ultimately to the virtual human beings who will later inherit “a devastated planet”, then the religious and socio-political indoctrination of women’s healthcare rights thus appears as the immoral path. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Schorge, John O.; Schaffer, Joseph I.; Halvorson, Lisa M.; Hoffman, Barbara L.; Bradshaw, Karen D.; Cunningham, F. Gary, eds. (2008). "6. First-Trimester Abortion". Williams Gynecology (1 ed.). McGraw-Hill Medical. ISBN 978-0-07-147257-9. Mohan, Raj Pal, and Raj Pa Mohan. “Abortion in India.” Social Science 50, no. 3 (1975): 141–43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41885953. Aramesh K. (2019). Perspectives of Hinduism and Zoroastrianism on abortion: a comparative study between two pro-life ancient sisters. Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine, 12, 9. https://doi.org/10.18502/jmehm.v12i9.1340 “ABORTION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF EASTERN RELIGIONS: HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM” Author: Constantin-Iulian Damian. Publisher: Romanian Journal of Bioethics, Vol. 8, No. 1, January – March 2010 Raymond, E.G.; Grimes, D.A. (2012). "The Comparative Safety of Legal Induced Abortion and Childbirth in the United States". Obstetrics & Gynecology. 119 (2, Part 1): 215–19. Via Wikipedia Graham Collection Archive: http://www.granthamcollection.com/new_index.html Waldo L. Fielding, “Repairing the Damage, Before Roe”, The New York Times (June 3, 2008). https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/views/03essa.html Sean O'Hagan, Interview: “I've seen horrible things': photographer Laia Abril on her history of misogyny”. The Guardian (July 20, 2016). https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jul/20/ive-seen-horrible-things-photographerlaia-abril-on-her-history-of-misogyny Warren, Mary Anne. "On the moral and legal status of abortion." The Monist 57, no. 1 (1973): 4361. Marquis, Don. "Why abortion is immoral." The Journal of Philosophy 86, no. 4 (1989): 183-202. Tooley, Michael. "Abortion and infanticide." Philosophy & Public Affairs (1972): 37-65. Hern, Warren. (1995). ABORTION: Medical and Social Aspects. Warren, Mary Anne. “ON THE MORAL AND LEGAL STATUS OF ABORTION.” The Monist 57, no. 1 (1973): 43–61. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27902294.
